In all honesty, I'd recommend saving till you can afford ~500. You'll spend more in the long run if you buy small and continually upgrade.
What are you shooting that requires a DSLR that you can't accomplish with a phone?
A phone is cool but I always enjoyed taking pics of any or whatever. But keeping up with this thread has really got me wanting to get serious with it. But I'm not trying to start out with a thousand dollar camera since im just a beginner trying to get his feet wet first.
I feel it.
I dont think you should start out with a thousand dollar camera either.. i said maybe you should save up and expand your budget to ~$500.
I'm just saying the optics in the 600-900 phone most of us carry around are technically superior at the equivalent focal length of a kit lens.
Just being honest -- I'd rather shoot w/ my phone rather than an old rebel w/ standard 18-55mm kit lens combo.
And save to get equipment that is suited for my shooting needs.
A friend of mine threw her rebel t2i at me and said "Here you're a photographer that shoots canon, take our group pictures" :x my phone turned out better... couldnt even figure out how to change the settings in the rebel :x
Thing is super tiny!
So you're saying your ohone quality is better than the t2i?
Than a t2i with an 18-55mm kit lens in the situation I was in, yes. My phone out shot the rebel because I simply couldn't figure out how to use it and technically at the effective focal length, the optics on my phone are superior to the 18-55 kit lens.
Now where the t2i outshines any phone is the ability to put good lenses on it.
As I said in my other post, the real investment is in the lens as thats were a large portion of the magic takes place.
You can cop a canon 50mm 1.8 STM brand new for $125 and that will be a much better option than the 18-55 kit lens.
A t2i will run you around $200
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035FZJI0/?tag=niketalk0e-20
a 50mm 1.8 STM will run you about $125
Amazon product ASIN B00X8MRBCW
But that still exceeds your $250 budget.
Thats why I recommend saving until you can afford around $500 because on top of that you'll want memory cards, maybe a new strap, a bag, maybe a tripod, etc.