I agree. I am a Canon shooter but no way would I buy one now. Canon has been really slow in making improvements in sensors and image quality. At this point, I would recommend Nikon. I am not a Sams Club member but at Costco there are always lots of well priced Nikon kits.
Thing is will a beginner dslr user be able to notice and actually use any small difference in dynamic range? It's raw only and only at low iso. nikon has 39 points but very few are cross type sensitivity while all 9 of the T5i's Af points are cross type and are more spread out than nikon's cross types.
An improvement in dynamic range is very noticeable. The improvement does not depend on the skill of the photographer. It is built in to the capability of the system and does not require any operator involvement. Dynamic range is a characteristic of the sensor which would affect raw and jpeg captures.
I have no idea which system has the best AF. A lot of focus points would be useful for BIF and sports photography. For the vast majority of my shooting I only use one point so that I can select the object in focus. I am not happy with the system in my Canon since it will not handle macro shooting. Again, I have no idea if the Nikon works better for macro photography. It could hardly be worse.
The other issue is resolution. A jump from 18 to 24 is helpful. It helps for cropping and making large prints. It also improves sharpness for small prints or monitor displays.
I would also recommend Nikon over Canon, because at least Nikon is trying to make sensor improvements even if that means buying from a third party. Canon seems to be milking the old technology and then wondering why sales are dropping.
