I wont bore you with talk about specifics for both companies, it boils down to personal likes. The feel of the body will fit everyones hands differently thats part of the reason i shoot all canon stuff, the body i find much easier to work than my dads nikon. As for lenses in the few hundred dollar range thats a tough one...For a zoom, if you want to stick with a nikon there isnt anything for the most part except for the one that comes with the packages, and generally those are pretty cheap plastic lenses. You are better off putting your money towards a good lens instead of a body, the body holds the film the lens takes the pictures. I am a huge fan of 50mm normal lenses at f1.8 they can take pictures at night with minimal light and their optics are the most basic design possible since they do not magnify there is no problem with distortion and at 100 bucks they are very economical. They arent the best lens for skiing but it just takes a little more effort to set yourself up in the right spot. Its an investment too, you may have to spend 400-500 bucks to get a decent lens but unlike skis if you take care of it, it will last more than a few years. I shoot with some of my dads stuff from when he first started and its 30 years old and it works great. Now when they try to sell you a UV filter buy one a real cheap one, dont take pictures with it on though it is just good at protecting the lens but they hurt image quality. Buy a circular polarizing filter too, cost like 30-50 bucks for a decent one depending on size...they will make your pictures look much better. IF you shoot lots of black and white get a red 25 filter, it adds a lot of contrast and that is needed with snow. hope thats a little helpful. OH my best advice, go to your local ritz or whatever camera store look at the camera and lenses, then go online to BH's site and buy it off there you will save tons of money
Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. - Homer Simpson