It’s not just about the number of pixels in the image. An SLR will give you more creative freedom and generally better quality. I have both and will use the small one for parties and gatherings while the SLR will get used for landscapes, vacations and portraits.

well h0w much r u willing 2 spend?
if y0u want t0 spend a c0uple hundred like 5 0r 6 hundred g0 with the nik0n. my friend b0ught this 0ne digital camera which if y0u take pictures and put the sd card with the pictures 0n it 0n a regular 10 megapixel camera, the regular camera is t00 l0w quality 0r s0mething t0 read the pictures!
s0 if y0u want t0 spend m0re m0ney buy nik0n alth0ugh if i were y0u i w0uld g0 with the s0ny 0r can0n. its cheaper. i have a 7 meg. k0dak and its perfect. i g0t it f0r 150 fr0m walmart.

These are two fine manufacturers and each has its own fans. Sometimes they get pretty attached to their choice and get rather excited about the preferences. Please take that into account.

I use both point & shoot and DSLR cameras.

DSLRs have bigger sensors so their 6-10 megapixel images are of better quality than those from small cameras using small sensors (1/2.5″). And the DSLRs allow more manual control and the use of many different kinds of lenses for exactly the right composition.

Of course, if you don’t want to really dig into learning photography, and if video in a small camera is more important than lots of manual control, go with the point & shoot. It’s the right camera for you. The extra money you would have spent for the DSLR and all those lenses can find a better use!

If you’re talking point-and-shoot, go Canon. If you’re talking 35mm Digital SLR body, I’d go Nikon because their SLR lenses are better.

The main reason people go with SLRs over point-and-shoots is the picture quality really is better with a digital SLR. You can also swap lenses on a 35mm digital SLR so you can get extreme close-ups with a tele-photo lens or extreme close-up detail with a 30mm (or smaller focal length) lens. In this day and age, unless you’re a professional photographer or a photography enthusiast, your typical Sony Cybershot (or Canon/Nikon equivalent) is fine.