I have a Nikon D40. Got it at best buy about 2 years back for $500. The D40 is a step under the D3000.
I love my D40, its a great camera, and I have 2 lenses for it, along with a fisheye attachment. Even at 6.1 mega pixels, its more than enough for me.
My Dad got the D3000 after I got my D40 and he loves it also. It has a self cleaning image sensor, so you don’t have to get in there and wipe anything off.
For the price, you can’t go wrong with the D3000. Great entry leve DLSR.
Unfortunately I can’t vouch for anything about the Canons.
Eh…you can still get screwed over. I say look for a good deal and do some research on said store/vendor.
I bought a car from a ‘good friend’ that I ended up not being able to pass inspection with (friend was from MA). When I told him, he agreed to ‘trade back’ when I get the NYS title. Long story short, he’s not my friend and I lost $2k when I was 16 because I had to sell the car at the auction or spend $2k fixing CEL’s and such.