Looking for first DSLR for under £300 (must inc. lens)

[King Mustard]

Dad wants his first DSLR. We don't know what any of the lens terminology means.

The lowest price DSLRs from each manufacturer are:

£230 - Sony Alpha SLT-A37 (unknown lens type)
£300 - Canon EOS 1100D (DC lens)
£300 - Nikon D3100 (VR lens)

All of the above have 18-55mm lens, whatever that means.

Any suggestions? Recommendations? Comments? Alternatives?

[MotorToad]

Just what I've recommended every time someone wants a first DSLR. Craigslist. For the price of the T3 you can get a used 40D that is a much better camera. It's 10 vs. 12 MP (utterly useless difference), and lower ISO (but noisy 6400 isn't an advantage over cleaner 3200) but better in every other respect. It's a semi-pro body for less than a new below-consumer level camera.

And frequently you'll get a couple of bonus items like an extra battery, lenses, or a flash. A battery doesn't seem like much of a bonus until you price them.

[wfooshee]

Is he coming from film experience? If he's used to good cameras but wants to move from film, he might not be very excited by cameras in that price range. A deal on a used outfit might just be the best option.

If he's not an experienced photographer moving up, then any of you choices would be fine.

The lens listed is the basic "kit" lens for general purpose use. It goes from slightly wide-angle to zooming in a little bit closer than the natural eye view.

[Photo-John]

Buying used, refurbished or previous generation closeout is a great idea - especially if the photographer is moving up from a compact camera. Any somewhat recent digital SLR is going to be far better than whatever point-and-shoot they're currently using. Of course, some people just have to have new stuff, and there is some risk in buying used.

To be honest, any of the cameras you listed will be great. There are no bad digital SLRs anymore. The real issue is what system you're investing in. If the person your buying for will use this camera indefinitely and never look for an upgrade, then I buy purely by price. If a future upgrade is possible, then I'd take a closer look at the three systems. And personally, I'd go with the Sony because they are leading the way in terms of camera design right now. If I was buying my first digital SLR, I'd wanna hitch my horse to the Sony wagon.

[volks]

As Wfooshee indicated, it might be a good idea to provide this forum with your dad's past camera experience. If your dad has a very good film camera, he will in all likelihood be very disappointed with entry level type dslr cameras.
If he currently has a point and shoot digital camera, he will be pleased with all the dslr recommendations made here.

[volks]

Guess we won't know the outcome of this post