Without some more idea of what you're planning to do and your background, maybe not.
Do you have any existing lenses?
Have you used a film SLR before? Digital SLR? Digital point&shoot?
Are you planning to buy lenses, rent them, borrow them?
How did you narrow your choices to the Minolta and Nikon models?
When I was choosing about a year ago, factors that influenced me included:
o the range of lenses available for each brand
o the price of each model (not very relevant in the long term, but there was the possibility I'd lose enthusiasm and I wanted to put a 'toe in the water' to begin with)
o who I knew using each brand who might answer questions, perhaps share lenses, etc
o features that I needed/wanted/thought I wanted in particular camera models
Have fun deciding, and more than that, have fun using whatever you chose!
Giles
