Advice: Best choice for overland trip video recording?

[lostworldexpedition]

I will refine the question:

In order to create internet quality video content (in other words no 1080 quality needed) what would be the best budget option: a good point and shoot, a Flip Mino style dedicated camcorder, a higher end camcorder dedicated for mounting (such as the Hero), or a true camcorder?

More info: the camera will be used for filming from a moving truck, for interviews, for short instructional (non professional) clips, etc.

I know this sounds like a rather convoluted and perhaps vague question, but my budget restricts what I can purchase. We have made fairly decent videos with our Lumix point and shoot, but it is not quite there (it is also a 4 year old camera and I think things have changed).

Any ideas? Suggestions, or if you need more explicit background info for the question.

Please.

 

[1leglance]

I am running 2 cameras:
1) a Canon HV20 which is HD and uses tape, has a shotgun mic and is big compared to some of the stuff out there, the tape makes a nice backup but the download and processing time is longer compared to other options
2) Kodiak Zi8 which is like the Flip, shoots HD, has a 32gb card, can use an external mic like the shotgun or wireless lapel mic, however it does NOT like vibration and is terrible at panning or walking or being placed on the vehicle offroad. Also you have to do a lens mod to get any sort of pratical wide angel or up close work like what we want to do.

I love the ease of download with the Kodak and will look into hard drive or mem card style cameras in the future. I plan to do the lens mod on the Kodak soon and will report on that.

Honestly the best stuff I have seen has been by Ben Edmonson (post here on expo under that name and works with equipt now) as his Canon still camera can also shoot HD video. This gives him is full range of lenes and he can also use external mic setups.
You can go to youtube and look up DisabledExplorers to see our into video which is mostly shot with his camera. Youtube even in HD does not do the quality justice.

 

[Shagaroo]

Kodak. Zi8 or Playsport. Zi8 has more options, like an external mic jack, but the Playsport can take a beating and is waterproof to 10 feet. Both HD. On my Playsport, if I turn off the electronic image stabilization and mount it solid on the dash it gives a pretty good driving video. Both have mem cards, rechargeable batteries.