That sounds very exciting! You should get some wonderful photo opportunities. As to what camera to get you have several choices. Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sony all have D-SLR models under the $600 range. They all have about the same average frame rate, about 3-4 FPS (Frames Per Second). Amount of megapixels vary a lot. The Nikon being the lowest (6mp) with Sony being the highest (10.1mp).
Low light situations can be handled by changing the ISO setting on the camera. The ISO is how sensitive the sensor is to light.
I would strongly suggest that you get an additional lens. A 300mm zoom lens will allow you to get wonderful closeup shots without getting close to your subject. It will also get you a soft DOF (Depth of Field) for that blurry background look. There is some times in store specials where you get a bundle purchase. The camera with standard lens plus the 300mm zoom lens at a price under $600.
Have a safe and fun trip!

They all have different benefits depending on the needs you have for the camcorder. If editing is important to you a MiniDV is the easiest to edit with. If you need a VERY small camcorder than the Flash based camcorders are some of the smallest made. Record lengths vary with DvD being the shortest (30mins at QH) and Hard Drive based being the longest. Quality of the video will depend on size and amount of CCDs (Video Chip) and if High Definition or Standard Definition. I use a MiniDV for my editing and a Flash Based for daily carry.

The short answer is yes you can use a camcorder bought in the US in Spain, however, play back on a TV in Spain will be a problem. There is a quite a difference between NTSC and PAL. Screen resolution..NTSC is 720x480 (4:3) vs PAL at 720x576 and frame rate of 30fps(Frames Per Second) for NTSC and 25fps for PAL. There is a conversion solution for you. You can get a USB capture system for your computer and convert your NTSC to PAL to play back on your TV. Go to www.bestbuybusiness.com and search for “PAL video” and look at your options. Some are just USB capture cables that are simple to use and should resolve your conversion issue.

Most of the Digital 8 equipment is no longer manufactured. However there are several Digital 8 deck and camcorder models still available, new and used/refurbished. Sony decks GV-D200 and GV-D800 with monitor to name a few. These can be found by Googeling “ Digital 8 vcr ” and also at Craigslist and Ebay .