Replying to What Camera?

1) What is your budget? How much money can you spend right away, and do you think you can get more money to invest in the future?

Not looking for something too expensive right now, maybe $300-400 but let me know if I'm being too cheap.

2) What experience do you already have with cameras? Have you ever even used one before? Have you helped your friend out with his camera? Have you owned your own?

Sony Handycam, not exactly sure which one but it doesn't record HD

2) What gear, if any, do you currently have? (tripod, old camera lenses, mics, etc)

Tripod

4) What are you planning to shoot and how do you want to use your camera? Are you going to use this with the sole purpose of shooting skiing? or do you think you might try other stuff as well (movies, documentaries, short films, etc)

No movies or anything like that, but my friends skiing, trampoline edits, things along that line

5) Do you want a camera that you can hand to your friends, that could or could not have film experience, and let them shoot you? or will you be doing all the filming?

I'd also like to be filmed, so something they can work

6) When filming skiing, how do you tend to shoot? (follow cams, leave it on record on a tripod and hike, film from a tripod, etc)

Not too much follow cam, more from a tripod

7) What computer do you currently have/use to edit (if not currently editing, what would you most likely use)?

Sony Vaio

7) What program do you currently edit on? How familiar are you with it (1- just learning; 10- I can make tutorials and know the keyboard layout)

Videopad, I'd like to get a better editing program in the future but I'd still consider myself to be more of a rookie in terms of editing