As others have stated make sure to get a GREAT optical zoom. The digital zoom numbers like 400X are absolutely worthless but if you see and optical zoom over 10x you are getting warm. I like Sony stuff but I don't think their Digital 8 is going to last as a format. It has no advantages over Mini DV. The only reason to stick with the 8mm tapes is if you already have some from a previous camera and want backwards compatibility. Sony has some Mini DV camcorders out now in the $800 range that look good.

I personally have a cheap Sharp VL-WD450 Mini DV camcorder that has worked out great. I couldn't pass up the 26x optical zoom and it works as advertised.