What is the difference between 8MM, Hi-8, Mini DV & DV. & What is better for shooting a movie?

Question

Can you convert 8MM & Hi-8 movies to digital format for editing using imovie?

Answer 1

Here's a website that has a good explanation of the various recording media:
http://www.digitalvideoclub.com/basics/camcorder.php

The best for movies (assuming that you'll be doing some editing) is mini DV - as this is the format that most compatible with video editing programs.

To convert 8mm & Hi8 (or any other analog videos), you would need a AV capture device - here's a helpful guide:
http://www.digitalvideoclub.com/basics/transfer.php

Answer 2

Geoff provides some good feedback. For more details on the differences between the formats look here.

http://www.high-techproductions.com/formats.htm

You ask about shooting a movie. What do you mean by a "movie". If you mean being able to shoot in widescreen then you'll want to consider MiniDV or HDV. These two standards allow for shooting 16:9 widescreen. MiniDV cams can do anamorphic DVD quality video, while HDV can do high definition 720p or 1080i.

From there, choosing a good camcorder will be the next big choice. Main issue with most camcorders is their ability to shoot good low light video.

I'd suggest looking at Panasonic GS series or Sony HC series of camcorders. Canon also has a good one out ,HV10, but if you're trying to shoot a movie, it may not be the best choice due to ergonomics. "Match box" style.

For regular home movies, I'd suggest a cam with good image stabalization and good low light capabilites. Any of the formats will work just fine, where 8mm is the lowest quality oldest technology and HDV is the hightest. The quality of output pretty much follows the format.

Mike

Answer 3

8mm and Hi-8 are analogue. Hi-8 is a bit better quality than your standard 8mm. MiniDV and DV are both digital thus the quality depends on the bitrate that you save at. Different capacity tapes are available for MiniDV and DV. These are generally transferred from your camcorder to your computer via a Firewire cable. 8mm, Hi-8 and other analogue sources can be uploaded to your computer and edited, but this will require an analogue capture card. These can go from cheap to quite costly for a very good quality capture device. They come in PCI cards or most commonly these days as an external USB device.