I need some recommendations

With regard to the sony digital camera, have you tried looking for a manual?

I was surprised to find mine has sound. It doesn't have an input though.

The GOOD news is that mine is several years old, has about 4 times the pixels as the one I wanted(from a few years earlier), and cost 1/5th the price. So you OUGHT to be able to get a VERY nice camera for <$200. CAREFUL about frame rate, storage medium, battery, and pixels.

Framerate should, be 30+. This might give a slight flicker. The lower the rate, the more flicker you can get. Americans are very use to a 60hz flicker, so any framerate at or over 60hz will appear to have no flicker.

Pixels should be over 8MP. The higher they are, the better digital zoom works, and the larger and clearer the picture can be.

Medium should be SDHC 8GB+, preferrably MINI SDHC, but MICROSDHC is ok, SDHC is THE standard. It is ALL OVER! You can get it almost anywhere in the US. MICRO is the latest format, but more limited than MINI, the older format. But there are MINI->MICRO converters so MINI capable devices can transparently handle MICRO. The reverse is not true. The more memory you have, the longer, more detailed, and audio laden, movie you can have. I think memory cards for cameras WERE the first on the market, and there ARE several standards. I WOULD suggest them, due to size and shape, but they just AREN'T real standards. You may have trouble getting them. If you need an SDHC card at 12am on a sunday, you could go to a gas station, walgreens, cvs, etc... and just buy one.

BATTERY should be a popular rechargeable size, and be able to power the camera full bore for better than 10 minutes. Some companies build the battery into the camera. If the battery dies, you have a paperweight. 10 minutes is probably like the MINIMUM. MORE pixels, frames, sound, etc... means more power needed. Don't be fooled into the mAh measurements, etc... Bigger IS better, but a 600mAh battery in ONE camera may be better than a 1000mAh battery in ANOTHER camera. But in the SAME camera, bigger is better.

You should have optical zoom. In theory, optical zoom is INFINITE! If you have 10000:1 optical zoom, things will appear 10000 times bigger with NO loss in clarity. DIGITAL zoom has a DEFINITE limit. It depends on method, and the pixels in the source image, but even a 4:1 zoom could start to degrade. Of course, optical may require moving parts, and is more expensive. Nearly ALL cameras have digital zoom, since it is CHEAP. Some ALSO have optical. Remember, OPTICAL is better than digital. If you want to take quality far off pictures of wildlife, etc... It is worth it to pay more for optical. And a bigger ratio is always better, but digital is limited, and optical is not, so a 5:1 optical may be better than a 10:1 PURE digital zoom.

As for quality? The fewer moving parts, the better. Optical zoom cameras, ESPECIALLY THIN ones, ARE likely to have moving parts. MY camera grows to about TWICE its width, when powered up, to focus the lens. It is a compromise for size and picture quality. It DOES mean it should be treated more gently though.on amazon, the camera I pointed out got 6 GREAT reviews, but one bad one. The bad one mentioned a failure to control the power, failure to close the lens fully, and inconsistent flash. ALL could be explained by a damaged focusing mechanism. If the camera were turned on with resistance on the lens, it could be damaged and give ALL those symptoms. That is just a common failing. There is no real way to prevent it.

These are only SOME concerns, but I tried to quantify them, and explain them.

Steve