Is there something about old Video8 cameras that I don't know about?
 

Hi, new member and new to video...

I've been hanging around eBay (Australia) for the last couple of weeks getting a feel for used camera prices. What I'm noticing is that analogue Video8 and Digital8 equipment seems to be going for stupid money: people are paying more for 5 to 10 year old stuff (low-end and middle-range stuff too) than they are for 2 to 3 year old equipment that would produce a much better picture.

I just don't understand it. Is there something I'm missing? Are rock video producers now hoarding equipment in advance to recreate that turn-of-the-century (1999-2001) look? Or do people figure that a $2500 camera from 1998 has gotta be better than a $400 camera from 2007?

Or are they really better?

Thanks!

I'm not sure why, but I can make a guess. Perhaps these folks buying up the Digital8 and Hi8 equipment have old Hi8 tapes and need a deck to play them back. I have a few Hi8 tapes around and the only reason I keep my Digital8 camcorder is because I know the tapes will be useless to me without it.

Then again, I could easily make a MiniDV copy, but in the meantime I hang on to the camera.

Supply and Demand
 

As those camcorders are not produced anymore and because there is still demand for them, they maintain their value.

Same as the above poster, I still keep my Hi8 camcorder. Because, without it, the footage I recorded on Hi8 tapes for many years would be become useless.

P.

It's always wise to keep old equipment. There are production companies who make a lot of money with U-matic and 1" tape conversion from old archives because the tv stations/production companies got rid of their old players without thinking about their archives...

Actually, DV from a typical consumer camera isn't that much better than old analog Hi8. And because it's analog, it's a whole different ballgame, no compression artifacts for instance...

And we all know about build quality. They don't make em like they used to...