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I love the idea of this thread!I Unlike other contributors to this thread, I think a lot of beginners would be open to buying a DSLR as their first camera. A lot of young folks are getting into film photography when they weren't even around when film was the only thing available (LOL)! I don't think DSLRs are much more difficult than film SLRs to operate and a lot of beginners probably have some understanding of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed through using their phones. I actually think a lot of people would want a more tactile, physical experience than using their phone, and the DSLR can provide such experience. I think one of the huge hurdles is costs, as a lot of people probably don't want to get into an expensive hobby in this post 2008, post COVID economy.
Nonetheless, I believe that this might be one of the better times to get into ILC photography even though ILC sales are down dramatically, because a lot of cameras have depreciated significantly and one can pick up a lot of good camera gear for relatively low prices. Interestingly, ILC photography has become one of the most attractive alternatives for budget conscious beginning photographers, as the price of film bodies have gone up and the price of digital bodies have come down. Also, as the OP mentioned, if one is not really interested in using the latest and greatest phone one can get by with a $200 phone and a $250 DSLR kit, at lower cost than the latest iPhone. I'm not sure about the cost of P&S cameras, but DSLRs have come down so low in price that it basically is not worth it to buy a P&S, especially with your phone available.
Pentax is quite competitive in the low price realm, mainly because it has a huge trove of vintage lenses that you can get for quite cheap. Of course, one would probably have to be open to focusing manually to get the most out of Pentax's cheap vintage lens lineup.
My suggestion for the super budget conscious would be:
Body: Pentax K10D, K20D, or K-7, or any of the semi-pro bodies that can be found for under $200. These likely have very intuitive menu and button placements and have a lot of features that newcomers will appreciate, such as a bright pentaprism viewfinder, 2 dials, SR, reliability, and WR. Note, if one is interested in getting a manual lens, it might be better to get a body that has at least some sort of rudimentary live view function, which would exclude the K10D.
Lens: 18-55 Kit lens for under $40, 55-200 kit lens for around $50-$75, and one or more manual vintage primes for under $50. Choice will likely be between any 28mm F2.8, 50mm 1.x, and one of the multiple 135mm F2.X to 3.5s. At a little more money one could choose one of the cheaper automatic primes, such as the DA 50mm F1.8, DA 35mm F2.4, and DA 40mm F2.8XS.
For a beginner who has more money, I would recommend:
Body: Pentax K-5 series and beyond, for around $200-300.
Lens: 18-135 kit for around $150-200, or 18-55 and 55-200 kit or 55-300 kit (around $100), 1 or more manual primes at around $50, or around $100-150 for automatic primes.
As photographers on a budget we will have to sacrifice some conveniences, such as AF, sharpness, ISO, and aperture. Most beginners on a budget will know this, however, and if they go with the Pentax K-5, they will have little to complain about, except for maybe AF speed. The first kit comes up around $300, and the second around $500. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with accessories so I did not include their prices, so the price of the kit will likely go up based on the accessories purchased.
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