i personally believe that a dvx-100a is the best bang for its buck for new filmmakers. its a tad expensive but considering your other choices in that price range it has the best picture. I think it looks the most like real film. you can find them now for about 2500$. They also just came out with a dvx100b but im not sure on the price on that yet. a really good site to learn about the dvx and other camera's is dvxuser.com...given the name of the site they are going to be a little bias. Also, remeber that camera preferance varies from filmmaker to filmmaker. so while i say dvx, some people will say XL2...the choice ends up being up to you. we can only give opinion. Oh, and dont wait for a great camera to shoot. Shoot now and shoot often. if all else fails, buy a nice commercial camera like a sony handycam or something and shoot with that until you can find the money or have time to buy a better camera.

"I believe the cinema is one of our principal forms of art. It is an incredibly powerful way to tell uplifitng stories that can move people to cry with joy and inspire them to reach for the stars."-Wes Craven