Suggestions for buying an HD Camera

I'm looking to purchase a new camera and I figure some of you probably shoot your own video and can offer some suggestions for a quality camera that won't break the bank.

I'll likely be limited to consumer video cameras in order to stay in my budget of around $400 (less would be better).

It does need to have HD capability and it needs remote mic hookup (two lavalier mics).

I'll be importing footage into either my IMac or MacBookPro for editing. I assume most cameras will need an SD card of some type for storage.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what else I should look for, so suggestions for features I might like or need would be appreciated as well.

I found this site which has some basic info but I'd like to hear from people who are using the cameras and then using FCP for editing since that's what I will be doing.

Thanks in advance!

dvinfo.net is one of the best resources for those looking to buy and use camcorders/DSLRs

Tape is pretty much dead so might as well live with the fact that cards are your friend.

Your choice of course depends on what you want to do with it. If its narrative films, then that makes your choice much more complex. If its home movies then go cheap. Hell, a Flip cam does great stuff for that.

Hang around the dvinfo site and then decide what you want and then start posting questions. Bottom line, is make sure FCP supports whatever you buy.

Michael Horton
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