The advice for video 8 when I did this was to buy a quality camcorder for the desired format (note, there's Video 8, Hi 8, and Digital 8, all using the same cassette form factor), in good condition, and capture the S-video output. Results were surprisingly good.
VHS-C can be played in a normal VCR, with an adapter cassette, but the process will otherwise be the same. Excellent VCRs in good condition had gotten expensive last time I checked, though.
When I did it, vhsdecode didn't exist and I know nothing about that, but I'm completely satisfied with the results I achieved.
if they're digital 8, then of course ideally you would get a digital capture.
