Hey from the UK...

I am from the UK and will be buying my first DSLR before Christmas.
I've yet to decide between the D3100 and the D5000. I hope that you guys 'n' gals will help me make the right choice.

Looking forward to becoming a regular on this fantastic site!

WElcome to Nikonites, TinyEric. I'm sure you'll find this site to your liking. Great bunch of NikoNUTS here to help and share.

Get the D3100.....no question about it. Great camera for beginner and advanced beginner. I know a pro who uses one for a backup to his D700. The price is pretty good, too. Having said all that, it'll be the camera that feels right to you. Hold them both in your hands. Which one feels better? That'll be the one.

Hi. Tinyeric, and welcome to the forum!
Great advice from fotojack on choice of a camera. Good luck, shoot a lot, and post often. We really do have a lot of fun here!

Looking forward to seeing your pics with your new camera!

Best Regards

Hello Tinyeric and welcome to Nikonites! You can also spend some time and look at the forums here, ask questions and these folks will also help you make your choice. Glad you found us and hope to see you around frequently!

Hello TinyEric and welcome to the Nikonites Community. Lots of good folks here willing to talk about their nikons and their experience taking pictures. Buying a camera is really a personal thing. Each of the two cameras you are looking at are good choices but each will have features that the other one does not. One has more mega pixels, the other one has bracketing the other does not, one has bulb exposure the other does not, so it's a matter of which has the features that fit your style of photography. I would sit down and list all the features of each and then make a list of the features you want and then make a comparison which one meets your needs best. And as Jack says there is nothing like picking one of them up and see which one feels best.

Welcome TinyEric

Lots of good advice already on the subject, good luck with your purchase and if you have specific questions, post back and someone will help you with answers!

Both camera well do what you want them to. Depends on your budget.
You can't go wrong with a Nikon .