most dslr's shoot raw now, even the entry level ones
here's what I usually recommend:
go to your local camera store, and play with both the nikon, and the canon that are within your price range. in this case you would probably want to go used, and step up what your willing to pay a bit. for nikon i recommend a used d3100, and an 18-105 lens, and for canon i recommend a used t2i, and an 18-135 lens.
in that price range you will need to buy used, unless you want to go without a lens.
the reason i usually recommend those lenses is so that the buyer can get a feel for what lens to get next. you really don't need great image quality when you're just learning, and after using it for a while you'll get know what focal length you tend to use the most. after you have a pretty good idea of this you can get a higher quality lens that covers a more specific focal range.