Welcome to filmmaking.net!

In the $1,000 and under range all cameras are pretty much the same.
A Sony is like a Sharp is like a Canon is like a Panasonic is like Samsung.
You can go to any Best Buy, pick up the first camera in that price range
you see and you won?t be able to tell the difference.

There are three things that are VERY important when getting a camera:

Three CCD?s
Manual controls for the iris, shutter, focus and white balance.
A microphone input.

In the $1,000 - $1,500 range:

The JVC GZ-MG505 is in the $800 range. It has a mic input and
records to a 30GB HHD, but the MPEG-2 video is highly compressed
making editing a real frustration.

I like the new JVC GZ-HD7. I?ve seen these on line for as little as $1,200.
A really nice Fujinon lens makes a huge difference and full manual
controls is important. Three 1/5? 16:9 progressive scan CCD?s are
pretty impressive for a camera in this price range. It records directly
to a built in 60GB hard drive. It has manual controls, a mic input and
an excellent focus ring which is surprisingly rare on small cameras.

Both the JVC HD5 and HD6 have a mic input and both record to
HDD - the HD6 can record 1080/60p through HDMI - pretty impressive.

The Panasonic PV-GS400 is terrific 3CCD cameras. Unfortunately, it?s
hard to find and that?s too bad. It?s a great little camera. The 500 doesn?t
have a mic input - what are they thinking?

Sony DCR-HC1000 is very similar to the Panasonic cameras. If you?re
more comfortable with Sony, this is the camera for you.

Close is the Canon HV20. It records in HDV (1080i) and 24p (60i),
has a mic input and manual controls of white balance and focus but
it uses one 1/2.7? CMOS sensor rather than 3 CCD?s. But it?s so
small the handling is difficult.

The HV30 adds a 30f (Canon?s ?frame mode?) in addition to 24p.

The Sony HDR-SR12 has a mic input and a good sized 120GB HDD.
It uses a 1/3? CMOS chip and like the Canon is really small.
Because of the input placement, the mic cable kept getting in my way.

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Thank you so much Instigator, and sorry for a late response. I've done some research on camcorders and found this jewel. Canon HV20 MiniDV, what do you think of it? Reviews tell that it has great HD picture quality and its pricing is reasonable. Is it better than rest of cameras in its price range?

My thoughts on that camera are right here in my post.

I don't think it's better and it's so small I found handling it difficult. I don't
like the lens as much as the Fujinon on the JVC's. But as I mentioned in
my post it has the essentials. Any of the cameras I mentioned are going
to be just fine.

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Thanks for you help, I think I will go with the HV20. You are right, its a bit small but its the only HD camera with reasonable pricing.