Best prosumer camcorder for $2000 /

The Sony DCR-HC1000 is a very good camcorder. Also, look at the Sony DCR-VX2100. They are both wonderful camcorders. Here is where you can see the reviews for them: www.camcorderinfo.com . Good luck!

the Panasonic AG-DVC30 and Canon GL2 are excellent options as well. I use a Sony HDR-HC1 that is no longer available... but the HVR-A1 is so you could take a look at that, as well - Low light is not that great, but a built-in infrared allows monochrome shooting in no light.

MiniDV tape is used in all - and transfered via FireWire, hence digital - to a computer with a FireWire port for editing (in your case, in Adobe Premiere).

Don't forget the tripod or monopod...

It is good you are looking for a mic-in jack. I'm fairly certain each of these cameras has a 1/8 inch stereo mic-in jack and you should consider what sort of microphones (yes, plural - depending on what your documentary is covering) you should be investigating. More on them in a momet.

If you are lucky, you have an audio person taking care of this stuff for you - if not...

Most pro-grade mics use XLR connectors - not 1/8" jacks, so you will need to look at XLR adapters as well. I use a BeachTek DXA-6... but wish I had a DXA-6vu. There are several manufacturers out there... I like BeachTek. http://www.beachtek.com/ Maybe you need more channels... I don't know...

Back to mics...

I don't know what your budget is, nor what sort of documentary work you are doing... but here goes:

A shotgun mic will allow you to be up to about 4 meters from the subject and still pick up its audio and reduce the ambient background noise (if the mic stays on the camera). Closer is better. If you are lucky and have a sound-person to be boom-operator, even better. The mic won't be stuck to the camera, and the boom person can get where ever they need to be. Sennheiser makes great shotgun mics - and they are expensive. For my requirements, I have been able to use, quite effectively, a Schreiber Acoustics SA-568. http://www.nrgresearch.com It is switchable between tele (directional) and normal (omni-directional) modes, so I can also use it for close-in interview/vocal work, too. It is a mono-mic, but that can be addressed in post production.

Most shotgun mics will come with a foam windscreen - consider getting a "zeppelin" if you are doing outside work in a breeze or windy environment. The good ones are expensive - but they do work cutting down wind noise. Boom-poles and zepellins: http://www.mklemme.com/pole/home.html Or... you *could* make a zeppelin... http://www.joelandkaren.com/mic-zeppelin/

I also have several Shure SM-58 mics. As with the SA-568, great for interview work - but as a cardioid mic, the audio (typically a person speaking or singing) needs to be very close to the mic to work correctly. They are actually better for singers in bands or PA system use. If they are too far away from the audio source, you will end up with a lot of hiss because you will need to turn up the mic gain to get useful audio levels - but with all the hiss, it becomes problematic. You do not want to use these mics on a boom-pole... handheld is OK... mic stand is OK - if the audio source is nearby...

A lavalier mic or two will also come in VERY handy. They are the tiny clip-on mics that you sometimes see on the lapel or front of the person speaking. That mic connects using a thin wire to a body pack. These come in wired and wireless forms - but in this case, wireless is good. The body pack connects wirelessly to a transceiver base station which connects with an XLR cable to the XLR adapter (which, inturn, connects to the camera's mic-in). I use a Shure wireless lavalier mic system. http://www.shure.com The little mic can clip on to clothing, be taped under a shirt (use medical tape or trim strips of moleskin so you don't pull skin off afterwards) or even placed very close to the subject - maybe even a little covertly (though they can pick up a lot of hiss, too...). An audio engineer friend uses Sennheiser lavs. They are pretty cool because the base staion is small - about the same size as the body pack. UHF is better in keeping stray signals and static out. Keeping the body pack and base station within 50 feet or so (closer is better) also helps...

I am currently investigating stereo mics... my short list currently includes the RODE NT-4, Audio-Technica AT-822 and AT-825 and Shure VP-88...

Good luck and happy filming!