Can Hi8 tapes be used in a Digital8 camcorder

Hello,

I am wondering to get a digital8 camcorder which I know uses simular dapes to hi8 but can hi8 tapes be used in recording the newer format? also how better is the quality of digital8 to hi8

Thank You

Neil

[melliott1963]

Hi Neil,

I went from Hi8 to Digital8, before eventually moving to MiniDV.

You are wrong to say that they use similar tapes. In fact, they use indentical tapes! So if you've a load of tapes that you haven't used yet, you'll be able to carry on using them in the Digital8 camcorder. My Digital8 camcorder is able to play my old Hi8 tapes. Not sure if this is the case with all models, but worth checking out.

As far as the diference in quality between the two is concerned, on paper, Digital8 is a higher resolution, so should be better. Quite how noticable this diference is in reality is hard to say.

I'm currently going through all my old Hi8 tapes, putting the footage onto DVD. To be quite honest, whilst they are not as good as my MiniDV tapes (which are better than Digital8), they are still pretty good and to the casual observer, I doubt few would notice the difference.

Hope this helps.

[MarkE19]

If you want to be able to play your old analogue Hi8 tapes/recordings in the new camcorder then a Digital8 cam is ideal, just check that the model you get can play the Hi8 tapes as most models can't!
If however you want to get just an upgrade, and am not bothered with playing the old tapes then I strongly recommend getting a miniDV cam as they are far smaller and therefore IMO you are more likely to carry it around.

As for quality, well I've never owned a Hi8 or D8 cam. I went from the older video8 to DV which was a massive jump in quality. Be aware though that all consumer digital camcorders are going to be fairly poor in low light conditions.

Mark.

Thanks for that, does that mean I can record the digital 8 footage onto an old hi8 tape just in the argos book it says you can get with hi8 tapes or digital8.

Thanks

[MarkE19]

Dedicated Digital8 tapes are meant to be of a higher quality than Hi8 tapes. However I think you would be hard pressed to notice a difference between the 2 tapes, and as Hi8 are cheaper I would say go with them. If you do get droppouts etc then pay the extra for the Digital8 tapes. Due to this I would suggest playing around and filming things you don't mind loosing, just to see if there is a difference.

Mark.

[sput2001]

Bear in mind that Digital8 cameras record at a higher tape speed than Hi8 ones.

While you'll have no problem using a Hi8 tape in a Digital8 camcorder, the running time will be reduced by about one third - i.e. a 1 hour Hi8 tape will give you about 40 minutes of Digital8 recording.

[melliott1963]

Originally Posted by sput2001

Bear in mind that Digital8 cameras record at a higher tape speed than Hi8 ones.

While you'll have no problem using a Hi8 tape in a Digital8 camcorder, the running time will be reduced by about one third - i.e. a 1 hour Hi8 tape will give you about 40 minutes of Digital8 recording.

Ah yes, I forgot about that - All my Hi8 tapes are 90 minute tapes, which, when used with my Digital8 Camcorder, lasted 60 minutes.

I used Sony Super HME Hi8 tapes with both my Hi8 camcorder and my Digital8 camcorder and can't say that I ever suffered from drop outs, but then they're pretty good quality tapes in the first place.