Camcorder under $2000

You say you have little experience with video so going for a "professional" camera at this stage would not be beneficial.
I would go for a "point and shoot" camera that will look after itself with regard to aperture, focus and shutter speed.
Look at the Canon and Panasonic range. All the high end cameras video in HD and most record to SD cards.
You may also consider, in your budget, an editing suite for your PC, a tripod, LED lighting and a remote microphone.(for interviews) In my opinion Canon and Panasonic are more "global" in their choice of extras (such as SD cards) whereas Sony tends to stick to its own methods of doing things.
Your comment about lenses. Again most cameras have a good optical zoom range and some digital zoom (I do not use this as it degrades the picture by using only the centre of the CCD so less pixels) For example my camera has a 46x (optical), 60x and a 1500x zoom (optical & digital) The high end Panasonic use Leica lenses. Another factor is that in general the larger the lens diameter the better the performance in low light conditions.

The editing suite will allow you to record to DVD in SD or Blu-Ray provided your PC is kitted out with the correct DVD burners.

My kit is a Panasonic HC-V700 (now replaced with the 720) If you go Panasonic look at the 920. VideoStudio Pro X6 editing suite on a high spec PC (quad core chip, 8Gb memory etc.), Velbon tripod, 106 bulb LED light and a stereo condenser mic in a 15 ft. lead.
Make sure your choice of camera has a plug-in for a remote mic and a socket for headphones.

means a few things... look to those who do similar work, i.e., electronic news gathering (ENG).

The camcorders used have large lens diameter and imaging chip system. The large lens diameter allows light in for processing, the imaging chip system (3CCD or 3CMOS) processes the light. Because they are large, their lighting "window of opportunity" is much larger than those with smaller lenses and imaging chip systems.

I agree with terfyn that audio input and headphone jacks are important.

As far as I know, camcorders under about $8,000 come with a built-in fixed lens. Add-on lenses are available, but not required. The exception to this is the Sony NEX-VG series. There is no equivalent Canon camcorder in the $ range you state that uses an interchangeable lens system like the Sony NEX-VG series.

If you are considering a dSLR to capture video (hence your reference to "a bunch of lenses"), be advised that while they can capture great video, they are not designed to be used as a camcorder. Reading through the manual of most dSLRs capable of capturing video, there are warnings about file length limitations and overheating during prolonged video capture times. Neither of these are issues with camcorders. And referencing the fist line in this reply, very few ENG users use a dSLR to capture video. You probably don't need a big shoulder mount camera - but something in-between... and more likely camcorder rather than dSLR.

As well, if your plan is to use the video capture device to also capture the audio for the final product, I am not aware of any dSLR with manual audio gain controls on the outside of the camera. But on the higher end (i.e., prosumer) range of consumer camcorders, this is common. For external audio gain control on a dSLR, that means adding an XLR adapter (juicedLink and Beachtek among a few others).

All image capture devices can do a great job when used within their design parameters. The manufacturers don't do a very good job at identifying the difference between a $200 consumer camcorder, $1,000 dSLR or $2,000+ camcorder... reading their marketing material, one gets the impression that all cameras behave equally well under all environmental and use conditions. This just not the case.

Don't get me wrong - dSLRs can capture great video when that secondary "convenience feature" is used properly. I am merely saying they cannot be used as a replacement for a camcorder that can record video for as long as there is power and storage available.

We don't know if your budget includes lighting, mics, external audio recorder, tripod or other steadying devices, optional high capacity batteries from the camcorder manufacturer, cases, computer hardware/software upgrade to edit the captured video, and lot more... Once we know what your budget includes, we can start making recommendations.