[Lewis Bennett]

The Digital8 camera was on loan from a friend. I only have a Hi8 camera with S-Video/mini jack RCA ports.

The reason I picked up the Canopus, instead of a D8 camera with analog-to-digital passthrough, was to be able to capture various analog formats in the future, at a minimal cost.

After doing lots of tests and reading and soliciting feedback, (I don’t know for sure but) I think I may be getting as accurate a capture as I can from my current setup. The Video8 footage is really grainy but it was also shot in 1991 on a consumer videocamera.

I’m going to try to get better acquainted with Neat Video. And if I need tapes captured for a serious doc project in the future, and I have a proper budget, then I’ll be using a professional service because this tape stuff is far too complicated for a simpleton like me.

[Lewis Bennett]

Thanks Christopher. I’m going to borrow a Canopus ADVC 110 tomorrow to see if I get better results than what I get with the 100.

I think I may have solved my dilemma though. My friend thinks that the model of the Digital8 camera that I used initially for capturing was the Sony DCR-TRV120 and it looks like it has a Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) function. That’s probably why that video looks a lot nicer than what I’m getting from the Canopus.

Even though the Canopus + Hi8 looks worse, would I be correct in assuming that it’s more accurate than what I would get from a Sony DCR-TRV120 with Digital Noise Reduction?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.