To the original poster: A low end DSLR for sure, using as animation textures, things like image grain would be a hassle for sure. In this respect DSLR stands above point and shoot by miles. As far as which one - if I were personally to do this on that specific budget, I would go for a used Minolta Maxxum 7D, with a Minolta 28-75 f/2.8. Alas, though, I am a Sony/Minolta man, other brands will have equivalent/similar offerings. With your budget, I would refrain from using it almost entirely on the camera, go for a used 6/8 MPix DSLR like a Minolta Maxxum 7D, a Nikon D70s, or a Canon Rebel XTi.

dcarrol - In the subcompact camera category, the Canon and Sony I think have the best offerings, in your price range, a Canon SD890IS could do you well. Check out the review section on this site, and Imaging-Resource.com as well for more detailed reviews and specification sheets.

Kim - you may be asking a bit too much, some of Sony's camera offerings have mic attachments that could enhance the audio recording capability, but aside from attaching a mic you really shouldn't be expecting *good* audio quality. That said, there may be some that record audio better than your present camera. You may want to look for a camera that has stereo audio recording ability, but as far as recording concerts go, I would not be expecting very much from any current digital cameras.