I hate lugging around camcorders too. My husband bought a Flip camcorder a couple of months ago and we love it! Its the size of a small camera and will fit in your pocket. We were amazed at the quality of the video! The price is around $130, so affordable. It has a USB plug in that flips out on the side and it hooks right into your computer. I can't remember how much it holds, but we've never run out of space. The only drawback is that there is no zoom, so what you see is what you get. We tried a Kodak version this past week, but didn't see much difference. Best Buy has a 14 day return policy, you can take it home and try it out for 14 days and return it for a full refund, so the Kodak went back yesterday, just another suggestion. Hope you find what you're looking for at least you know you can try one out!