Best "pro-sumer" camera for FCP?

Hoping to find a $600-$900 camera that is Final Cut Friendly.  (I can spend more but would love not to.)
I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the websites.... Would any of you be willing to be my hero?
Brad in Denver
PS. The only thing I MUST have is:
     • external audio in.  Would love a decent zoom too. 
     • SD or Hard Drive storage
     • Great zoom would be fab.

Bubalooney wrote:
…  How does one make an inteligent decision about how much zoom is enough?  …
A professional would never ever … ok, in very rare cases use a zoom.
Why?
A Zoom is always a compromise - in quality (ok, will an amateur notice? No), and, more important, in 'speed'.
Most BigZooms offer very poor speed, starting somewhere at f3.6 and finally on long range, f8.0, f10!
Next: a tele-lens creates tons of shake! Without stabilizer, it's impossible to handle a 500mm lens. Most/many videoDSLRs do not offer staibilizers.
So, the question is: Why using a zoom at all? Why using a SuperZoom at all?
I'm usign a Pana707 - with a very strong zoom, and superb stabilizer (and using a tripod); because; i like to record the soccerr games of my son's team. I need a simple to use aka fast solution. Using the same cam indoors is nice with its 25mm, but it is really poor under low light conditions; a designated device (Canon Rebel, 35mm/f1.4.) offers much, much, much better, superb quality.-
It depends too much on your individual needs and conditions:
• a 'system cam' with interchangeablel glases could be better.
• a tiny all-in-one (like mine) could be better.
hard to give a general advice.

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