Nikon D5000 SLR, Nikon D3100 SLR, Canon Rebel Ti2?

I'm trying to decide what kind of SLR camera to buy. And i'm currently just looking into Nikon and Canon. I'm trying to decide between the Nikon D5000, Nikon D3100, and the Canon Rebel Ti2.

i have heard from some people i know who have the D5000 that it works very well and that Canon models are not as good as Nikons?

in general though, please tell me in your own opinion whether based on experience or becasue you are a photographer, which one of the three are the best kind of SLR camera for an intermediate photographer who does not want to spend thousands of dollars for a real one? XD

can someone tell me:

- pros, cons about either?
- things i should know about either?

all answers are appreciated!

Actually it's the t2i but hey, who's counting.

I'm a Canon guy - I won't buy Nikon… Just my preference i guess. I have a Canon 1000D and it's just excellent.So, what do you think I will recommend? Canon of course.

Both camera systems are very good. They are just better at different things. The D5000 is an excellent camera. According to Ken Rockwell, the D5000 has everything you need.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/.../d5000.htm

That being said, the Pentax Kx and Canon Xsi are both just as good and in the same price range ( in fact the Kx is cheaper). Really, the most important quality a camera needs to have is good ergonomics. You need to feel comfortable using it. I would go to a store and try out these three models and decide which one works best for you. They are all great, no bad choices.

http://cheapdslrprofessional.blogspot.com/

It's T2i.

Image quality is the same.

Whoever told you Canon is worse than Nikon, is just some fanboy and doesn't know a lot about this. They're both the same, it depends on the specific model.

The D5000 and D3100 have no AF motor, so not all lenses will auto focus. They have worse video than the T2i (just less frame rates), but the D3100 has auto focus while recording videos. They're all pretty much the same size and weight, and image quality is the same. Over ISO 1600, T2i and D3100 have a low amount of noise.

Here's a post called 'Buying a DSLR, what's important, megapixels, features, brand, price, quality and which one to buy - http://www.the-dslr-photographer.com/2009/03/which-dslr-to-buy.html

Here's a review of the T2i: http://www.the-dslr-photographer.com/2010/06/canon-eos-550dt2i-dslr-review.html

Good luck! The site has many more tutorials, tips, reviews and guides!