I have a D8 and firewire but no digital camera.The Digital8 has a still capture mode(i know its poor resolution)and i just need to grab it as .bmp or .jpeg.How is this acheived the easiest?

Usually there's a USB connector to the cam if it supports stills. Just connect it to your PC, and use the software that came with the camcorder. bb

No,it does not have usb-only firewire.The stills are captured as 5s clips on the tape.It looks as i found a way-it can be done with moviemaker that comes with xp.

You can use soundForge video capture to capture still images with the best resolution. Use the option deinterleave before capture to enhace quality. An other way : use capture software with preview 100% and use a screen capturer (IrfanView for example)