Computers, camcorders, editing oh my!

[Scarecrow]

What would be a good computer to look into if I wanted to use it generally for uploading film from a camcorder and editing em?

Now I've never done anything like this but its something I've always wanted to do... so I also don't have any clue what a good camcorder would be that has decent-excellent picture and lets you edit your stuff easily. I know some camcorders are nice for like a family get-together but wont let you edit your footage very well.

Also, I would like a decent editing software...

Now this is just for fun, its just a hobby I'd like to pick up, I've always wanted to do and interested in and I have a bit of money saved up and would like to get the best without going overboard but not being a total cheapskate. I'd say money is no option here but I know there are nice cameras for like 3,000 and while I could afford it I really don't think I need a camera that expensive. Especially for a newb XD.

I've hear macs are the best for this type of stuff. But I really don't know anythign about macs, I've only used windows.

Oh and 1 last thing, I would prefer a laptop as long as it worked just as well and was capable of doing everything I would like to do. Would this be possible or should I just stick to a regular desktop computer?

So if anyone could help me out a wee bit it would help if you could tell me what to look for in a new computer for this type of stuff, camera, and editing software, I'd appreciate it. Cause Ireally don't have an idea where to start or what to look for. I just remeber tyring to find a decent web cam and I had to take back like 3 before I finally got one that was decent for what I wanted to do and I'd rather be a little bit more knowledgeable before just buying the first things I see...

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Depends on how much film editing we're looking at. If you're going to be doing it a lot, I suggest investing in a Mac. Seriously, the differences between the two systems are minimal when it comes to user-interaction, and it's way more user friendly than Windows. So saying that you're not used to a Mac means jack-squat because it's real easy to learn. =p

Along with a mac, look into Final Cut Pro. It's expensive but well worth the price, but even iMovie (Which comes free with a Mac) can do some basic editing.

For Windows, Adobe Premiere would be a useful program. Windows Movie Maker is pretty basic (but worse than iMovie) and can also do some simple editing.

[Mithrandir]

There are a few people who do a lot of video editing at the college work, and they use the Macintosh platform exclusively. Also, the classes teach video editing on Macs.

[Scarecrow]

Final cut pro looks nice... a lot more than I was hoping to pay but wow... super sexy. Ya I have my computer picked out but I think I'm going to wait before I actually get final cut. I just wanna try out the imovie stuff first. And see how much I'm actually going to be using it... that is WAY more than I was expecting.

Umm the only thing I need now is a camera XD Anyone know what I should look for when buying one? I know anything from Sony is a no-no but thats about it (Sony incompatible with macs). I remember last time I tried to get a web cam I had to take back 2 or 3 different cams till I finally got one that had the picture quality and worked well for what I wanted to do (I was into stop-motion at the time...)