Agreed, if you want "cheap" then buy second hand.

But you might say you "don't care if it is a bad camera" but it really does make a huge difference! And you will get quickly frustrated by very poor high ISO performance, low resolution, and low dynamic range. 

What I'd suggest is get a Nikon D90. It has a semi pro camera body build, which makes it very nice to operate. Especially as it has a built in focus motor! (which low end bodies do not have) This allows you to use older and cheap lenses. 

Additionally D90's 12 megapixel sensor is not the highest resolution, but 12 megapixels is very usable starting point for amateur use and is the minimum I'd suggest. Ditto is dynamic range and high ISO performance, it is far from as great as say a D750 would be, but the D90 at least reaches a very serviceable "minimum necessary" for somebody starting out with some generous room for growth.

So in short, the D90 is the camera which is the oldest you can go back to (i.e. you can't really go older to find one even cheaper, as I think the drop off in quality is too bad if you step down to say a D50 or even older camera) while still getting my "high recommendations" for a beginner to start out on :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001ET5U92/ref=sr_1_4_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1457515270&sr=8-4&keywords=nikon+d90&condition=used

You can get the body only for just over US$200. Then get a Nikon 50mm f/1.8D for another US$100:
https://www.keh.com/shop/nikon-nikkor-50mm-f-1-8d-af-lens.html

And get a Nikon 28-80mm kit lens just as an all purpose lens to fill in some gaps for now, for only about fifty bucks USD:

https://www.keh.com/shop/nikon-28-80mm-f-3-5-5-6-d-late-minimum-foc-1-32ft-autofocus-lens-58.html

Reference: me! I'm a hard core camera geek, working professionally as a videographer. I started years ago on a Nikon D50, use a D90 and D5200 all the time now. Along with zillions of other non-Nikon cameras which I own.

What is the use case that you need a dslr for? Have you considered mirrorless? Because of the sensor positioning on them, you can get a huge amount of adapters to use various lenses on them, whereas dslr's are much more limited in that respect.

I got a Canon EOS 1200D (signle lens kit) for my brother for about AU$350. Pretty good camera for a beginner.

https://www.kogan.com/nz/buy/canon-eos-1200d-dslr-18-55mm-lens-kit/

Was helping someone who wants to get into a better camera. 

If you pick the lowest model Nikon.  D3300 is current.  D3200 used on TM still command $400-500.  New units parallel imports (D3200) can be had at $500.  So get the D3100 or D3000 ie 12 or 15MP.  ~$200.  Or the equiv Canon. 

Overseas the postage costs would put me off. 

Second hand is a good idea. Mirrorless is probably better for most people in most cases - micro 4/3 is a good system.

Agree, in the first instance you'd want to know what you intend on doing with it.

It used to be that the DSLR was the only way to good quality photos, but nowadays the same sensors are available in 'regular' bodies.

And even if smaller sensors are used, sensor tech is all very good these days.  It's actually hard to find a bad basic stills camera nowadays.

So point being, opting for a DSLR now is actually more about wanting that package, (optical viewfinder is essentially the main/only difference for a beginner).

In many cases having a mirror and optical viewfinder doesn't really impact on the final image quality.

My 2c, if you do want a DSLR, then on a budget, second hand is the way to go, and stick to name brands here such as Canon or Nikon.

There are plenty of cheap bodies and lenses available in those brands.  Even more nowadays as users sell these for mirrorless alternatives from the likes of Sony and Olympus.

I think a lot of the need for DSLR is the same as why news reporters need the excessivly large camera and microphone, just to look all important rather than any technical reason for it.

To normal people, dSLR look more pro but also of price.  A M4/3 Olympus body cost $850-900 (NZ new), a dSLR can be had for $550-650 (NZ New).  The Sony, Fui APC sensor mirrorless bodies cost $1,200+. 

The mirrorless bodies gets much smaller if you're comparing them to dSLR's big lenses.  If you are just after a casual variable aperture kit lens type of lens the size reduction isn't as dramatic. 

Edit - sure you can get less quality cameras.  Ie $100-300 compacts.  But then again, most normal people aren't gonna splash out $600-900 for a premium compact. 

Yep, the DSLR name carries a lot of preconceptions around quality, without the final image quality necessarily being related to the DSLR form factor at all.

Just look at the advertising around the new Galaxy S7 cellphones:

Jaxson:

 

Yep, the DSLR name carries a lot of preconceptions around quality, without the final image quality necessarily being related to the DSLR form factor at all.

Just look at the advertising around the new Galaxy S7 cellphones:

 

Oh - the great divide between perception and reality.

That's not even what Samsung are trying to say there, though I'm not sure if what you're saying is that the "DSLR Grade Dual Pixel Sensor" is a bit of a red-herring, as the "dual pixel sensor" innovation available in some dslrs is for use when they're not being used in reflex mode anyway, but for shooting video and/or in liveview stills mode etc.

I tried to stay out of this thread, the original question doesn't make sense without further explanation.

Jaxson:

 

Yep, the DSLR name carries a lot of preconceptions around quality, without the final image quality necessarily being related to the DSLR form factor at all.

Just look at the advertising around the new Galaxy S7 cellphones:

 

Are they really allowed to advertise as "DSLR grade" here in NZ? That seems like a false statement to me.

jarledb:

 

Jaxson:

 

Yep, the DSLR name carries a lot of preconceptions around quality, without the final image quality necessarily being related to the DSLR form factor at all.

Just look at the advertising around the new Galaxy S7 cellphones:

 

 

Are they really allowed to advertise as "DSLR grade" here in NZ? That seems like a false statement to me.

 

Yeah, DSL grade sensor to me implies it is using a full sized sensor. but I can't see how that could be fitted into a phone. Will be interesting to compare shots with a DSL to see if they do really compare.