have a client that wants to do a doc on his parents. but basically wants to have camera setup in their living room and they will turn it on at random times to record interesting stories that they want to tell. at end of this timeframe I will be editing it for them.
would be much easier to put a lav mic on them, wired. im obviously not going to leave my ex1r there, so client would like me to help him buy a camera.
whats the bare minimum on decent hd cams with xlrs on them? cheapest ive seen are the canon xa20s.but those are 2200.00, doubt he would want to spend that much

anysuggestions?

Canon R300 with a RODE Video Mic Pro would work well in this situation. Less than $600.

I used the Panasonic HDC-v720 for something like this. It has an external mic input. It also tracks faces for focus and optionally exposure. Also, it has a partial Auto mode so you can lock down some things but let the automatics handle others. The long life battery isn't yet shipping however.