HELP ! can't decide between Nikon D5000 and Canon T1i.

I just want best picture quality and easiest to use. Had Nikon D60 stolen and am replacing it. All accessories also gone. Have narrowed my choice down to those.

Frankly, it's a photo finish. And since you lost all your lenses, et al, you're starting with a clean slate. But since you've been accustomed to Nikon, I'd be largely tempted to stay in the family. 50 years of legacy lens support is a hard thing to give up.

Then again, 1080p HD video with 24 fps ... I can see your dilemma. Stick with the Nikon. You won't have a learning curve.

Image quality of both is near perfect. D5000 edges out T1i in low lighting conditions. So if thats what is important for you then D5000. Quality of pixels of D5000 is slightly better than T1i despite having lesser pixels. So D5000 here too is a better choice. Images of D5000 are a bit softer than T1i. But that can be tweaked as per choice. If long movies is recording is a must for you then T1i is a better. But remember, these cameras do not have autofocus in movie mode. Further SLRs are not very convenient to hold for recording movies. They can never replace movie cameras. T1i has Depth of Field (DoF) preview which is a good feature. Nikon has missed that in D5000. But there is nothing to worry - these are digital cameras and you can always see your result and click with different aparture values if not satisfied. DoF preview is not a great to watch on camera monitor as it is too dark due to limitation of SLRs. The monitor/screen of T1i is superlative 3" with 930,000 pixels and is crystal clear even in sunlight. D5000 is no where near with 230,000. However, D5000 has master stroke with 270 degree tiltable screen which is very helpful in overhead and low pictures. T1i is slightly easy to use than D5000 due as it less menu driven.

Price difference is one thing which you may weigh yourself. The availability of service in your area is another factor that you must consider. Finally, I agree with James DeRuvo that its a photo finish and if you are accustomed to Nikon, it will be more advisable for you to opt for D5000.

I am using D5000 and have no regrets what so ever. I too had gone through this dilemma. Come back to me if you need any further clarification.