Video Cameras... Too many options?

[Phester]

Now that I have a kid - I've finally decided to break down and buy a video camera....

But video cameras are a lot different from when I used to make home movies with friends with the cameras that used VHS and sat on your shoulder.

Priorities are great quality, usability and portability... Budget around $750-1k.

But there seem to be SOOO many choices... Video Cameras that write to small DV tapes, hard drives, and those that burn right to DVD. "Mini DV, Hard drive, High Def, DVD, VHS-C Hi 8" - are the categories on best buy.com.... What is best? what has the best quality? Does using the tapes mean you cannot move to a computer to burn to DVD? Are hard drives good?

I am completely clueless here and would love some help...

Any input would be appreciated... Thanks!