Started from a Sony Cyber-Shot worth 15K, I kept increasing my budget and I kept getting a better choice. It made me scared that its gonna eat whole lot of savings I ended up buying Canon EOS Ki$$ X5.
I was more inclined towards Nikon D5100 as the reviews said its better for stills but the reason to opt canon was low price as well as cheaper lens.
All the pictures will be non-edited and straight from the camera (other then re-sizing), until mentioned otherwise: