So to answer that question the first thing you need to decide is how much do you want to spend?  Equipment costs money.  If you are serious about this be prepared to start off spending between $300 and $400.  The final price tag will partially be dictated by what kind of deals you get on used equipment and what formats you go with but if you are ok with that amount then you should do fine.

Video
First read my article on "What Video Camera Should I Buy ".  That is the long answer to the short answer I am going to give you here. Basically MiniDV is the first choice.  Digital8 is the second choice.  Look for a camera with the features listed in that article.  $150 will usually get you what you need on eBay.  Digital8 can be had for sub-$100 if you are patient.  Don't waste your time with Hi8/8mm.

Photo
ANY 5.1MP+ digital camera will do.  Radio Shack always has nice cameras on sale for right around $100.  Nothing wrong with these.  eBay and Craigslist will probably net you even better deals.  Figure $100 as it is a nice round number.  I like Canon, Sony and Samsung but the choice is yours. I also prefer built-in rechargables as I feel they last longer than the AA/AAA counterparts.

Audio
Olympus has several digital voice recorders, Sony has a few and RCA has a few.  If money is no concern then IMO the Olympus WS110 is the way to go but at $50-$80 it is a bit much for a beginner. You can save a few bucks and drop down to the Olympus 4100PC for $40-$60 or you can go with my vote for "best bang for the buck" - the RCA 5120A. $35 bux and in your local Walmart.  Regardless of what recorder you get MAKE SURE it has USB functionallity.  Nothing is more annoying than having to capture audio to a PC in real time. 

Misc. Stuff
Save yourself a ton of headache and get yourself an IR light.  I use the 2 SimaSL10IR ($30) and SL20IR ($43).  The SL10IR will get the job done but spend the extra $13 and get the SL20IR .  It puts out 3x the light.  The SL20 can also be stacked - meaning you can keep adding SL20s to the array.  This ALSO means you can hang other accessory shoe devices (like the next item on the list) on your camera that only has one shoe. models - the

I also like to run a zoom mic on my camcorder.  Once again I run Sima equipment.  The MZM-1 works well and is cheap at $30.  Shop it on eBay and you can usually find it for sub-$20. 

Finally, get yourself a GOOD flashlight.  An aluminum LED light with push-button is all I use.  I have mostly Maglites but do run a few others as well.  Hit up the camping aisle at Walmart.  You can get a nice 3 LED aluminum Coleman that comes complete with a snap on red and blue filter for about $15. 

Hope that helps!