i have pinnacle 8.
i like pinnacle for capture and Vegas Studio for editing, including audio editing.
as far as your question about firewire vs. usb - i think whatever works. i have a Logitech Quickcam 4000 for talking over the internet. it's got a microphone built in.
i tried some orange micro firewire cameras a few years ago. didn't work out too well.
unibrain makes some firewire cameras. if i was going to try that interface again i think i would use one of their cameras.
Facebook
Twitter