Looking for a minidv with 1394, external mic...

[Haopengyou]

I am looking for a mini dv camcorder with 1394 port, external microphone jack, user adjustable white balance and color correction, optical zoom with at least 20x, wind screen on the mic, image stabilizer. These are musts. My budget is limited to $300 - I am willing to look at used and refurbished equipment.

Would be very nice to have: both ntsc and pal playback capabilities; HD (yes, dream on, but I have seen some used HD camcorders for about $300).

I am not sure about the on camera flash...what I have read about most of them is that they produce rather poor results, although they let you see the person/object being filmed more clearly.

1. Is there a webpage I can use to find my dream camera?
2. In addition to normal candid stuff, I will be doing a lot of filming of teenagers in group activities, as well as drama events they put on. Is there anything else that would be helpful for me to consider?

[aedipuss]

if it were me i'd try to get a decent used canon gl2. no idea what they sell for currently.

[edDV]

Canon GL's or Sony VX/PD.

For audio, you really need manaul audio level control, not AGC. Three sub $1000 list cams had most of your needs

Panasonic PV-GS400
Sony HVR-HC1 (HDV/DV)... later HC models gutted manual controls
Canon HV20/30/40 (HDV/DV)

I's go for a used Canon HV20 @ ~$400-499 "buy it now" on eBay