digital8 vs. miniDV

[AarontheRipper]

My wife and I are expecting our first in a couple of months and we see getting a camcorder as a necessity. I want to be able to do all my editing on my computer, and so a digital format is a must. The digital8 are cheaper, but the DV are much smaller. I'm not going to be making any professional movies, just taping my kid(s) and putting the footage on a DVD with minimal editing. I'm looking to spend less than $700 on it, and was wondering if anyone had opinions (stupid question for this website) on the differences between digital8 and DV as far as quality, etc. goes.

[hootie29]

I just purchased the Sony DCR TRV33. It runs 799.00 but you can catch it on sale for around 700.00-750.00. So far I am really enjoying it I had a Sony Hi8 (TRV68) and there is a big difference in the quality there.

The reason I went with the TRV33 and not the TRV22 was the megapixel still shots it would take. In camera mode you can take megapixel photos 1152x864. The megapixel pictures look good taken outside but indoor photos aren't too good. You can also take photos while you are video taping, But they are only 640x480. I would still recommend a good digital camera, but the photo taking option is nice.

The TRV33 also comes with a remote control which I like, you can set the camcorder up on a tripod rotate the viewfinder and be in the picture with a touch of a button. The remote has wide angle and telephoto button for zooming and a photo button for snaping stills.

The TRV33 is also capable of being used as a pass through for copying VHS tapes to your HD ( I haven't tried it but the manual has full instructions).

I know you were wanting a comparison of Digital8 and MiniDV but I thought I would give some info on the one I own. A user's view is alot different than the press releases the camera companies give

[thedogman]

The only real reason to go with digital8 is if you had old tapes that were on Hi8 and wanted to still use them. My understanding is that MiniDV has better quality. The tapes and cameras are smaller, which is nice when you are packing for a trip. I can get all my camera gear (video, digital still, and 35mm) all in one camera bag. The DV tapes may cost a little more, but that will come down and more people use them.

I got a Canon ZR and it is great. Does not have all the fancy things of a Sony but it cost about half as much ($450 inline if I remember). If you are doing the editing on a computer, who cares about the fades and wipes built in to the camera. Most Sony cameras have better low light (night vision) recording. This may be good for taping a sleeping baby, they may not like having the lights turned on

Either way I would stick with MiniDV.

[verchad]

Not always true, my older sony d8 camcorder will not play my old hi-8 tapes.

thedogman Posted: Jul 01, 2003 17:27

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The only real reason to go with digital8 is if you had old tapes that were on Hi8 and wanted to still use them

[vandakeg]

Technically, there is no difference in quality b/w digital8 and mini-dv, they are both DV, using the same compression and same codec. The reason it is said sometimes that mini-dv is better quality is b/c usually the mini-dv cameras are more expensive and use better lenses.
I have a Sony TRV-740, which is a megapixel Digital8 camera, I also own a Sony TRV-22 which is mini-dv, and the 740 does have better quality. So the determining factor is the camera itself, not the media it is recorded on (especially b/c DV is simply a file being stored on a tape).
The good thing about D8 cams is that they are less expensive, and still relatively small.
The good thing about Mini-DV is that it seems as though it's going to be 'the norm' as far as camcorders go.
Good luck with your purchase!

[troyvcd1]

I also see that the sony minidv cams give you the famed CARL ZEISS lens. What this does for you I have no idea.

[hoyboy]

I have been using a DCRTRV340 D8 camera now for about 10 months and have found the image quality great. The main difference in the cameras are really the size- D8 cameras are about the same size as Hi8 cameras, so they are more cumbersome than some of the new Mini-Dv cameras coming out (especially the new sharp z-series cameras), however the camera I have has 25X optical zoom, whereas most MiniDV cameras struggle to have 10X. I don't know if this is going to be an issue or not with you.

[garbman1]

I have used and owned SONY 8mm, HI8, DV8, miniDV, and JVC miniDV. I can tell no diff B/T DV8 and miniDV in the quality of the stored "file." I do find that I can take a more steady video with the larger, heavier, DV8. The extra weight helps steady the camera. The SONY cameras have a better steadyshot feature (This is very important for telephoto work). The night vision is great but all the video comes out green and white (not very good for baby pictures). Try to get one with the ability to record from other sources. This will allow you to easily convert non-DV source to DV for input into your system for editing. Hint: 1. Get a mono pod (more mobile than a tripod to keep up with baby). . . .even these small cameras get heavy after hours of taping. 2. Yes, tape for hours....as soon as you turn off the camera you will miss the shot you wanted. You can cut out all the hours of stuff you do not want later. 3. No one else wants to watch more than 15 min of your child (sorry). Learn to cut out the deadwood. HAVE FUN!!!

