Have you considered joining the dark side?...

[hhelmbold]

I used to recommend Canon entry level DSLRs without hesitation for newbies.
Now I have to temper that with, "What kind of shooting will you be doing?" Because the D5100 and now the  D3200 can fit slightly more advanced novices who intend to do some post-processing and will have some appreciation for the cleaner raw files from the sonikon bodies.

Canon's Rebels are, of course, still a good choice too.  but anyone aspiring to grow beyond this as a first camera has a bit more to think about now.  it's good to have options, confusing tho it can be.

This is exactly my feeling and deliberately just threw out the question without my opinion to see if others are feeling the same  I think Canon has quite a gap to fill in some areas

[Rienzphotoz]

What worries me more about Canon currently is their apparent shift to charging more for equipment,

I shifted from the dark side in 2009 ... but I still had my Nikon D80 and a 4 lenses till last month.
What people don't realize is that Nikkor glass costs a lot more than the equivalent Canon glass e.g. Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 = $1886 vs Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 = $1400.
Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS costs $1060 vs Nikon's 17-55 f/2.8 (NO VR/IS) costs $1400
So whatever one thinks they saved / lost in buying camera or lenses will soon realize that "Dark side" or the "Light side" they both work out the same (in terms of price). I've always liked Nikon & Canon cameras and lenses ... if I had enough money I would buy D800e (plus some good FX glass) and still use my 5D MK III as well as the D800e.