It comes down to what kind of pictures you want to take. 1. For Landscapes , potraits etc Nikon D80 or canon 30D either will do. Just get good wide lenses. If you want to shoot birds and wild life I recommend canon because they have Image Stabilaization technology for lot cheaper than nikons vibration reduction i.e the technology to allow you to take handheld shots in low shutter speeds. And canon has 100-400mm Ltype lens for reasonable price and is extremely sharp as well. Both nikon and canon are very good camera makers so you wont go much wrong in choosing either of those. I like nikons BTW and own a D80 myself and I am loving it (although i wish it didin have those stupid modes on dial you know those automatic ones). Good luck.