I have a sony digital 8 and love it. Our local "tv" station at the school has mini dv and I cannot see any difference.

Actually MiniDV and Digital 8 do not record Exactly the same way. With Min DV you get 2 audio options so you can go back and edit in audio later if you need to. With Digital 8 you do not get this option. I would go with Mini-DV, seems to give better quality than Dig-8

Which is right for you depends on your needs. That Mini gives you the option of adding a second audio track after the fact isn't that useful IMHO. If you're editing on Vegas, you can add tracks to your heart's delight with absolutely no risk that you might accidently ruin your original.

If you can make use of a second audio track during your shoot, then, maybe that would be a real advantage for you.

I've never used a mini or worked with footage shot on a mini, so I can't comment on its quality relative to Digi8.

If you buy a mini with pass through, then, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to capture your existing Hi8 footage . . . as long as your existing Hi8 cam functioning.

I have two 8mm and one hi8 with tons of footage shot on all three. For me, digi8 made more sense because I know I have one newer cam that will play tapes from the previous two formats.

My digi8 does not have pass through, but it is backward compatible with analog 8mm, both hi8 and regular 8mm. I've done a lot of multi-cam shooting, and having only one tape size to deal with is a definite plus for me.

Sometimes, if I know that I need longer uninterupted shooting time, I'll use my Hi8 instead of the digi8 because it can shoot 2hrs on a tape instead of 1hr with digi8. Once digitized, it's hard to tell the difference (the hi8 has Svideo connections).

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide which is best for you. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Good luck and have fun.

Caruso

I shoot with mini dv, and love it.

One thing that I would look at is, some sony models ( digital 8 & Hi-8)
might use the same battery type, so I'd check to see what type of
battery your cam uses verses that of the dig-8, you might not have to
invest in a bunch of different batteries.

just a thought!

Good luck!

kpitrl

MiniDV, it is the most supported format. I am afraid Digital 8 tapes
will be harder to find as time goes by.

I too have been looking and am sold on teh miniDV
a few words of advice you may or may not have learned already
DO NOT look at digital zoom. - Thats only good if you want to read a license plate for the police or check out some young lady real quick but if you want hi quality video you need to look at optical zoom
Most sony are 10X optical and 700X digital.
I like Canon ZR series have played with them quite a bit in stores and am considering purchasing. They have 16 X optical zoom up to 22 X optical and 350 x digital.

Second as already mentioned look for somthing with analog to digital conversion.

Also a lot of camera will try to sell you on all the cool effects but you as a vegas user know there are far better tricks inside vegas and if you film in that effect you are locked into it.

I cant think of anythin else
but I did find this site: (not just canon s but everything is cheaper)

Canon ZR60 MiniDV with 2.5-Inch LCD Monitor & Color Viewfinder
$439.10 incl shipping and no tax

http://ww3.onecall.com/PID_18435.htm

happy hunting and good luck finding a GREAT camera

Enjoy - Acts7

I was in the same boat not long ago. I had many 8mm tapes that I wanted to archive digitally and eventually edit for DVD's. I first started with an analog capture card (Dazzle DVC-II) using the composite video out of the 8mm camera. I was not impressed with the capture quality and certainly did not care for that fact that the audio/video were always out of sync... I learned a valuable $300 dollar lesson.
(actually $400.. since I eventaully dropped another $100 on Pinnacle software and wasted another 4 months)

The capture quality was very poor in low light conditions(very pixelated and color problems). I also tried playing through a Hi-8 camera and used the s-video output... But still the captures were not of the quality I was looking for...

After surfing the web I came across some interesting information by a person who was very familiar with video tape formats, and in particular the Sony mechanisms to read and convert the tapes. The basic premise was the fact that the best conversion of the 8mm and Hi-8 tapes could only be achieved by a Digital 8 camera. This almost seems obvious now, since there is only an analog to digital conversion in the process, and not a d2a and a2d process in the analog capture world.

Since there was no signficant difference between Digital8 and MiniDV I purchased a digital 8 camera. The quality of the 8mm captures is much better than the analog capture, IMHO....

TheHappyFriar,

"I'm thinking of getting a new camera in the $350-400 range, and I'm not sure if I should get a MiniDV or Digital8 one."

