.... I should have included this in my post (above)....
If you are thinking to buying a Canon HV cam, with the cash you have 'left over' consider buying an external mic. Canon (obviously) supply these but I would recommend getting a Rode Videomic; they sell both a mono and stereo version.
Many Canon's have an external mic jack for plugging in, unsurprisingly, an external mic.
One problem you might encounter when using a small consumer camera is shaky footage. Pro level cameras tend to have a bit of weight that means it's harder to throw them around; whereas consumer cams are effectively designed to be small and light (Joe Public likes small and light!!).
So how can you minimise the camera wobble/shake. Well....
.....when you hold a small camera (using the handstrap) it takes only a small movement of the hand to produce quite a large rotation of the video image.
More than a few years ago I watched a programme about Sam Rami (he who directed the Spiderman films). When making Evil Dead, on a tight budget, in order to film scenes when the camera flew through the forest they mounted the camera on a long board - held at each end. Why, because then it would need a large movement to produce significant rotation of the video.....
I am getting somewhere with this....so using the same principle...mount the camera on something to make it bigger - try a flash mount/handle thing (the things designed primarily for DLR/SLR cameras). This makes the camera effectively wider and also gives you a handle - so making holding the cam a two handed affair.
I know...a long post.