I think the MID-level Nikon bodies are the best to buy. The entry-level Canons and Nikons are what I call "two button cameras", meaning they have ONE control wheel, operated by the thumb, and then a top-deck-mounted, very small button that must be pressed and held while turning the thumb-operated dial or wheel--in order to open the lens aperture up or to close it smaller. That system sucks, and impedes learning, in my opinion.
SO, that means a Nikon D90 or D7000 is the camera. Again, NIkon works differently than Canon. Nikon has a thumb wheel, and an index-finger operated wheel. The thumb wheel controls the shutter speed in all exposure modes. The front wheel, operated by the right index finger, is always for the LENS, in all exposure modes. With Canon's, those controls flip-flop functions, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, depending on WHICH SPECIFIC exposure mode the camera is in. So you are not always absolutely 100 percent positive which control will perform which function with a Canon, since the functions DO SHIFT as the exposure mode is changed. It's as if the gas and brake pedal functions were reversed--depending on WHICH of four gears the car is in...that is Canon's idea of how to design a camera. I find that idiotic. But then, they made the entire control ethos and mechanical design up in one year, and have remained with it for 25+ years. Nikon took almost eight years to figure out how to shift from analog to digital control systems.
With Nikon, it's not like that. The thumb wheel ALWAYS maintains the same function, as does the front wheel. There's a reason multi-platform shooters often express an ergonomics advantage to NIkon bodies over other systems. I own several Nikon bodies, and now have two Canon d-slr's left...I prefer the Nikon system quite a bit, in terms of operation. I have given Canon a fair, five-year trial, with enough pro-level gear to evaluate it fairly, plus the older 20D, and Rebel XSi (since given away to my niece). Again, the ENTRY-LEVEL Canon's I find not as compelling as the entry-level Nikons, and I think the MID-LEVEL d-slr is the one to buy, learn, and use for 4-5 years. The Nikon D7000 would be my suggestion for a first camera that ought to last five solid years before you feel you have mastered it and it is no longer competitive.
