What are great photgraphy cameras?

Also video. I heard that nikon and Canon were the best brand. I wanted to be under 1000$ and I'm wanted to get it in best buy. I wanted to take photos of nature, animals and couples.

ANY entry level dSLR camera can be used to shoot nature, animals and couples. The two most popular are the Nikon D5100 and Canon T3i/600D.

To shoot "nature" will require you to buy specific lenses. Wide angle for nature landscapes, macro for shooting closeups of nature and long lenses (telephoto) to shoot wildlife.

Couples? A nice 50 mm f/1.4 is a good choice.

Visit your local camera shop and hold both in your hands and see which you like the best.

Nikon & Canon certainly are good manufacturers, but so are Sony and Pentax. The thing to keep in mind is that, with all interchangeable lens camera - whether it be a DSLR or a Micro 4/3 - the lens is the most expensive part. I have a Sony NEX 5, and for now have the two kit lenses it came with. It's a good camera as it sports a CMOS sensor in a package not that much bigger than a Point & Shoot camera. It shoots very clear stills and 1080p HD video, which comes in useful when at parties and at family gatherings etc. I'm thinking about getting a Canon telephoto lens because I feel that it would be a good lens to have on hand when travelling - something I do quite a bit of!

I'd go into your local camera specialist store and tell them what you want from the camera, and they should be able to help you find what you're looking for. And remember, before buying do lots of research and try to use the camera a bit beforehand so you know what you're letting yourself into!

It's not really about what camera you have, but about the photographer behind the camera.

I know some fantastic photographers who use "toy" camera (think Holga or Diana film cameras) and are fantastic.

As for the make of camera, it really depends. There seems to be a war constantly on between Canon and Nikon. I personally have a Nikon and I adore it but I know loads of people who have Canons and adore them.

The best thing to do is to go online to a camera review site and start reading reviews and getting an idea of what type of thing you want in a camera. Do you want it to just be a point and shoot? Do you want it to be an SLR for which you can change lenses? Do you want it to be a film camera? Do you want it to be a bridge camera (which are basically a cross between a point and shoot and an SLR but they don't have interchangeable lenses).

Both Canon and Nikon (as well as many other brands) are great. But since I'm a Canon fan, this is the way I would go.

Try the Canon T3i model. It will fit in your budget, is easy to use, takes great pictures, and Canon has a great series of lenses (Amazon link to some various Canon models below).

The next step - learn about photography. There are many great websites to educate yourself on how to take great photos, and lots of books you can read.