Sony A390? Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS? Nikon D3000? - 1

Which SLR camera is best for beginners who want to get into photography as a life time hobby, not as a career. Thats also easy to use and has really good quality. Also, if there's a better camera for no more then 500-600 dollars, please suggest it: D

I only recommend what I own and know. I happen to own an XS. I've had mine for well over a year with excellent results. Nikon makes excellent equipment - I just happen to prefer Canon over Nikon.

Good quality, yes. Like this.

A390… Not bad for a sony but it's a sony. The rest of your selection, well, here's my take on the market.

At the moment there's some very good entry level model DSLR on the market. One of the main distinctions is high iso performace, the ability to produce clean, crisp images in low light without flash.

Olympus E-420/450. Being sold in a double zoom kit for truely incredible prices. It's high iso performance is about average. If you're looking for a good camera with excellent lenses that does it all this may be for you. From all the brands olympus has about the smallest selection of extra lenses. If you are even considering birding or wildlife avoid olympus, their long telelens lineup is almost non-existent and 3rd party offerings are scarce.

Pentax K-x: Winner of a few awards. Only DSLR that runs on AA batteries which means you need to exercise some discipline in charging and handling them. Can use simple Alkaline batteries in emergencies. Won a few awards, got good reviews. Pentax' lens lineup is better than that of olympus.

Sony A33/A55: Looks very impressive on paper, especially with it's 10fps. Perhaps the best video autofocus on the market today. The electronic viewfinder (yes, a DSLR with an electronic viewfinder!) is not to everyone's liking. It does delay slightly and it's a significant battery drain. With a mere 330 photos per battery charge it's by far the weakest in that respect.

Canon 1000d/Rebel XS
An entry level model dating back to 2008. Basically a 400d/Rebel Xti with some features removed in an attempt to compete with the baby nikons. There's finally a replacement, the T3/1100D which addresses most of the issues. Good lens lineup.

Canon 600D/Rebel T3i
Basically a tweaked 550d/T2i. Some extra features in the scene modes mainly aimed at beginners, a fold-out screen, slightly better grip and a wireless flash controller.

Canon 550d/Rebel T2i
Canon's entry level camera. Quite a capable camera but it continues the long Rebel tradition of putting a very good sensor in a plasticky body with some rather poor controls. Still offers the best video of any entry level DSLR and enough megapixels to impress all of your gullible friends

Canon 500d/Rebel T1i
If you're not interested in video you can buy this instead of the 550/T2i and save yourself a few bucks

Nikon D3000
Critized by many for reusing the old D40x/D60 sensor which means mediocre high iso performance. Despite that it's still a lot of camera on other points. Controls and handling are generally perceived to be better than Canon's xxxd/Rebel series. Only takes nikon AF-S, Sigma HSM or Tamron BiM lenses for autofocus.

Nikon D3100
Fixes everything that was wrong with the D3000 and then some! Most impressive entry level DSLR released in 2010. Truely impressive high iso performance. Comes extremely close to beating the 550d/Rebel T2i on video but it's more affordable. Nice built-in guide mode to help handhold the beginner who doesn't want to read the manual. Only takes nikon AF-S, Sigma HSM or Tamron BiM lenses for autofocus.

I would advice any beginner to make a short list of this selection, go to a real shop and handle a few, see which one feels best in your hands and which one has controls that work the most instinctive to you.

What else to buy?
Unless you have any very specific purposes in mind I'd advice you to start with a single lens and gain some experience before buying more. Do buy a memory card (with SD cards any class 6 is fine, start with 8gb and add cards later), a lens pen or microfiber cloth, a rocket blower and some sort of protective bag.

Buy either of these:
Canon XS aka Canon 1000D
Canon T3 aka Canon 1100D (yet to be launched)
Nikon D3100