[thunderbrick]

drphoto is absolutely correct.   

[Wind Chaser]

Canonikon is a load of rubbish, a rip off and not that good, unless your going for the full frame bodies and spending way more than you want to spend on lenses.  They use 'halo effect' marketing very well to sell junk, entry level cameras.

Why not buy the obvious best option?  The Pentax Kx.  It out performs everything in the entry
level space and outperforms most of the semi pro bodies as well.At under 1/2 the price you can afford the BEST of the best Pentax lenses to go with it and the quality margin will be even more MASSIVE.  Pentax lenses are half the price of Canikon ones, and you get in body stabilization.  You're going to get miles better photos and spend half as much money doing so than all the sheeple.

I have one, its brilliant and has resolved all previous weaknesses that Pentax has had in the past.

Thanks for pointing that one out.  So far the only objection I have to the Kx is it's a glutton for batteries (AA).  For me it comes down to either the Kx or the D-5000.  I'll have to look into the cost and quality of of lenses between the two, but otherwise it's a tough call at this point.

As for the D-5000 vs. the T1i, from the reviews and test shots I seen, the Nikon is the clear winner over the Canon. 

[Wind Chaser]

That Pentax K-x looks like a very worthy contender.  Unlike the Canon and Nikon, the K-x has a stainless steel chassis and lens mount.  It also boasts a faster max shitter speed 1/6000 and 4 fps in continuous mode. 

Here is... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCYlqRIVvcs a cool Pentax promo video that gives a good overview of the camera. 

[Hyfi]

If you have not already, read through the reviews at B&H.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/615742-REG/Nikon_25452_D5000_Digital_SLR_Camera.html#reviews

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/613613-REG/Canon_3818B002_EOS_Rebel_T1i_500D_.html#reviews

These and other reviews helped me narrow down my recent purchase between Nikon and Canon.

[Rob S.]

Hey guys/gals,
      I haven't checked this thread in awhile since I'm too busy taking photos with my wife's new D40.   Thanks for your help with this purchase.   Ended up picking up an additional Nikon external flash and an extra lense (55-200).....  It's been great learning the basics so far.  A few settings changed can change a photo from BAD to great!   

Rob S.