Hi-8 to FCP options?

I know this has been covered, but I'd love advice specific to the options most convenient for me.

Which would be best:

1) Dupe Hi8 tapes from Hi8 camcorder using RCA cables into MiniDV camera creating DV copies.
2) Using a Digital-8 camera and transfer direct to FCP.

I'd guess #2, but I'm not sure if the Sony Digital-8's did anything funny in the way of compression or add a tracking problem. I only have 8 hours of material, so it's not worth it to me to invest in a convertor, and I don't really trust how dub houses handles small jobs like this one. Just trying to figure out the cleanest way to do this, and figured someone here might have had experience with this riddle. Thanks!

i dont know, the $300 invested in a canopus advc110 will serve a lot of handy purposes should they ever arise... i thought it was wasted money until i had that one clinet bring me a box of vhs tapes and it saved me the hassle of dubbing...

Sony digital-8 cameras will play a Hi-8 analog tape and convert it to digital on its way to FCP. I don't think you can do any better than this for preserving quality. I don't believe the camera adds timecode though (there wouldn't be any on the original Hi-8 tape) so you may need to treat the camera as a non-controllable device.

Scott

The advantage you will get by dubbing your Hi-8 to either Digital-8 or Mini-DV is that when you capture your footage into FCP you will be blessed with Time Code. This comes into play when you need to recapture a clip that has somehow met it's demise. If having TC isn't necessary then put your tape in a Digital-8 camcorder, connect to your computer with a firewire cable and set capture mode to Non-Controllable Device and Capture Now. I don't think you can log and capture because of no TC.
You can also use a mini-dv camcorder as an interface into the computer. Hi-8 (A/V Out) >Mini-DV (A/V In) , FireWire Out > computer. Be sure to use the S-Video cable instead of the composite cable, you'll get better quality. Barry

I would say..
Stripe your dv tape first (striping is when you record the full length of the tape with the lens cover on so that it is black and turn down the volume completely.) This adds a continuous timecode to your tape without an image underneath. Then after striped rewind the tape, plug the hi8 into th dv and record the full tape. Next take the dv tape and import it into fcp. voila. really good quality with timecode and everything.

I'm not sure where you learned that trick, Shifter, but I'm pretty sure all it gets you is another pass on your tape.

The camera/deck will generate all new code when you make the dub. There's no need to do it first. The dub will blow away the code you recorded in that manner, anyway, just like it blows away the video and audio you recorded (in this case, black and silence) and replaces it with the dubbed footage.

It's an extra unnecessary step for dubbing. It gains you nothing, and costs you twice as much time.

deb