Amazon has a Canon Digital Rebel for less than $500.00 with the kit lens. I have used this camera for 5 years & love it. I started out using auto & the point & shoot options. Katrina has a great class at Get It Scrapped that helped me perfect my manual skills. But I had had the camera for 4 years before I really learned to use manual. Check it out - it is a great price for an AWESOME camera.
Amazon.com: Canon Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black): Electronics
Unfortunately I won't get any kickback from Amazon for this great advertisement, but that is just how much I believe in this as a beginner DSLR.