I am a Pentaxian fanboy through and through, but I say this in the most objective way possible:
The best value for money DSLR’s/MILC’s under $1000 are the Pentax K-500 ($595 w/ 18-55 kit lens), Pentax K-50 ($696 body or $776 w/ Weather Resistant kit lens), Pentax K-5 ($500 used body – discontinued), with the number one spot for “best bang for your buck” across the photographic world given to the Pentax K-30 ($479 body) and the Pentax K-01 ($299 w/ 40mm pancake lens) despite what is undeniably a controversial body design for DSLR/Mirrorless, respectively.
Even the lowest entry level isn’t skipped over for $1000+ features such as 100% penta PRISM viewfinders and DUAL command dials.
Anyone that tells you otherwise is delusional.
Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.