If you want an all-in-one solution, then I can heavily recommend the Samsung VP-X300L "Miniket" camcorder
This is an MPEG4 (DivX) camera that includes a wired external lens with inline power and start/stop controls.
One wire, no battery packs, and spits out footage that matches miniDV in characteristics (For PAL: 720x576@25FPS, 4:3 1.067 PAR - does interlaced or progressive)
See
here for an example of a video made entirely with one of these.
See
here for my miniket page