Buying a video camera and software

[Zok]

So I'm looking to spend about 500 bucks on a video camera. I want something that will shoot HD video. I also want something with decent sound quality on the camera itself and the ability to place (multiple?) mics on people for filming in noisy conditions.

At the store, I saw lots of cameras with built in harddrives - is there any advantage to that? How many GB is necessary for a good day's worth of filming? If they've got a hard drive built in, can they also use external memory (like flash media)? What about DVD and tape storage?

I'm also looking to get some decent video editing software. I've got a macbook (not a pro) which I'd likely be doing most of the editing on. I don't need anything sophisticated - just the ability to arrange clips, blur portions of the screen, and add subtitles.

So I'd love to hear some suggestions from people who have bought cameras recently.

[Cegstar]

I was basically going say the same thing. There are other cameras on the site as well. You have to be fairly concerned that the camera will be compatible with your Mac.

[LSA King]

Not sure about the advantage or disadvantage on the Hard drive vs removable format. My buddy had the Sony HD Video Camera that he paid $1,200 (now less then half that) a couple of years ago and that shit was extremely nice. You don't have to spend more then $400 for a good HD video recorder pretty much any will do. My sister had a $250 one from Panasonic that was amazing.

I'd say spend every penny on the recorder and extra equipment you need. As far as the software goes I know the shit that comes with Mac's is pretty good. My sister uses it for extensive music/video editing and its pretty damn decent. You don't need to spend $100 buying the same shit that comes with Windows/OSX operating systems they are really just a waste for a few added features.

However if you are serious about it go nothing short but Final Cut Studio 3 or 4. I can get it for you for free but just think Hollywood uses that exact software for all movies they create. Watched that on some documentary lol. So basically doesn't get much better then that and I could help you get that.