I would recommend a Flip or a DSLR.

Seriously, invest the money in the high-speed, high-capacity memory cards, instead, and maybe a Zoom H1 or H2 to bring your audio quality up a few notches. Maybe spend some money on the rigging that turns your SLR into something more camera-shaped.

Any other camera around that price-point is going to have some serious shortcomings -- often a rolling shutter that turns mild shakey-cam into nausea-inducing jellovision, or onboard audio that leaves pretty much everything to be desired. Also, you're still going to have to spend money on high-speed and high-capacity memory cards, unless you're considering actually writing to tape. (Do people still do that??)

If you're looking for more than that, I like Canon, Panasonic and Sony as brands, but you're still stuck with the memory issue. Many of the better Panasonic cameras, for example, take their own special 'P2' cards, which START at $300.