What is your price range??
How much zoom do you need??
Dvd camcorders record on mini-dvds. They are small cams, easy to use. The higher end ones have very good picture quality and do well in low light. Once you are done filming, you can pop the dvd into your dvd player and watch. (Or you can hook it up to your tv directly.)
Mini-dv records on tapes. Most are small, easy to use. Most will do well in good light, some will do well in low light.
Once you are done filming, you can plug into your tv to watch. You can plug into computer with firewire and watch/edit on computer.
You can edit mini-dvd footage with computer, but there are not as many options.