What's better a Canon SLR or Nikon SLR?

I'm very interested in photography and would like to buy my first digital SLR camera. I have been told that a Nikon is better but I want more opinions. My price range for the camera its self is no more then $700 (because it will be a present that my parents will get for me for Christmas. Also I do not own any lenses to go with the camera so which brand has better lenses? So which digital SLR is better a Nikon or a Canon? And also what lenses would you suggest with the camera which i will then buy for my self hoping that the lens doesn't cost more then $100. The kind of lenses I'm looking for are wide angles, very good zoom, portrait things, and different focus points.

I prefer Canon, but that's just me. They're pretty comparable, though Nikons are cheaper.

Nikon and Canon both are almost producing same quality cameras, many pro photog preffer nikons as they use to be superior in past but not now, you can buy what ever you like but what i read and heard is that canon lens are cheper in price than nikon but same at quality. I would say you shud look for a camera deal with a kit lens to get you started as if you buy a lens seprate it would be more expensive. 18-55mm shud be good to start with, i would recon go to the camera shop and try both brand cameras and talk to shop people regarding the camera. There's also another option for a second hand camera as for at the price you want, you can get a bit superior camera model with bit extra functions like LIVE VIEW, more AUTO FOCUS POINTS, more Frames per second shooting capacity, Image Stability and more… So give it a try…

Canon and Nikon are head and head in the DSLR business. They each own about 35% of the market share so they have very similar accessories.

The question you should be asking is "do I want to stick with canon/nikon my entire amateur life?"
the quality of Canon and Nikon are on-par, and all the accessories, meaning flashes and whatnot are very similar in price and quality.

the best camera right now in your price range is the Nikon D3100 with full HD video capability. But other cameras that fit the bill are: Nikon D3000, Canon Xs, Canon Xsi, and maybe even the Canon T1i. All of these are amazing cameras and will keep you shooting for at least 2-3 years.

as far as lenses go, you really can't find a good lens for under $100. Throughout your life you will easily spend more money on lenses then you did the camera and all it's other accessories. Should you go with any of the cameras mentioned, they all come with an 18-55mm wide angle lens which you will be doing 80% or so of your shooting from.

As for zoom, you would either have to trade in the 18-55 and get an 18-200 or in Canon's case the 28-200 but that trade will cost you $400+ (Nikkor 18-200mm costs $785). Or you can buy the complement 55-200mm lens for $200 or so.

your choice

you can go with this, or you can go with that