It's for a friend of mine, which is studying cinema and would like to buy a reflex camera to practice with all the settings and learn something. For the record, buying an equivalent videocamera would be completely out of budget, plus his school has a few of them and it's something you generally rent at the beginning.
Anyway, his top budget would be around 1.000 €, but I'm advicing him to lower it sensibly. First of all, he doesn't have a decent laptop (G4 iBook, about to die) and he will leave for London for the next three months.
He is also a beginner with reflex cameras, so my advice was to buy an entry level or so, and to get a laptop as well.
He doesn't want to buy something he'd eventually need to replace too soon, but on th other hand we both know by the time he will properly know how to use a mroe expensive camera, it would be either depreciated or not useful for him anymore.
There are few Nikon D90s with 18-55 and 55-200 lenses for about 1.000 €, while starting from tomorrow there will be an offer on a local store for a Canon 1000D for 350 €. The Nikon D3000 would be a little more expensive, and kits with a 55-200 lenses would reach the 500/600 € mark.
I'd personally go for the Canon, perhaps with the 55-200 too.
Thoughts, suggestions?