Sony Ccd TRV238 Hi 8 Analog Camcorder

we bought this tape based recorder to copy our hi8 tapes to dvd. the Sony was not a direct replacement for our 1st PAL camcorder .. as we said we would never spend loads of cash again on a camcorder because our 1st one was at the repairs most of the time. The Sony seems to play back the pre-recorded tapes very well. some slight color imbalance is visible .. but not extreme. Recording to tape using the Sony was a little dissapointing compared to our previous recorder. Although the picture is rock solid & the mono sound is good .. the picure does lack some sharpness. in the 20x zoom setting i noticed just how hard it is to hold the camera still. the images were compared using another camcorder with image stabiliser & u can see the difference. Overall we were impressed with the working of the camera for the price. the night shot is unreal if u have never used this before. in total darkness everything within the range can be seen!!