I have a Sony HD-SR12 that's about 5 years old. Overall, I've been very pleased with it. Easy to use, does everything I need it to. If I had to buy a new one though, I would get one that uses flash memory rather than a hard drive. Saves weight, and won't be sensitive to vibrations. (I needed the large capacity, and big memory cards were still quite expensive then.)
edit: Figured I should clarify about the vibration bit. The only time I've had problems with that was while filming top alcohol dragsters and funny cars. They're so loud that they were causing the stands (and tripod, and hence the camera) to shake. The camera stopped recording because it couldn't write to the drive. So, under normal use that wouldn't be an issue. 
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If you're filming plays, or activities in a noisy environment, I would definitely recommend getting a camcorder that has a mount for a directional mic. A good directional mic will cut down on wind noise and other parents but still let you capture the sounds you want to. Without one, you'll get a lot of ambient noise, especially when filming something at a distance. I've found mine to be indispensable.
A tripod is also a good purchase. Stable footage is a lot more pleasant to watch, and it lets you turn off any sort of image stabilization features in the camcorder, which just don't work as well as a tripod in my experience. Plus, you don't have to hold the cam the entire time.
Discount the "digital zoom" a lot of camcorders will list as a feature. Digital zoom cannot replace or compensate for the lack of a decent optical zoom. Given the choice between using digital zoom and walking closer to the lion I'm filming, I'd walk closer to the lion.
I haven't really looked at any new or recent camcorders because I haven't needed to, so I can't give any recommendations for specific models. Sorry.
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“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.†- Galileo
