Camera recommendations? Laptop recommendations?

I can recommend to use this camera to make the video, popular videos are made with this camera:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004J3Y9U6/ref=as...

Also you can buy this book, about DSRL Cinema:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0240823737/ref=as...

About the camera I can say:

I recently purchased a Rebel T3 as a second camera body for shooting events professionally. (My primary camera is a Canon 5D MkII.) I am very impressed with the performance and image quality of this Rebel T3, and recommend it to anyone searching for a high quality dSLR.

Here's what is Most Impressive about the Rebel T3:

* Very light weight and easy to carry, yet Very solid design and craftsmanship

* Auto-white Balance is impressively improved over older models

* High-ISO (low light) performance is also amazing -- detail is preserved even at ISO 3200

* Tethered to a computer, this model works seamlessly and naturally

* The menus have built-in descriptions that can be enabled or disabled in accordance with the shooter's familiarity with the camera -- this is immensely useful

* Video quality is exceptional, and having a separate mode for video greatly simplifies use

* The menus are the same great Canon system that they've been perfecting and refining with each new release

* Bright and colorful LED screen

* Full compatibility with hundreds of models of lenses

Here are what I consider the compromises:

* The rear button system is a little different than the higher-end models, but almost as easy to use. I think this is a consequence of the smaller body size, mostly.

* No informational LCD. Instead the LED screen displays the information, or you see the details through the viewfinder. This is inconvenient, but again probably due to the size.

* No depth-of-field preview button

* SD memory cards only -- not CF like older Canon models.

But if you can pay more, I can recommend this Canon XA10 Professional Camcorder:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HW7DY8/ref=as...

Camera: go a bit over and get the canon SX40 IS ($400) or the t3 dslr ($500 with lens)

Computer: I can't help you, cheap pc's are VERY SLOW, even the fast ones, and they have many problems (fans, battery, ram, etc.) I have seen these for myself. You would like the camera, but Not the computer. Here is a good one for $500, it's the Lenovo G570 4334EAU

IMHO, $15 is a little much, don't you think?

under $300 camera that shoots HD video: easy

under $300 laptop that's good: hard

Really, an under $300 laptop is never going to be able to process HD video.