well initially i was settling for the 450d cus it was like the best entry level camera at a good price. then my dad decided to share the load. so i thought that the next better model will be a d90. i did some "450d vs d90" search online and ran thru some forums. was told that in terms of performance, d90 is better. a friend also told me that nikon is better for portrait shots and canon is good for landscape. needed to confirm therefore i posted my queries here!
i won't really classify d90 together with 450d, even without kit, the d90 costs more than the 450d with already.
all cameras can take portrait shots and landscape shots well - what matters is your understanding of photography and aptitude to usage of the camera.
more importantly is you understand the pros and cons of buying into a system; there are many things to look out for, like lens range (since you cannot use a canon lens on nikon system, and vice versa), cost-factor, features in-camera (for example, NONE of these 2 brands have inbody shake reduction), handling.
different people have different preferences with regards to these. that should be the thing you should be looking out for, instead of finding out which is better for landscape or portraits.. because there is no such thing.
there are so many brands out there, including sony, pentax, olympus, panasonic even.
a few points from my point of view
1) canon and nikon have a great range and availability of lens in singapore. you can also expand all the way up to more advanced cameras if you so choose in the future (like the nikon d3 or mark dIII from canon). the question is of course, if you would even go that far as a normal user. features include better frame-per-second capability, etc.
2) canon and nikon lenses are more distinctly divided in terms of price and quality, i.e. you have to pay more for excellent lenses compared to consumer grade lenses.
3) the four-thirds cameras are notably smaller (for entry level)
4) many of the other brands are more nicely priced when you consider the amount of features you get for your buck, see shake reduction point above
5) canon entry level dslrs usually present a problem for people with larger hands in terms of handling, but you should try it out for yourself rather than taking my statement at face value.
6) pentax has great lenses at relatively affordable prices compared to other brands, but they are hard to find.
the list can really go on, my advice is to either join the user groups here on their individual outings, and find out firsthand what the camera is like, etc. read more online reviews, although with a pinch of salt.. weigh the pros and cons, try out the cameras.. weigh your finances, before making a decision.
