lolz... i would say canon and nikon has its pros and cons... lets stay back to topic before a "fanboyism" flame war occur

haha, thanks:) D400 sounds like a good buy...

D400? Nikon doesnt have that model
i think you meant Canon 400D good luck in your buy get the best deal in town

A camera can only be as good as the person behind it...

My 2 cents for you:

Go to a shop and try the models you have in your mind. Ultimately it's you who will use the camera, not other people here giving you bunch of their opinions and making you all confused.

Go try the cameras in shop, how do they feel like in your hand? Do you feel comfortable holding them? Do you feel comfortable using them? Do you feel at home using the cameras? It'll be pointless if the camera blocks your way instead of making it easier for you to take the picture you have in your mind. Camera X may have features A - Z, but if you don't use them and it feels sluggish to use the camera, my suggestion is to go for another one. Better to have camera Y that has all the essential features that you'll need and feel snappy to use, than to have some features on a camera that you'll not use and making photography a pain than something you enjoy.

And forget about 6MP vs 8MP vs 10MP. They make no difference even when you print in A4.

Yes, yes, go try out all those cameras you have in mind at camera store and choose the one you liked most. You wont go wrong with any of these cameras, be it Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax or others, it all depends on your budget. Let's enjoy photographing rather than head-aching on which brand to choose! Just my 2 cents!

since this is your 1st foray into dslr, its good to get something you feel comfortable with.

personally the 1st thing I look for is the price, i got my dslr for RM1.5k with a kit lens. Since your budget is more flexible, i would suggest u get a decent body and shop for some good fast lens and forget the kit lens

invest on a good memory card too and get some filters or at least a UV filter.

look at what brand your friends go for, and you might just get them to lend you some lens to tryout.

ultimately even if you spend 10k on a camera but dont know how to fully utilize it, its just gonna be a very expensive P & S.

that is so true

choosing brand is also important, as you are investing on its system, lighting lens etc...

unless you have commitment to buy more onther brands, no want to hold you down you plain rich guy, hahahaha

ahhaha..rich? if i'm rich, i wouldnt care what camera to buy. just keep buying new ones if its not good:P

no such thing as prosumer dslr
prosumer is prosumer, dslr is dslr

erm quite true, but i think what he meant is semi pro pro user intended camera, d200 against d2

i see the other day, pro only shot with a point and shot camera, and the pic advertise
hmm, its really whose behind the wheel