Camcorders

[Guest Tech]

im a total n00b at this. I cant even find a decent internet forum for camcorder's discussion! there were a couple but very inactive, so thought well why not ask here?

I am looking to purchase a camcorder. preferably SDcard or HDD based,

Budget? The lower the better. not looking for HD.

What I want to know is:

which camcorders allow you to adjust the microphone volume? And is there such a thing? For example if you are at a concert, of course they play full blast, but to make it not distort when recording, simply set the volume to the lowest possible - it works like a charm.

this will also be used at night, so ideally it should do reasonably well at night time.

Which camcorders can you recommend personally and why?

I really need to purchase one ideally this week or beginning of next

thanks folks!