iv got a mini dv camcorder, i got it in a sale for 450 quid, then some dv for about 20, a carry case and something else. came to £500. youll also need a firewire card for your pc, about 20-25 quid from the right place. then after you get bored of windows sh*tty movie maker you can get pinnacle studio 8 for good editing. iv recently got this so id copy it if need be. its expensive but its worth it for all the memories you can save of various things, youll need a big hard drive though.
craggy