Cheap HD movie camera...

[slag]

Does such a thing exist? I'm looking for something ultra portable that I can take on the boat, soccer games, school programs, etc, that do a good job and don't cost an arm and a leg.

 

[Kaido]

The Kodak Zx3 Playsport camera is a pretty nice, basic HD camcorder:

http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-PlaySpor.../dp/B0030MITDK

It doesn't have a zoom, but it IS waterproof and is very portable & easy to use. And cheap - $125 right now. Check out some footage on Youtube and Vimeo to see if you like it. You can screw it onto a tripod or one of those nifty flexible Gorillapod mini-tripods:

http://www.amazon.com/Joby-GP1-D1EN-...dp/B000EVSLRO/

 

[tdawg]

I'd think you want a zoom lens for the use-cases you list. How much is "an arm and a leg" to you?

I've been more than satisfied with the performance of the Sony HDR CX150. Cost me $499 from Best Buy and produces some nice HD footage. Also includes image stablization and a 25x optical zoom, and it's very light and small for what it does.