If your price range weren't so low, I would say MiniDV. I am using a Sony Digital8 myself (Sony DCR-TRV510) and have been using it for several years. At the time we bought it, MiniDV tapes cost considerably more than 8mm/Hi8/Digital8 tapes, so that was a factor. And Digital8 camcorders had more features back then. Our 510 has a 4-inch LCD screen and a color viewfinder and I have outfitted it with a .6X wideangle attachment, an extra 4-hour battery, and an on-camera shotgun zoom microphone. So it has been doing the job for us and we have taken nearly 100 hours of footage with it, some today.

But back then there was a much wider range of Digital8 models to pick from. It seems that Sony is now "phasing out" Digital8 because they currently offer only two models (although some earlier discontinued models may still be in the pipeline.) For a while Hitachi also offered Digital8 camcorders but I think they have stopped doing that now.

My next camcorder will be a MiniDV (or better) with three CCDs. Probably a Sony. But in the meantime we will be "squeezing the juice out of" our present Digital8 model. I am thinking about getting an anamorphic lens attachment for it to improve the quality of its 16:9 footage. We might get a stabilizer. I suspect that we will be taking a lot more Digital8 footage before upgrading.

"Is there a visual quality difference between Digital8 and MiniDV, or is just the tape size (like VHS and 8mm)?"

Well, they both take the same DV format, but there are higher quality features available on MiniDV camcorders, although maybe not in your $400 price range. For example, 3-CCD MiniDV models are available, but Digital8 models are limited to one CCD. The 3 CCDs give better color in your video. MiniDV models offer sharper lenses and higher pixel counts in their CCDs, also giving better video quality. To a certain extent, you get what you pay for.

There won't be many MiniDV camcorders in your price range and there aren't many Digital8 models left, so you won't have very many models to decide between for $400. MiniDV tapes still cost a bit more, but the MiniDV camcorders can be more compact. Try out the camcorders in the store and see which appeals to you. We took along our own tape so we could take some test footage to help us with our decision of which Digital8 to pick.

-- Seeker --

I've also had good success with my Sony Digital 8, and have popped in some Hi8 tapes that captured perfectly. That's a big plus.

The possible downside, as mentioned above, is that Sony may be phasing out Digital 8.

G

I recommend going with a Digital 8 at that price range. Although a miniDV can pass through the signal, you still have manual controls--versus the Dig8 which treats a hi-8 much the same as a digital tape and the software can control it. You are buying older technology, but I wouldn't worry about media, since the digital 8 can use standard hi-8 tapes, which are abundant. Besides, once droped to the HD, I re-use my tapes.

When you're ready to upgrade significantly, and have a larger budget--then I would go with a minidv with a large ccd, or three.

I have a Sony Digital 8 and a Canon Gl2 w/3ccd's. About 90% of the time I can never tell the difference, especially with good lighting.

I decided on a digital 8 camera (sony DCRTRV250). My last questions is about the digital8 tapes. I went to wally world (walmat) and they had some 8mm tapes that said digital compatible. On the back of the tape they listed the recording times: 2hr for hi8, 1 hr for digital8. Does this mean that those ARE the digital8 tapes? Or is there a specific digital8 tape, and this are just hi8's that record at a higher quality?

thanks!

They are the same tapes. make sure you get Hi 8, instead of 8mm

Digital8 can record on Hi8 tape. You can get a little more time on LP mode rather than SP in your camera and you won't lose any resolution really, you just may not be able to read the tape on a different camera. You can also buy 90 minute tapes which give you even more time. I usually get tapes that are marked as Digital8, but the Hi8 ones work just fine. I haven't noticed any difference between Digital8 and MiniDV in quality. The MiniDV consumer cameras are smaller, but I like the larger camera anyway and I've been very happy with Digital8. The tapes are available everywhere and the price always seems to be slightly less that MiniDV.

Tom

I checked the price price of Digital8 is 1/2 that of miniDV. :) That's another reason I decided to go with Digital8: I can buy 2 hours for the price of 1hr miniDV.

Everyone here has been a great help, thanks!

Couple more thoughts on Digital 8:

I've also seen no discernible quality difference between the 60 minute and the 90 minute tapes (or SP vs. LP)

I have had no quality or dropout problems with rerecording on these. I pitch them after using them 3-5 times.

Finally, I've read several places that people recommend sticking with one brand of tape, because there can be subtle differences in the lubricants or something that may cause problems down the road. I stick with Sony Digital 8.

G

I read the same thing, but about DVCPro tapes (i use DVCPro at work). My boss doesn't seem to care though. :)