Thinking about a digital camcorder

[r3claim3r]

Well, my 5-year anniversary with my wife is in a little over a month (with her birthday just eight days after that), and I've been chewing on the idea of getting her a digital camcorder. We've lightly talked about it that this should be done before we start having kids. I'm not sure I'm gonna get it for her, but here goes:

I'm pretty n00bish when it comes to this type of thing. I've heard a few things here and there like DV-tape format is better than mini DVD-R because mini-DVD-Rs will hold only 30 minutes of video. A few even have an actual hard drive--which is great as long as the rest of the camcorder itself is good, too.

I don't want to spend over $1000 on this and perhaps significantly less if I can get away with it.

What format should I get?

What features should I look for?

What brand would be best?

Where should I buy this thing?

Any camcorder gurus please feel free to impart your wisdom upon me. And if you're wondering, no we don't have any HDTVs.