Video shot on a Digital 8 will not play back on a Standard Hi8 camcorder. They are two totally different and incompatible formats. All you will probably see is snow on the LCD screen. Most Digital 8's will play back Hi8 and 8mm analog tapes. They do a conversion for you. Tapes recorded in Extended mode for longer record times may have a little problem playing back. As to the distortion on the LCD screen, if the video looks correct on the TV using the A/V (Audio Video) outputs from the camcorder your transfer to a stand alone DvD recorder should look fine.

All of the DvD Camcorders should do this. Just finalize the recording so it will play back on other units. Canon, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony all have models available under $400.

There is no adapter that will change 8mm to fit in a vhs player. The tape inside the cassette is of a different size and the recording is of a incompatible format. The best thing to do is to try and find a Digital 8 camcorder. This will allow you to play back both 8 and Hi8 tapes. Since the camcorder is digital it will also covert the footage so you can edit it on a computer. Transferring from the camcorder to DvD will be easy by just plugging into a stand alone DvD recorder with the A/V (Audio Video) cables.

When doing Close Up or Macro shooting you do need as much light as you can get. If you are very close to your subject you are generally blocking the light source. If you are Zooming in with a telephoto lens you are reducing your usable light by several f-stops. A Digital-SLR will help with these issues. Compact cameras have a small diameter lens that does not gather very much light and have very limited optical zoom. The D-SLR has unlimited zoom and Larger lenses that will gather lots of light and give you a sharper picture. There are lenses specifically designed fro macro photography. You can also use a light box to put your subject into for photographing. Avoid using a flash, a flash will over light and wash out your subject when doing this kind of photographing.
Another technique if your subject is stagnant (not moving at all) and will give you a great looking photo is by using a low ISO (100 iso) and using a wired remote and tripod. Dim the lighting and set your camera to a small aperture ( start around f/9 -11) and a shutter speed of 1/10 of a second. These are just starting numbers. You will have to adjust both numbers up or down to get the desired exposure. This will give you warm colors and a more natural look. The tripod is to insure that the camera is stable and the wired remote is so you don't have to touch the camera to take the photo. At this slow of a shutter speed it will pick up the vibration of pushing the button on the camera and cause a blurry photo.