I have a Canon HV20 camcorder (the newer HV30 or 40 are also good options for the OP) which shoots HD and has great autofocus & zoom, and which was my default video camera before I got my 5DII. But over the past six months I have gotten pretty proficient shooting video with my Canon DSLR's and other than the problem of using the LCD to manually focus in bright sunlight, have gotten very good results