Replying to Camera help

I will be honest, I know nothing about camera's. I am looking to spend between 250-400. If that gets me total trash, I will spend more, but I am just looking for something half decent to take a little ski footage. It doesn't have to be top quality, just solid. Any suggestions or help will be appriciated. This may sound real dumb too, but how much of an advantage (other than a fast playback) is it to record on dvd instead of mini DV? Thanks