Camera Choice: Nikon D3100/D5000 or Canon T1i/T2i

[Nuno]

I've removed the Nikon D5000 from my list because I do not like the swivel type LCD screens

Hi Ed!

I have a D5000 and I can tell that the swivel LCD is great when using a tripod. There's a lot of positions and angles that you simply can not see through the viewfinder.
In my opinion, this camera lacks some important issues like: Not prepared for a decent gripper and does not fire an uncoupled external flash without a cable.

But this is a beginners camera and for the price, it is an excelent performer. I'm very happy with it. However I'm a suspect ...

[mnphotos]

I have a D5000 and I can tell that the swivel LCD is great when using a tripod. There's a lot of positions and angles that you simply can not see through the viewfinder.

Nuno,

Based on the comments here about the swivel LCD, I'm not as concerned about having a camera with one and it actually would have come in handy last Sunday when a friend and I were playing around with my new camera. We had it faced pointing up to a ceiling fan and were playing with taking pictures of the spinning blades and seeing what effect the shutter speed and aperture settings had on the outcome of the picture. We had to lay on our backs on the floor to view the LCD when we wanted to change the settings. That alone convinced me that a swivel LCD could be quite useful.

Ed