Video Camera

so my parents asked me if i could get one thing this christmas what would it be? I thought about it and i would like to get a video camera. This way i can video myself poi,(ugh i so vain) as well as my all time dream.... BECOME YOUTUBE FAMOUS
but mostly i just want to video tape and document certain stuffs besides just poi. My spending limit would be between 200-300 us dollars, and i havent a clue about cameras. ive done some research and i really still dont have a clue about vid cameras. Does anyone here recommend any cameras in that area? I'd like to have good quality video, decent sound, but i want to be able to buy a mic for the camera later on and increase sound quality so my main focus would be good quality for the actual video footage.
Anyone know anything in this price range that would fit that?

yeah - adding a Mic input really limits your choice of consumer video cameras. most don't have one...

If your output requirements are youtube, you could get a digital video cam like a FlipVideo, and also get a digital audio recorder down the track like a Zoom H2 and use editing software to sync the high quality audio with the video. (use a clapper board, it will make you feel good too).

If you want to do DVDs then you want to think about getting something like this (out of your price bracket);

Sony HDR-HC7 good picture with ok mic input.
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HDR-HC7-Definition-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B000M3HVLQ

or something with 3CCDs.

If you aspire to do nice cinematic stuff, you might like to look at some of the new Nikon DSLRs which do really beautiful cinematic style video in HD (again, out of your price bracket).

New Ipod Nano is a cheap short video option - I've used one a bit and the picture is..not too bad.

Have fun!

err also if you decide to go with a 'proper' video camera - try to get something with a CMOS or 3CCDs - 1CCD picture is noticeably degraded when you are used to HD.