1. What are you going to do with the material once you have shot it? Do you want to review it and then archive it?
If you want to archive it then you have to figure out on what medium. For example, you can get a camera that uses tape, SD Memory, some use optical disc (like mini-dvd) and others have built-in hard drives. Tape is cheapest these days. But SD Memory is probably the future. A large internal hard drive means you won't have to swap media after every game but it does mean you will have to dump all that data to your computer at some point (necessitating the need for a large hard disk in the computer as well).
My personal thought is to avoid tape at this point. I think non-linear media is the way to go now so an SD card is must in my book.
2. How important is quality?
Most manufacturers are making High Definition cameras these days but you can still buy nice Standard definition cameras as well. For your budget I would opt for a nice High Definition camera. Not only will the image be much clearer but the aspect ratios on these cameras are usually wide (and anamorphic) so you get to see much more of the field. As mentioned in another post, even if you later convert these high definition images to standard definition so that you can put them on dvds, that image can still be superior.
3. Do some research first. It might hurt for a minute but if you are gonna spend some dough on a camera get a well qualified and reviewed piece of equipment. Here are the essential links:
This is THE definitive site for camcorder reviews. You won't need another.
b. www.projectorcentral.com/home.cfm
If you are considering a projector to review your games on this is the site to use.
c. Find recommended sites to buy your camera from. There are a lot of rip off online camera sites that advertise low prices but are trying to upsell you something else. Be wary!
www.amazon.com is a pretty safe bet and usually has competitive/best pricing.
d. A few more links
For cables - www.monoprice.com
For flash memory - www.newegg.com
For general computer/parts/memory - www.pricewatch.com
Finally, I am in the process of researching a camcorder myself. I want a camcorder with a hard disk and SD memory as well and top notch quality. Based on extensive reviews the Canon VIXIA HG20 looks like a good one for me. It can be bought at Costco for ~$599.
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