Nikon vs Canon

to all aviation planespotters i am looking to buy a new camera i have a nikon l340 and am looking to upgrade but cant decide if i want a nikon dsrl or a canon dslr? i am looking to spend around $400-$500. any suggestions?

Welcome to hell, those running with canon will tell you go with canon and I guess you can imagine what the nikon users will tell you.
Depends on what do you want, you have to see the sensor specifications too if you want the best deal, noise at different iso values for example.
AND for dslr keep in mind that you will want later other lenses too and those are not cheap.
Any other use planed? In this case I mean long time exposures like in astrophotography or IR photography?
In last time I’ve seen very good reviews of the Sony system cameras but I wasn’t that much interested - already having 2 dslr.
Also to take in account used cameras you can get a good deal if you don’t need new ones.

Not to throw a wrench in things, but I swear by my Fuji cameras so much, my Nikon is shelved for good. The X series are incredible and you can get them with fixed lenses or interchangeable. Worth a look IMO. For unbiased reviews, look up Ken Rockwell. He goes through the Nikon v. Canon debate and has reviews and info on most cameras.