I'm new to camcorders. But I know that analog is all but obsolite. I tried out a cheap camcorder and liked it. Then I found out it wasn't even digital...it was Hi8. I read reviews; this Hi8 cam was praised...alot of digital ones got negetive reviews(problems with low light, bad video quality, malfunctions)

I'll be doing a lot of filming indoors. It seems that Hi8 does a better job indoors, until you go to high-end digital. Is this often true?

And I won't need to download to a PC; I have a DVD recorder I'd rather use; S-video to S-video.

Is Hi8 a good way to go in my circumstance?

On another note: I hear alot of complaints about shaky video, since digital stablization it's very good). Using the Hi8 cam, there was no "shake" and the movement didn't bother me. The I found out this model doesn't have ANY image stablization!!

Each time I looked at video (Hi8) from ten years ago and then 5years ago (DV) and then a year ago (HDV), I can't help but marvel at the difference in video technology, they are literally night and day between each two generations. Its just my observation.
As regard to shake, in low res video its a lot less bothering because everything is so blurry. And also there is a huge difference between OIS and EIS. Most of the low end DV cams' stablization (under $500) is EIS and they indeed can look awful.

Oh my goodness. Having seen enough of my Hi8 and D8 vids digitally stored for archival purposes, I shudder to think of having to go back to that time again. It was nice back then. It was great for the 90s PQ.

After having about 40 hours of HDV use in 5 months experience I can equivocably say that indoor use under less than ideal lighting condition is best with HDV. There is just no comparison. The grainiest of HDV using Canon HV20 is far superior than the best of lighting condition of Hi8. The details captured is still more improved with HDV.

The upside to Hi8 is that it consumes far less hard drive disk space than HDV. In just 4 months I have upgraded my comp to handle 2.5 TB. Had I just stayed with Hi8 I wouldn't have this problem.

In tests comparing S-Video and DV from the same Camcorder, a 3-CCD Sony VX2100, we could detect no difference between the dv and the s-video. The regular (composite RCA) was noticeably less sharp.

So, if you are happy with your Hi8, enjoy. With any DVD recorder (consumer level), you're not going to get anything better than DV. I don't know of any that have component in, tho mine have component out.

For image stabilization, use a tripod!

High Definition cameras generally require more light (more pixels), so here again your Hi8
has an advantage.

We have a recording studio recording on the Panasonic EH55 dvdr hdd, with dv cables from 3 Sony VX2100 cameras thru a DataVideo mixer, then dv to the recorder.

We are in the basement of the church, and our audio engineer complains he can't see the microphones the musicians are using, so we've tried S-video camera (1980's Panasonic AG455) and S-video capable tv; updated to a 32" HDTV, helped a little, but our latest- yesterday and Friday night, was using a Canon HV20 and a HDMI cable. A dramatic improvement! We use the HV20 as our surveillance ("wide angle") to cover the entire width of the front of the church. In a test, laying th
e four colored microphones on the rostrum, he could easily identify the colors. From the s-video, we couldn't even count them- we could barely make out three of the four.

The problem- the audio engineer was happy, but we didn't have a signal to the "wide angle" monitor at the video desk, still had to use the signal from the Panasonic. With the HDMI cable plugged into the Canon, there is no video signal on the composite or component output, and I could not get a signal from the DV out. After studying the manual and experimenting, I finally set the HDV/DV terminal DV-LOCK, and got a dv signal here at home. If it still outputs a DV signal with the HDMI cable plugged in, our problem getting a signal to the video desk monitor will be solved- I have a Dazzle Hollywood Bridge that will convert dv to video and s-video.

Keep It Simple.