actually nikon d3100 got the best camera of the year award for entry level dslrs out performs many cameras in that price range. Honestly I would ignore being put of by getting a big camera for an amateur as it does not matter if you get an entry level or a Nikon D4, D800 or canon Mk5 mark 3 they will still still have Auto modes with about 20 different scenarios dark, night silouhettes, candle light, etc so no different to a point and shoot just better quality, That said that is the camera telling you what it reccommends so later on once you are comfortable with auto modes then you can move onto the semi manual modes ie aperature priority this is where you can set the aperature say you want a shallow depth of field nice blurry background you set it to the lowest aperature your lens can take, that kit I should imagine 3.5- 5 towards the telephoto end of the 300mm and the camera will adjust the shutter speed using light metering that it senses when focusing.
same as if you choose shutter prioritythe camera will automatically do the rest with some basic over ride functions like exposure compensation etc.
they are not that hard to learn you just need to remember faster shutter speeds so the 1\100th of a second speed is faster than 1\50th of a second there for will let in less light so the image will be darker if youkeep the shutter open for 1 second during daylight you will get a blown out image.
and aperature is all about blurry backgrounds, depth of field etc. 1.4 f is less focused images ideal for portrait f22\ f44 will let in a lot less light make the images darker so not that much different to shutter priority.
Once you are comfortable and only then I would switch it to manual I rarely never shoot in any other mode take a few test shots see if it is to dark if so slow your shutter down and open your aperature and the opposite end if it is to light then then revers what I just said.
