Need a DVD recorder...any recommendations?

From your post, it seems like you have some very simple requirements, which I think most any DVDR could meet.
Most of the DVDR's I am familiar with have built in tuners, which it sounds like, you do not need. I think they all have DV input, for your camcorder output.
All should be able to record in a format that would be able to be read by most all current(last 5? yrs.) dvd players. Note if you have a very old DVD player, like my 8? yr. old Apex, it will not read + discs of any type. For those older players - discs are more compatible. RW discs are also less compatible for older players.
I've read that Sony DVDR's tend to be more prone to copy write issues, but it you're mostly recording camcorder footage, you shouldn't have a issue even with the Sony.
I personally like the PQ of Panasonics, and think they are second to none, especially in any speed above 2hrs, up to 4hrs. Note all Panny's have tuners, but the EZ17 and EZ27 should be under your budget. The Panny's do have a few issues, mostly related to the timer recordings, which it doesn't look like will effect you. I have also had issues with 3 of my EZ series Panny's dieing within a month, with u99 errors. They all actually died during timer recordings, and maybe I just got unlucky?....hard to believe 3, but I guess I haven't heard a lot from other people saying there's died. Note in all my previous other Panny DVDR's, I have never had the u99 error. Only on the newest EZ series.

I'm sure there are many other brands out there that would meet your minimum requirements, but if PQ is a top concern, check out the Panny's, and if you could get a good deal on a new Panny es-15 or es-25(last years model), that might be your best bet. They still have the tuner, but it is analog, which you might not care about, and the es-15 I picked up this summer, I got for $99 at UE. I know the es-25 has DV input, but I'm not near my cabin's es-15 to verify. Good luck.

As someone who has tried Sony, Samsung and Panasonic recorders and found them all to be junk...I can't recommend any current recorder. As a last gasp effort to avoid paying the cable company for a dvr...I have a Philips 3575H harddrive recorder on order that should be here next week.

For your purposes it sounds like you would be better off burning dvds on your pc and then getting a good dvd player such as one of the Oppo models.

Your conclusion that most DVD recorders are junk is confirmed when reading reviews on them. I have been looking for a DVD recorder and have not been able to find anything that has a good review.