there was another thread around here , where the poster was asking for camera recomendations...I think you should look at the Glass that you would love to own, rather than a camera body...then choose a body that is in that system..

I wanted a Nikon 70-200 VR II..so I invested in the nikon system....Ive also just bought a 1.7X tele converter to suit the lens....my next purchase will be Nikon 24-70 F2.8, which I knew I wanted at the time I bought the 70-200..but I have to save for it....next will be either a wide angle or a 300mm F2.8....depends on my savings.....I bought a used D300s at a very good price..

do you see a pattern forming here??....that pattern is a lens purchase/upgrade path....something that took me a while to work out...look at the glass rather than the bodies...all the bodies take a pretty good picture...put very good glass in front of the little old sensor is the Key to great pictures, combine that with experience and you will get fantastic pictures......

the latest crop of bodies have a 1 -1.5 stop advantage over the older {d300/d300s} bodies....but use a good F2.8 lens and the will equal the playing field a bit ..

Canon and Nikon have great lenses , look at those before you look at a combo body and kit lenses ...