I have both Canon and Nikon cameras presently; a Canon XT and Nikon D200 and can honestly say that Canon's are easier to use though with practice the Nikon's can be learned given enough time. For instance, the Nikon D40x has six steps to change the ISO while Canon's have three. Nikon's have a few more functions but you'll have to dig down into their menu's to find them â€"œ which can be daunting for beginners. This is the breakdown:
Canon
More user friendly
Better ISO to noise control
Slightly bigger selection of equipment
Many more people using them thus easier to find used stuff
Nikon
More functions in camera
Better build quality â€"œ but more expensive due to this
Color and contrast may be 'slightly' better but this may be just my experience
My Nikon D200 is almost three times the cost of my Canon XT yet I constantly compare pictures between the two and often cannot tell the difference! Though the D200 are larger images due to more pixels. (Note: the D200 should actually be compared to the Canon 5D which is about the same cost.)
Now... There is NO lens that will do it all. Regardless of what camera you get you'll still end up needing three different lenses if you want to cover most situations. The rule of thumb is to spend about the same on your first 'everyday walk around lens' as you would your camera. That means, if you spend 500 on a camera body you should spend around the same thing on a lens. You don't have to buy them all at once â€"œ most people cannot. Nikon does make one lens that I would highly recommend though, their 18-200mm VRII runs around $800 and is probably their best wide range zoom. A good macro will run 250 for a budget one to 600 for a really nice one.
B&H Photo Video and Adorama both sell used and factory refurbished equipment â€"œ I've used them both and they are excellent.