[mrtristan]

Between my brother's Sony Hi8 and my TRV-18 (DV), there isn't a big difference in quality. He bought a higher end model Hi8 cam when they were the peak. I bought the cheapest Sony miniDV, just recently.

Three advantages I can think of to getting a miniDV camcorder are:

1. Firewire transfer. You don't need any capture card, if you don't already own one. You have the option of capturing through the analog outputs as well, but you might as well save yourself some trouble and capture using firewire.

2. The tapes are smaller and the cameras are smaller.

3. MiniDV looks like the format that's going to be king for a while. Hi8 is being phased out.

An advantage to Hi8 is the price.

Oh yeah. Congratulations on your baby. Do you know the sex? My wife and I just had our first child. I say we, although she did all the hard work. Anyway, we became the parents of a healthy baby boy in March.

[AarontheRipper]

Hey, thanks for all the advice. It really is a tough call, but I think I'll probably go with the DV just because it seems that it is going to be the norm. The portability is also a major plus.

Oh, we just had the sonogram this morning, and we're (she's) having a boy!!!

[acoustic]

I own both a mini-dv and a D8. I have found each camcorder has its own
unique advantages.

The mini-dv I have is the Canon GL1. I spent a few months evaluating camcorders including going to an industrial show where a lot of people from the local Boston TV stations were at to buy some of their equipment.
I did "shootouts" between a lot of camcorders at that show and at pro
video stores.

I found that the consumer camcorder, the GL1, of all things, to my eye was as good as any of the $20,000 to $60,000 professional cameras. It has
an unbelievably outstanding picture. The videos I take with it look sharper and better to my eye than the live broadcasts of the local news from the studios of the downtown Boston TV stations. It is the camera/lens part of the camcorder that is what makes the difference. Possibly it is also the
part of the camcorder that digitizes and compresses the analog video from the camera that is also better than those of other lesser camcorders, I'm not sure of that.

But, once the signal from the camera is digitized, the part of the GL1 that then records the digital data to tape is no better or worse than that of most or all other camcorders I've tried. At that point, you are dealing with a digital DV data file and those are all the same regardless of which camcorder you are using (they have to meet a standard, just like all ntsc tv sets have to play the standard USA TV signal).

The D8 camcorder I have is a Sony TR-7000. It takes noticably lesser
resolution videos than does the Canon GL1. But, it has this fantastic
night shooting ability with even a built-in infrared light. I've taken pictures in a pitch black room at night of my dog and he had no idea this bright infrared light was shining on him and that I could see him in the viewfinder like it was noontime. I even have taken pictures of meteor showers and could clearly see the meteors in the sky and the constellations. The GL1 would totally fail on such dark shots.

Mini-dv tape is overpriced and I never let rip-off artists make a fast buck off me, so I only bought 5 mini-dv tapes that I use over and over again in the GL1 which I use to take all my videos except the nighttime shots.

Then, I was just doing a firewire copy (both camcorders have firewire ports) from the GL1 to the Sony TR-7000 and keeping those videos on the much lower cost 8mm tapes used in the Sony. I would then "declare blank" the tape I just copied from the Canon and re-use it or one of the other 4 mini-dv tapes.

But now, I have a Panasonic DMR-E30 dvd-r recorder and I archive all of my camcorder videos onto my own dvd-r media in the 1 hour highest quality recording mode. Those dvd's that I record are indistinguishable from the original Canon GL1 video. I get my blank dvd-r media for only 75 cents each with free shipping from promedia. Name brand dvd-r blank media are a real ripoff. I can't believe anyone would be foolish enough to
pay a few bucks each for them.

I plan to keep my Sony TR-7000 for nighttime use, for backup in case the Canon fails, and to make backup copies onto Digital8 8mm tapes even of video I put onto my own dvd-rs just in case dvd-r media eventually degrades (who knows until you've had them for a long time what they will do? I've had some vhs tapes since 1978 and all of my old vhs tapes going back to that long ago still play fine. But I used to have 3/4" Umatic pro
tapes and they were total shit-most fell apart and developed horrid dropout. So, you never know how long media will last).

I also use an edit card (dvraptor) to edit my dv video sometimes in my pc before burning to a dvd or making a D8 backup tape. I also use my pc
with capture card as a digital vcr and record critical off-the-air tv video
to the pc at the same time I'm recording to the dvd-r recorder because
sometimes I do get a bad dvd-r media and/or the recorder shuts down
(that happens maybe once every 30 or 40 recordings-not enough to make me even think about buying high priced dvdr blanks, but enough to sometimes make a second "insurance" recording into my pc for really
important "must see" off-the-air video).

I hope all that info helps. I put a lot of time into testing camcorders, capture cards, and many other pro and prosumer video equipment and various blank media to come up with that strategy and it has worked well for me and I hope it helps you too.

Acoustic
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