Advice needed - small, feature rich camcorder?

[docus]

Hello all,

I have a baby on the way, due in just 6 weeks! I want to record its precious moments for posterity, and of course to embarrass future boyfriends/girlfriends (we don't know the sex of the baby). I don't know what to get and I could use some advice!

I've never owned a camcorder, so I want something that's reasonably simple to pick up and use. But, I also want it to have features for me to 'grow into' as my understanding develops.

It needs to be compact, with an intuitive interface and good image quality. Decent battery-life would be good.

I suppose I could stretch to about £300-£400 max (around $500), but of course I'd prefer to pay less... yes, I'm a cheapskate... I don't mind getting a used one, and I suppose I'd get more bang for the buck that way.

While I'm on the subject, what video editing software should I start on? I've heard good things about OpenShot and PiTiVi.

Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks for reading!

[docus]

I forgot to add that it needs to be compatible with Linux, e.g. no weird proprietary formats that only works with its own crappy software on Windows...

Also, I'd like it to use a flashcard for memory, so that narrows things down a bit.

I'm hoping some of the creative types here on UF might be able to point me in a good direction?