night vision? Are you doing special ops?
Given your strong desire for certain features, I'm hesitant to recommend anything in particular. What do you want to spend, what do you want to shoot, and what are your absolute "must haves"?
This site is decent:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/
I am probably going to buy a Canon HV20 as I'm switching over to HD cameras for everything. I have a Canon XH-A1 for work and it is quite good...even when I shoot SD.
I do not care for the ones that shoot on a card yet (AVCHD), and still prefer tape...unless you're talking a Panasonic's P2 system. But those are still very expensive.
For SD cameras, my Panasonic 3CCD has been damn near flawless, and I've used it in available light to get b-roll alongside the XH-A1 and it holds its own. In general I like the look of 3CCD cameras better, but some of them do have low light issues (especially in HD). I've never been impressed with JVC offerings, and in general, I stay away from Sony these days. It is more philosophical than technical though. They have some well reviewed HD cameras on the consumer end.