Verified answer

The camcorder in that link you provided is a Sony HDR-FX1. When I bought mine it was almost $3,000. The HDR-FX1000 replaced it last year is still about $3,000. Neither are pro-grade. The lenses and imaging chips are right - but their pro grade siblings (Sony HVR-Z1 and HVR-Z5) use XLR connections and deal with DVCAM - as well as DV and HDV format video.

I won't say you will not find a camcorder in this class for less than $3,000, but chances are pretty slim - and I would be VERY careful of anyone selling at such a discounted price. If it is too good to be true - it probably is.

The closest I can get you is the Sony HDR-FX7 prosumer cam. New, they are closer to $2,000.

Just in case - All these camcorders are miniDV tape based - that means your computer needs a working firewire port. You will need to connect a firewire cable to the camcorder's DV port and the computer's firewire port. There is no way to transfer HDV (or DV) format video over USB. Standard definition DV format video uses nearly 14 gig of computer hard drive space per hour of imported video. High definition HDV format video uses about 44 gig of computer hard drive space per hour of imported video. And your video editor needs to be able to deal with HDV format video.