That's why it is best, if you don't already have a preference, to go to the shop and ask to try Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic, Sigma, (anymore?) and feel for yourself whether you like the grip, can you hold it steady, the controls, how intuitive it is to you, etc before deciding. The fact that they can sell shows that they have met a certain quality standard, so they should be ok.
Personally I am very comfortable with Nikon because I have been with Nikon for ages because of the reliability. But I don't expect everyone else to feel the same. But just remember that when you buy DSLR, you are buying into a system, so est to buy from a brand who is commited into it. The traditional names like Nikon, Canon, Olympus and Pentax automatically comes into mind, but Sony and Panasonic are not too far behind also.
