Maybe. The thing about digital cameras is the cheap ones use a really crappy CCD and you're almost better off with a VHS tape, as the CCD is noisy, especially indoors or in low light, which where most people shoot (indoors is low light, always).
Panasonic and Canon make the best DV cameras. Panasonic is more expensive, but has 3-CCD lenses. Canon is a bit lower cost, and uses a 1-CCD lens with a special color filter system (DiGIC). My mother and father each have a Canon, and those are just wonderful cameras. They can even double as pass-through capture devices. I'm truly impressed by their quality, even in low light. My mother has the ZR90, I helped her pick it out two years ago, did a lot of research and in-hand testing of cameras at the time.
Be sure to pay attention to OPTICAL ZOOM on a camera, not digital zoom. Optical zoom is true zoom, gets you closer, digital zoom is just doubling pixels, and doesn't look very good. After 2x-4x or so worth of digital zoom, it's all blocky.
Buy a digital video camera in stores. The Internet is full of "good prices" that are scams on digital cameras. They take forever, or refuse to sell to you if you don't buy their "special" package that doubles the price of the unit. Many charge for the camera, but don't send you the box or batteries or anything, raping you if you try to buy them later. The only worthy online camera vendor is somebody you can trust like
bhphotovideo.com, maybe. I just assume run to Best Buy or Circuit City or wherever.
It looks like the Canon ZR200 is $350 at Best Buy. I'd say to spend as much as you can on a nice Canon ZR-series unit.
And remember to buy a camera to be a camera. Not a walkman or digital camera or telephone or whatever. Just a good camera that is supposed to be a camera. I strongly suggest taking a good hard look at the Canons. I want to buy one myself in due time.
