I work at a theater/acting school, which includes on-camera classes. Up until recently, we've been using Canon XL1S cameras, and even though it's standard definition, it's fine for the classroom. However, now my boss is expanding to shooting clips for actors to use in their demo reels, actor slates, recording theatrical productions, etc. Standard definition just won't cut it any more for what we want to present.

When I talked to my boss about updating our cameras, he says he wants to get the Canon 5DS. But this is a very expensive camera, averaging over $3000.00 in price, and we're probably going to get 3 of them! I know it's a great quality camera, but that's just a lot more than we can afford, and I think also more than we need. I want the videos to look good and professional, but most of what we're shooting will be pretty simple scenes between a small number of actors. The biggest special effect we would have is maybe some green screen every now and then.

Can you please recommend some good, professional quality, HD cameras that we can get for a lower price? Ideally, they should be compatible with an external microphone and have a headphone jack so we can monitor the sound (a feature that oddly seems to be missing from many cameras).

Lastly, my boss said he definitely wants a Canon because all the lenses should be interchangeable. Is this correct? Would his lenses for the XL1 fit a more recent Canon camera?