I'm a Nikon user for a lot of years, all of my SLR equipment is Nikon, but in my opinion Canon is better for compact cameras, the lens are more clear and the AF system performs very well at low light conditions.
I think Nikon has little interest in this low end market and their compact cameras are not so good as it's brand sounds.

But in the SLR market, my vote is for Nikon.
D70s is a very good camera, and D200 is impressive and outperforms other more expensive "pro" cameras.

Canon Digital Rebel is also a good alternative for SRL, this is a very good camera to keep in mind.

If you like compacts, Canon IXUS series have a very nice lens and a really pocket size (and price).

The trick is not to affiliate to a single brand, but to look at the best of each one.

You can get a lot of camera information and reviews at dpreview.com
they have also image samples at full resolution and comparisons between brands.

I did not see a word here about Fuji Finepix, did I miss it?

I use Fuji S9500 and Fuji S9600, - 10MP, zoom (optical and electronic) and you can do all settings yourself, unless you want to work in Auto, which usually gives great result.

Lenses are OK, clear, and you can set the camera for either 3:2 or 4:3 ratio.

I like them and use them a lot.

For film, I use PENTAX cameras, one that I bought in 1976, and I use that a lot as well.

HP.

Hi there, a friend of mine just bought a Nikon D40 dig cam, and he´s very pleased with that one. The cam ain't that expensive eighter, in Norway you may get if for less than 4 000 NOK, 400 pounds or 800 UDS.