Digital 8

Nick Niehaus · #1 (**permalink**) 12-01-2004, 02:14 AM

Here's the scoop. My DV camera broke, my parents won't pay for repairs (about $275, the camera was very seriously messed up), and I can't scrounge up that much money. Now I'm looking at getting a new camera. It has to be less than $275, and it has to be digital (I haven't an analog capture card and I don't want to buy one)

At this price range, I've been told that the only decent cams I can get are D8 - the rest are DV cameras with poor performance. If this is indeed true, then how does D8 compare to DV? I'm mainly going to be filming family events like vacations, family reunions, my sister's soccer games, etc. Will D8 produce suitable video quality?

bgarthp · #2 (**permalink**) 12-01-2004, 03:29 AM

I think my mid-spec D8 (sony trv-250) shoots better footage than my friends low-end mini-DV cam's (JVC & Sharp entry level models). I think it'll be fine for home movie stuff.

Although I'm definitely going to get a mini-dv cam soon, D8 cam's are so big, but I suppose you normally do get a bigger optical zoom (useful for shooting sports), and the buttons aren't fiddly and small, and mine took some serious battering before it finally packed in. So thats not all bad. You can probably get a pretty high spec one for that price too, with AV-in, manual focus and a memory card and stuff, so it might be the best bet.

Also bear in mind, 8mm tapes are more expensive than mini-dv I think, and they're harder to find aswell, at least in the UK.

Nick Niehaus · #3 (**permalink**) 12-01-2004, 05:10 AM

Ok, it looks like I'll be getting a D8 cam then. As for the tape availability problem, there's always eBay! :lol:

Thanks for the help!