Re: Digital8 vs. MiniDV

sabin_a. said:

I have been looking around for digital video cameras cause i will be
taking a video production and editing class at my high school next year.
( I would also film unicycling, obviously.) I think i have narrowed my
choices down to 2 different camcorders.

The first one is a Sony Digital8 $399
The second one is a Panasonic MiniDV $399

So I guess what I am asking is which one do you guys/girls think would
be better? (please give reasons)

I don't know anything about these 2 cameras, but I have these
comments on Digital8 vs MiniDV:

- The Digital8 format came about because cameras were going digital
but the manufacturers still had loads of Hi-8 drive mechanisms,
so they found a way to use them in digital cameras.

- Theoretically, the quality should be the same. They use the
same digital signal, but store it on MiniDV tape or Digital8
tape (equivalent to Hi8 tape)

- In practice, MiniDV cameras tend to be better, simply because
they put MiniDV drives in the expensive cameras, and the old
Digital8 drives in the cheaper cameras. But that's a
generalisation, which may or may not be true in the case of these
two cameras.

- If you're looking to share your tapes with other people, or
borrow tapes from other people, MiniDV is the most widespread.

- If you've got a old Video-8 or Hi-8 tapes that you want to play
back, then you can do that on a Digital8 camera but not on a
Mini-DV camera.

- All things being equal, I'd go for Mini-DV. But look at the spec
of the cameras in detail. Ignore digital zoom (it's not worth
having), but a good range of optical zoom is. Good low-light
capability is worth having. Optical image stabilisation (or
the not-quite-so-good digital image stabilisation) is worth
having. A long battery life might be worth having, depending
what you're using it for. A good quality lens is definitely
worth having, although it's often difficult to tell! If one
has a lens that is obviously a bigger diameter, then that might
be a clue that it will let in more light and give better pictures.
Or if they make a big deal about the manufacturer of the lens,
then that might be a clue it's good quality.

If you get into digital video, this bulletin board has lots of
useful advice (I hang out there a lot):

http://www.dvdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?category=1

Hope my ramblings help,

- Richard

Quoted message said:

*The second one is a Panasonic MiniDV $399 *

I bought a Panasonic MiniDV 2 weeks ago at Walmart
"Clearance" price $325
All the regular features. It has a light too. We like it. I replaced my
1990 model RCA VHS that was so big it made me look like an ActionNews
cameraman.

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Thank you for the feedback.
I looked at both the optical zooms on each of the cameras and they
are both the same. O-zoom is: 20x. They both have low light
capabilities.

So I guess what you are saying is, that the MiniDV format has a lot more
capabilities than the Digital8. Like you said, the MiniDV can take a
more varity of tapes, so I can share them with my friends and such.
Where as the Digital8 is more limited to the kinds of tapes it can
take.

I do not have an old Hi8 camcorder, so there would be no use in getting
the Digital8 to play back old tapes.

I guess the only minor drawback to getting the MiniDV is that the fire
wire doesn't come with it.
-Sabin

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sabin_a. said:

I guess the only minor drawback to getting the MiniDV is that the fire
wire doesn't come with it.

Do you mean a firewire cable or firewire port?

Following the links you gave, both seem to have firewire ports
(IEEE1394) but neither mention a firewire cable. Anyway, firewire
cables aren't particularly expensive.

One thing I noticed the Sony has is analog input, which the
Panasonic doesn't. I find this useful, because you can then
connect the camera to a VCR and copy VHS tapes onto digital tape.
Then you can transfer them via firwire to a computer, where you
can convert them to go onto a web page, or burn a DVD copy.

Depends on whether you see yourself doing that kind of stuff.

- Richard

More to think about:

Digital-8 is a retiring technology. It's going to be gone soon. DV is
the new stuff, and though the cassettes may change, the format of the
tape should be around for quite a while. Also miniDV cameras are
generally going to be smaller. This will matter to you at some point.

I don't think lens size is an indicator of light capabilities. Bigger
lens means bigger glass, so that part equals out. But a bigger lens may
have higher quality optics. But let the price and specs guide you there.
There is a lumens or lux rating that tells how much light the camera
needs. Some can shoot in the dark using infrared.

I had a borrowed Sony miniDV camera at the 1999 NUC in Washington and
UNICON X in China. That camera was amazing. 12 or 16x zoom, stabilized,
and lots of other great, useful features. And it was a piece of cake to
use. It had one of their info-lithium batteries, that tells you about
how many minutes are left on it. That was very handy. Also I liked the
hand position, which made it comfortable to use. Think about those
things as well.

There, I mentioned unicycle events above. We're on topic!

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Sorry, I meant the MiniDV doesn't come with a -USB Cable.-

Quoted message said:

One thing I noticed the Sony has is analog input, which the

Thats pretty cool!! Except, I dont have a DVD burner on my computer, so
I wouldnt be able to do that. I was looking more at the Panasonic
MiniDV, and you can use it as a webcam!

-Sabin

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