Don't know if it's exactly what your looking for, but I bought a Sanyo Xacti VPC SH-1 last year and it's been a great little HD camera for the price. In addition to SD, it will shoot HD in 1080p@30fps, 1080i@60fps, 720p@30fps, and 720p@60fps. That last one is the mode I use, because you get 60fps and it's progressive scan. The video looks great as long as you've got medium to high light levels. If you try to shoot around dusk, it will get a bit grainy, but you said you light your set well, so it should perform very nicely for you. In low light, it will sometimes have difficulty focusing too, but under regular light conditions it's quick and responsive. The camera cost $350 when I bought it, but has since dropped to around $300 on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-VPC-SH1-Definition-Camcorder-Camera/dp/B0032UWQFM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1294770088&sr=8-1
There are a couple of extra features too. It will shoot in 300-600fps slow motion mode, though it's very low resolution. It takes 4MP still pictures, which actually look really nice (considering it's a camcorder). It saves the movie files in the .mp4 format, so if you've got a Mac you can just import these to iMovie without having to convert them. Its got a superb zoom (23x optical) in case you ever did need it. It take very wide angle video (35mm equivalent). And, it's super small; I can fit it in my jeans pocket.
One thing it lacks, and you mentioned, is an external mic jack. To me, this doesn't matter because I can record audio separately on my computer and just stick it into the video, but if you've got to have it then you better find something else. The built in mic is just OK. It does pick up a little static and it's certainly worth it to record audio separately.
Anyway, hope this helps. If you need convincing of the video quality, do a search on YouTube and you'll find a number of HD video demos taken with the camera. I watched them all before buying it myself and I have to say, you won't be disappointed!
I am looking for a camcorder that will be great for indoor use. I do light my set well so maybe a good indoor camera will not matter.
-I am looking for a camera (preferably not sony)
-Maybe a external mic jack
-something that has good macro focus
-Zoom doesn't matter much to me.
-Hopefully $300-$400.
Any questions please ask!
If you want to check out my channel it's /thelatestech/
Thanks so much!

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