Looking for a camcoder, any recommendations?

[coolred]

I have a 4 month old son, that will soon be doing all the things that you want to capture forever(first steps, stuff like that) and my girlfriends said we need a camcorder. I was wondering what exactly digital camcorders do that regular ones don't? As you can see I am new to this scene so any help is appreciated. I know they can be connected to the computer for editing and stuff, and that is a decent plus, so I may be considering going digital with this. As I said any infois appreciated as well as suggestions for what to get. We are a young family with not a lot to spend, so try to keep it under 1000.00 dollars, that even may be higher that what I can go, but LMK what you got? I read in another thread that digital camcorders don't take good stills, so if i want good pictures then I need a seperate camera?

 

[Dewey]

I recently purchased the Sony TRV30 online. It's a digital camcorder. The unit stores the images digitally on tape. I can transfer the information via firewire to my desktop PC (you have to buy the firewire card/software for $100). On your PC you can edit the scenes and add text or sound. When you are done you can create MPEG movies or transfer them back to the camcorder. It's pretty nice. I'm still new to this, but I can see the advantage of being able to edit the tapes and organize the information.

 

[coolred]

Yeah the editing abilities is what is making me lean towards digital. I am thinking of getting an AIW radeon8500DV, so they will get me the firewire. How much did you pay for that camcorder and is it worth it?