for all the conversion methods I know you need a playback device (player/another working camcorder) - so in most cases it is easier (but not necessarily less expensive) to send your tapes to a company which transfers older mediums to digital video files.
I honestly agree with Nic, that's usually my first recommendation too unless you already have a VCR or something of the sort (and I wouldn't recommend purchasing one for this purpose only either).
