Which DLSR/ SLR camera is best to get?

I've just started a photography course as i'm willing to become a professional photographer. I've read a lot of the posts that say to get the Canon Rebel or the Nikon D3100, however i was wondering what everyone preference was whether it is the canon rebel or the Nikon D3100. I'm looking for a camera that i can also use in the long run for my profession as well as for my course to help save me from buying another camera down the track. I'm also looking more into the SLR sort as I'm willing to find out how to process my own films as i think it would be the interesting part in becoming a photographer

any help will be muchly appreciated.

Though I shot quite a bit of film I've never processed my own stuff… It does sound interesting though.

If you think about it and think ahead, to me it would be smarter to buy a dslr because that's how the world is going more and more. Film is a dying art and there are rumors that Kodak will quit making film in not too long - true? I don't know.

If one day you're in a studio setting doing portraits for folks, I've been there and done this, how nice is it to instantly show your clients the photo you just shot and do it again and again until you get exactly the one they want. It works very well when you tether to a computer - I know, as I say I've done that and my clients were all very pleased.

I guess I should say I'm a Canon guy. I stay with this company because of their attention to detail and quality of product.

No offence intended, but after taking a photography course you won't be anywhere close to being ready to become a professional (as in, someone that is paid by customers) photographer. That takes years of training and practice. I've been photographing for about five years now, and i don't consider myself to be ready for it either.

The D3100 or Canon Rebel cameras are nice entry level cameras that are used as backup cameras by some pros as well as by many amateurs who occasionally do a paid shooting, but not more than that.
By the time when you are truly ready to start a business a new camera will be due anyway, so feel free to get one of these as a start. Alternatively you should look at least at the prosumer segment. That would be the D90 or D7000 in case of Nikon or the 50D or 60D in case of Canon.

Processing films is, for the most part, fairly mundane. Color is a bit more involved than monochrome, but it all boils down to chemicals at a temperature, developing time, washing time, fixing time, having somewhere dust free for drying, and being clean and tidy. You also need somewhere dark for loading the film into the developing tank and the various bits and pieces (measuring jugs, storage bottles, thermometer, squeegee) to develop the films.

Certainly there's more of a sense of accomplishment to do it yourself.

You can buy film cameras fairly cheaply. You can use the same lenses on EOS film and EOS digital, but not EF-S lenses that are specifically for the digital cameras. As far as I know you can use the same lenses on Nikon film and digital cameras, so for the relatively low price of an extra body you can do film and digital. Note that the digital cameras have a 1.6x factor on the focal length because of the sensor size vs film size.

Nikon 3100

I like EOS

I'm a Nikon fan, but the Canon t3i and t2i both seem very nice. Also, the Nikon D3100 is a great camera.

Play with them in the store and see which one you like better.