Hey that's exactly what I was about to ask
Tim and I went to London Drugs to check out the cameras and we were almost dead-set on the Canon A70, but the guy there suggested we look at the Nikon 3100. We explained what we needed it for (taking reptile photos) and he showed us some close ups from the 3100. Great close-ups! He snapped a shot of some carpet and when you zoom you can do a thread count, clearly. Then he showed us a comparison photo of a brick wall. The A70 was great, but the 3100 was sharper and cleaner. The 4300 is good, but only features one more pixel and labelled options rather than just icons, over the 3100. However, you also get the Adobe printshop program ($150) free with the 4300. Also, the 2 year warranty (every other brand has one year) is awesome. Then there is the fact it comes with a battery charger and a free battery (lithium I believe) which is another $100 savings! Basically the Nikon 3100 or 4300 is a great deal. I too would love to see someone post some Nikon photos.
Julie