Sony A390? Canon EOS1000D? Pentex KX?

Think all of them have the AF motor in the lens,not the body. (assuming thats what you meant?-The AF sensors themselves are in body)
Yes you can use Sigma/Tamron lenses,just have to get the correct lens for your camera. (ie-Sigma Canon EF fit for Canon...etc etc)
One thing to beware of with older lenses though,is that some will not work with modern DSLR's without being modified. (The camera just gives an error msg with the lens connected).
 
I've not had a problem with the sony and older lenses. Some of the very old and weird sigmas might give an issue. Pentax seem to have the least trouble with using different older lenses. I'm happily using 10 year old sigmas and minolta lenses.

The AF motor is in the body for the sony cameras. Some of the nikon ones seem to be a mix so the basic bodies won't have a motor so you can't use the better lenses with them.

I had an a350 as a first dslr and was quite happy with it. The a390 is pretty similar but I think it has the much better cmos sensor.

Any of the current dslrs from pentax, nikon, canon or sony would be fine for a beginner. Try them all out and see which you prefer.
 
The Sony certainly has an AF motor in-body, and as such is compatible with all AF lenses for the Alpha mount - including Minolta AF lenses.

Sigma, Tamron and Tokina all make a range of lenses to fit this mount (and also for the Canon, probably for the Pentax, but not sure on that one).

The only compatibility issues I know of with Sony are some older Sigmas will not AF - best place to check for Sony questions is Dyxum Lens Database which has the details of most lenses made for the mount.

Going back to your original question - they would all be fine for a beginner - today's entry level DSLR are all decent cameras.

Common advice is to head into a camera shop and see how each feels when you hold it - does it feel 'natural' to use?
 
A key point re the above 3 cameras you have highlighted.

The Sony and Pentax cameras have in body stabilisation.
The canon body doesn't have in body stabilisation, instead you get IS in certain lenses but not all.

Not a do or die situation but certainly food for thought if you become a low light shooter.
 
Hi Raiderhammer - welcome.

The Kx you mention is now obsolete which is a shame because it was quite a good little camera. It is now replaced by the Kr which also gets good write-ups.

Try Camera Pricebuster or Google - there are better prices to be had.
 
Oggy said:
Hi Raiderhammer - welcome.

The Kx you mention is now obsolete which is a shame because it was quite a good little camera. It is now replaced by the Kr which also gets good write-ups.

Try Camera Pricebuster or Google - there are better prices to be had.
Click to expand...

Thanks, there is a local store still selling the KX. Is that a good buy?

Is the auto focus of the Pentax KX in the body or will this be in the lenes?

Thanks.
 
It has an in body focus motor but can be used with lenses which have an in lens focus motor.
 
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