Recommend me a budget Digital SLR?

Another vote from the Nikon camp, this time for the D3100.

Originally Posted by barwel1992

d3000(10mp) or d3100 (14mp) d5000 has pointless live view that doesn't focus properly and a pointless flip down screen thats pointless because the live view doesn't work properly

Maybe you should try and understand why the D5000 isn't focusing properly in live view, especially since contrast-detection auto-focus has everything to be more precise than phase-detection, and doesn't even depend on mechanical parts for calibration. Sorry, but for everything that's wrong with the D5000's flip down screen, and some things are, that's not one of them...

Originally Posted by keith_d

Being a Nikon user, my first choice would be a used d80, with a secondhand 18-70mm AFS. Both sound pieces of kit that should see you through the course and several years beyond.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/1870.htm

I don't know what the Canon equivalents are but I'm sure they are just as good.

Keith.

Originally Posted by Beenz

Another nod from here for the D80, I've been using one for a few years now, decent build quality as well. No live view or video on this camera, although I've never felt the need for either in use.

Build quality wise, the D80 really is a very good piece of kit, and you can probably find a cheap one these days. Still I wouldn't get one, only because its matrix metering system is not the most dependent Nikon has ever come up with (it's extremely dependent on the selected focus point, which will throw even the most experienced photogs off-guard every now and again)... spot and centre-weighted metering work as advertised though.

... and speaking of which, maybe you should try and find out if spot metering will be taught as a subject matter, because a lot of basic Canon models don't have it