video equipment

Im looking to start shooting some vids, what's the best beginner camera/editing software?

Anything!
when you're starting a little handheld and moviemaker is all you need!
Its not necessarily about the quality as much as getting something out there!

I got a Flip HD for Christmas and just got a waterproof case for it. Its nothing really special, but its fun and really easy to use. This is my first video I have made with it from this past weekend.
All the editing was done on Flips software.

Yeah, it's hilarious to me when I hear about a guy in your situation goes out and drops a ton of money on things like cameras and software and computers. If you're just starting out, just go to Wal- Mart and buy a cheap Canon or a Sony (even the cheap ones are pretty nice compared to just a few years ago and a lot of pretty inexpensive ones shoot HD). And depending on your computer, there are tons of inexpensive options for simple editing. It won't be the same as shooting with a Panasonic HVX and editing with Final Cut Pro or Avid on a tricked out Mac Pro, but if you're just starting out, you won't even know the difference anyway.

It's better to start small and upgrade as you go. Because you never know, you might find that you don't have as much time to shoot and edit as you thought you would or you might just not like it as much as you thought you would.

Oh yeah, and if you're a student, you should milk that for all it's worth. I can't stress that enough; being a student makes learning stuff like this so much easier. See if you can take a class that would allow you access to the school's equipment for you to learn on. And a lot of manufactuers like Apple and Adobe offer student discounts on software. It's not a giant discount by any means, but every little bit helps, right?