Gopro's are not a bad option for just wanting to get out and film. Not my variation in terms of manual options, but without the case with something to stabilize it and a little shotgun mic you've got a pretty decent little camera for sub $500 bucks. The new 3 is pretty damn amazing for just being a little box.
I mean shiiit looks how pretty these flowers are
Not the best camera to compair it with but the quality isn't shabby
Plus you can get into plug-ins and firmwear updates to really dial it in.
Anything else (unless your willing to try tapes) videocamera and dslr is going to be at least $800 used for a basic kit. Trying looking for old Cannon T2i, they've got to be relatively cheap by now. Plus, you can upgrade lenses on that to bump your quality.
Hope that helped