Best SLR under $600?

Nikon or Canon for sure. I'm a beginner to SLR's but not at all to photography, I'm quite advanced in it and know a lot but have never had the money for a very good camera. Let me share my biggest issues with my $200 compact camera that I would like to move past:
-Bad at capturing motion clearly (I would love the best action mode possible, actually able to show a clear moving image even at fairly fast speeds)
-VERY bad at low light (I would love being able to take a clear picture of the stars and such)
-Not a lot of manual controls, poor for things like slow shutter speed
-not great at capturing the light

what is the best I can get with these key features? My budget is comfortable at $550, possibly $600. Whatever lens is included needs to be decent as macro as it will be a while before being able to afford a macro lens.

You've just asked this question. Just because you don't like the answers doesn't mean we didn't give you the best we could.

$600 isn't a lot of money for a DSLR - and it's only possible because Canon and Nikon are so greedy that they sell off out-of- production models rather than recall them.

For that budget you will get nice entry-level DSLR named Nikon D3100.priced at $550 with kit lens.
its feature are good enough for beginner and its all light-weight and small so its easy to carry.

but i would recommend you the Canon EOS 600D priced at $650 with its kit lens. Because its software are easier than nikon's and it's got a swivelly LCD screen like the ones you'll find on a handycam.

Why not look at a Sony? I know you said NIKON or Canon. But if you haven't already check them out.
You will never get a macro lens in a kit unless you buy used.
Why not look into used and get a better camera.
I was in your same budget range but I quickly realised that it wasn't gonna work. So now I have a NIKON d7000! Awesome camera.

Canon EOS T3 and Nikon D3100 are the two cameras you can get, I'd recommend the D3100 as it gives you more stuff for the price.

All DSLRs allow you to control them manually, they are much better in low light
Capturing action is also not hard because you can change the settings, but in really dark conditions it's not so easy.

Basically you can shoot it all with DSLR cameras as long as you know what every settings does, which is not hard to learn. Don't count on getting on the kit lens to be anything close to macro, they start at $200.

Here's a DSLR Buying Guide - http://www.smashingcamera.com/which-dslr-camera-to-buy/

If you are looking best SLR under $600, you should really try Canon T3. This camera has great features and more importantly, this camera grows with you. It lets you experiment with more than 60 different lenses and other accessories including Speedlite flashes, to explore the world of photography.

Find out the full review of this camera at: http://www.canont3review.net/

For the small price, Canon EOS Rebel T3 camera really packs a big punch. It was a no-brainer for me to choose Canon for my first DSLR. Every single camera I've ever owned is a Canon, and I've never been disappointed. This camera is great for the beginner photographer, and even for the more advanced photographer. It's a breeze to learn how to work all of its functions and most importantly, it delivers such amazing quality photos. The kit comes with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 image stabilization lens. Even with a moderately wide aperture, the lens performs exceptionally well under low-light situations. I will eventually grow out of this lens, but for now it's doing well for me.

Hmm so you kinda have the same problem as me, i searched for months and months and watched alot of videos! However i got 1 answer
D3100 is good for beginners but you can add external microphone+bad (AE) auto Focus Price =429.99$

D3200 with 24.2 MP its great for taking videos and colorful pictures however I still think its abit expensive = 700$(expensive for you i think)

D90 its really good camera for taking pictures with great quality and fine video taking(abit expensive)

D5100 good price with great 16 mp and good quality for taking both videos and pictures also you can flip the screen<3 and really great effects = 549.99$

I recommend the D5100 (I think i will buy it as well) good price and as good as many expensive cameras: D You can search on youtube for videos

The only reason why i didn't talk about canon is I think you can get a better camera from nikon with the same price you would offer for canon

Tell me what you are going to buy cuz i'm still thinking as well: D
I'm sorry canon fans xD Just don't hate me