Tape format

Used Hi8 and Video8 camcorders

Video8 arrived in 1984 and 1985, an 8mm tape small enough for a camera you could hold in one hand, and Sony's first Handycam used it. Hi8 followed in 1989 with a sharper picture, rated at about 400 lines of horizontal resolution against about 240 for Video8 and VHS. Every Hi8 camera plays Video8 tapes, but most Video8-only cameras can't play Hi8. Both are analog, so there's no file to copy. You play the tape and capture it in real time through S-Video or composite. If you've got a shoebox of 8mm family tapes, a working Hi8 camera is one way to play them, so check the heads and the tape transport before you trust it with tapes you can't replace.

7 models we cover.