curious to see why no one has recommended the nikon d40...i picked one up for around 3400hkd with crappy bag/tripod/kit lens 18-55mm...
i've had it for abotu 3 weeks, and have learned about the basics from researching and practice.
i think it's perfectly fine/good for ppl like me- who want to have better quality pictures, and better understanding of photography....that being said...
due to nikon d40 (and many other nikons) lack of internal focus motor- the lenses i have to get are slightly more expensive (if you want auto focus). so...if i want to get a 50mm af lens f1.8, then i'm paying about 2500hkd for it. whereas my friend who has a canon (don't recall which one, but was lowest on the tiering) picked up the same lens for 900hkd..
i'm sure there are more details to it than just that, but from my preliminary research in search of better 'bokeh', i've come to realize it's going to be an expensive hobby!