Analog 8mm and VHS camcorders once dominated the home video recording market, but this changed dramatically with the arrival of digital video (DV) models. Without a doubt, the 8mm and VHS formats will disappear in the near future as the digital technologies become more widely adopted and affordable. As it is, only two companies, JVC and Sony, continue to sell analog camcorders.

JVC currently offers two Compact Super-VHS, or S-VHS-C, camcorders that sport 400 lines of resolution and better audio quality than standard VHS. The GR-AXM18 and GR-SXM38 carry suggested price tags of $200 and $230, respectively. Both of these units come with a simple VHS tape-size adapter than allows you to play the compact tapes directly in any home VCR.

JVC GR-AXM18

The GR-AXM18 has a basic feature set, but it is one of the cheapest ways to record home videos, especially if you like to share tapes with older or less technically inclined family members who are more comfortable with their tried-and-trusted VCR. The unit offers a 20X optical zoom, a 2-1/2-inch color LCD viewscreen and a selection of digital effects and scene transitions. As you would expect, the slightly more expensive GR-SXM38 offers some additional recording options and an improved feature set, with a built-in video light and a larger 25X optical zoom.

Video8, the earliest 8mm camcorder format, offered similar performance to standard VHS. This has since been usurped by Hi-band 8mm, better known as Hi8. Hi8 is a higher-resolution enhancement of 8mm, and it offers a superior sound-to-noise ratio and above-broadcast quality of 400 lines of resolution.

Only Sony continues to manufacture Hi8 camcorders. However, this is now limited to a single model, the CCD-TRV138, which has a suggested price of $230. This camcorder offers the point-and-shoot simplicity you expect from Sony, along with substantially more features than the JVC VHS models. A 1/6-inch CCD imager delivers 200,000 effective pixels of resolution, and the CCD-TRV138 has a 20X optical zoom and solid low-light recording.

Sony also produces one Digital8 camcorder, the DCR-TRV280, which has a suggested price of $20 more than its Hi8 cousin. Digital8 is a proprietary Sony format that records digitally onto analog 8mm and Hi8 tapes. It also provides better image and sound quality compared to analog 8mm, and most Digital8 cameras are backward compatible. This means that the DCR-TRV280 can play analog Video8 and Hi8 recordings. Thus, Digital8 is a great compromise if you have an existing library of Video8 or Hi8 tapes. The Sony format enables you to continue watching those old tapes, while at the same time making new recordings in the higher-quality digital format. Keep in mind that like any videotape, 8mm cassettes will eventually deteriorate. Regardless of your affection for the 8mm format, sooner or later you'll want to transfer your precious home videos to more durable media for archiving and future copying.

We were particularly impressed with the battery life of the DCR-TRV280, which operated for up to 12 hours on a single charge. This model lacks Sony's traditional touchscreen LCD viewer, instead employing a quicker-to-access joystick menu system. The DCR-TRV280 also has a 20X optical zoom lens, digital image stabilization and USB streaming.

The future of 8mm and VHS camcorders looks bleak, but if you've eschewed all contact with computers and don't care about editing your home recordings, there are still some reasons to consider one of the older formats. The prices of digital camcorders continue to fall, but VHS, Hi8 and Digital8 are still the cheapest units available. Run a cable directly from the camcorder to a TV screen, and an analog camcorder can make an inexpensive security camera. There are tiny digital camcorders designed as sports camcorders for capturing a participant's eye view of extreme sports such as mountain biking or skiing. If you use an 8mm or VHS camcorder strapped to your mountain bike and it takes a fatal hit, at least your wallet won't suffer quite as much.

Many digital camcorders offer an analog-to-digital passthrough feature that enables you to convert your VHS camcorder footage from the analog to a digital format, so if you use a VHS or 8mm camcorder now, you should still be able to access your recordings when you upgrade to a digital camcorder.

Finally, an analog camcorder is a great way to introduce your kids to the world of video recording. 8mm and VHS camcorders are simple to use and offer far fewer functions than even basic digital camcorders, and therefore have far fewer things to break. While you wouldn't want to let Junior loose with your brand-new $1,500 high-definition camcorder, a cheap 8mm or VHS model is an ideal first camcorder.