Douglas Adams Continuum (DAC)

My good lady has expressed a desire to get into photography in a bigger way as a hobby. She has an Olympus compact which she enjoys using but would like to experiment more.
So I'm thinking of getting her a DSLR for Xmas or A Significant Birthday in Feb.
Initial look around seems to suggest the Nikon D3100 as a good candidate but was wondering if anybody had any views on it or any other suggestions?
I know Vaga, Steja and OP are all serious photographers but I suspect others are too.
Me, I tried to get into it back in the '80s but would up leaving my Pentax SLR sitting up top of a car then drove off in Glendalough, Ireland and have never trusted myself with one since:)

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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Gusty, my sis and I find DPReview to be a reliable source of information.

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vagabond
birds, any birds, anywhere, any time

Thanks, Vaga. My 15-year-old neice is getting into photography and wants to buy her own first DSLR. She asked me for advice and I know so little about it. This might help us, so, ta!

The birthday approaches and still haven't bought.
We'd almost settled on the Canon 550D (Rebel in the US) then the girl in the local camera shop (who has been very good) threw a curved ball and asked if we'd considered the Sony NEX-5 which isn't a DSLR but seems to do everything in something that is incredibly light and portable.

Anybody any experience/views?

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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