Hi. I make videos with friends ( YouTube - Ninjas at UCSD ). I have a lot of fun doing this but so far I've been making the videos on a digital camera (a crappy one I should add). So, I've decided I'd like to upgrade to a camcorder.

I know just a bit about the digital camera stuff so I'm looking for something along these lines:
Price 300-400 $ (about 150-200 £)
Nice shutter speed
Mini DV
Tripod mountable
Manual Optical Zoom
An external mic attachment is desirable but not necessary as most of what I do will have sound edited in via a computer.
It is very important that the camera be able to capture motion shots because my movies contain lots of motion.

If it matters I'll be using a Mac (mostly iMovie) to edit this stuff.

Also if anyone knows of a nice tripod that'd be great too. (I'd spend up to 100$/50£)

I realize since I'm not willing to spend that much money I can't get all the best stuff but I was hoping you guys could help me get the most for my money.