Use the canon D10.. for all the quick shots.. good pix'ls the other I use it is the nikon D90... here you not only get to have total control but also you can do video clips... only problem I have is with the audio.. no remote mic..
their are several of the outdoors kinda that are producing some good shows such as the Motions produced by Greg Aiello, the host of the Live Well Network's Motion (
http://livewellnetwork.com/Motion/7624634) Greg used the canon D10 as well as the sony mini cam for his presentations... might want to go over and take a look at what he and his brother are producing. Today they have a bigger crew but, if you go look at the first few he put out. I was just he and his brother... with a lot of him holding the camera out at arms lenght to shoot himself hiking around. imperversation is the key. ... and you need the remote wireless mic to get good audio... as to mixing and editing.. I have seen a lot of good stuff from begin'ers that used micorsoft
movie maker or one of the others. You can really get good results without the expense of a big editor program.
For the videos we shoot ... we used the canon XL-1 hL 1s for most of the shots... but also have the XH-A1.. which we use for close in work... both can be used with remote input mics that allow you to have background audio on one chan and subject voices' as well as real time editing marks on the others. Both are very good cameras...
As to others.. we have seen most of the media ...go over to the Sony cams due to the lightness and newer chip memorys instead of the tapes which sometimes can be a pain. but, both the canon's can be output'ed in HD format.. to computer/mixer and then to DVD so you can then take those and edit them in the studio.
No matter what you get these days... it will be outdated in a few years (if that long) so if you wanted to go with just a real good little camera for snips... one such camera is the Panasonic Lumix (Panasonic FH27 Digital Camera) has a lot of features for a very low price. Can be gotten at costco but we suggest that you stay away from the cheap stores due to service... and go with a camera store like Cameta Camera where you can get good expert advise and great prices. (
www.Cameta.com)
their are others which also have good products.
As to use... one has the internet to learn from... which I highly recommend a study course in which ever mode.. still or video .. you are looking at... indeed each is similar but each has its own abilities that the other doesn't.
I recently bought my niece a D90 nikon set from the camera store listed above. It came with almost everything you would need... two lenses... as well as they are the auto stable ones.... which gets rid of the DT's (shakes/vibration) in the field... That have telephoto abilities. Price was not bad for what you got... including the case and extra bat for the camera. However, it might be a little too rich for the weekend warror who is not into more than just snips and memory shots... as the D90 will produce quality professional work. (after all if your going to go.. might as well take the best pic you can ... who knows you might even sell them later.. to help pay for the trip or new camera.)
No matter what you get.. like todays computers.. its going to take time to learn its ins-and-outs to get good results. Some people take years to get what they have in mind on the paper. (just to let you know... for every min of commercial movie one shoots... it takes an hour to set up and produce the shot.) With the advent of digital... your not shooting expensive film... although it still has its palce too... so you can shoot lots of pictures.. than pick out the ones you want... and delete the others... but, sometimes the best ones are the spur of the moment kinds... grin
Good shooting....