Definately go digital. You'll wind up with a better quality image when you're done editing and compressing it. I'd suggest a mini DV vs one that records onto a DVD, as they tolerate vibration better. You'll get a much better image recording through the camera directly vs through a lipstick remote as well. Look for 3CCDs or something equivalent if you can afford the upgrade. If having a remote on/off is useful, look for one with a LANC jack. I haven't looked too much at this site, but it looks useful:
www.camcorderinfo.com