I see the Stentor violins coming through reasonably often, they are defiantly a budget line instrument and can be had for as low as $200 new, depending on the model. You get what you pay for with violins so you shouldn’t expect the sound to be wonderful… but its a solid reliable performer. Usually the fingerboard isn’t ebony which doesn’t really matter so much if its your first instrument, you not sliding around in the positions just yet anyway. If the violin is coming to you third hand it might matter as it will likely have some grooves from the strings they need planing out. Probably the greatest issue with them is being a cheaper instrument they are less likely to be carried by a specialist string store initially and so might not have been setup all that well, making it harder to play with the strings too high at the bridge or nut.
So all up an OK choice for your very first instrument as a 1/2 size but for a larger instrument or one you will have for longer you might consider spending a bit more.
