cannon 60d v nikon counterpart?

Nikon equivalent to it is the D7000.

What lenses do you already own? If they're Canon, stick with Canon unless you want to have to manually focus because you're using an adaptor.

Nikon is better for low-light, but it depends how 'low' you're going.

First off, it's Canon, not Cannon.

Canon or Nikon are equals, it's entirely up to personal preference. They hold about equal market shares. Anyone who tells you that one of them is better than the other when it comes to DSLRs does so out of personal preference, not objective reasons.

Currently there is no direct counterpart to the 60D in the Nikon lineup. There is the D5100, which competes against the 600D. The D90 was set against the 40D and 50D. The D7000 is somewhat above the 60D, closer to the 7D.

Be aware that the sensor of the 60D and 7D is the same as that of the 550D and 600D. They won't take any better photos than the 550D, the increase of price comes from improved ergonomics, build quality, AF system and some other features that you most likely won't ever need and which are nice to have at most, never truly necessary. You'll be best off with the a cheap body and saved money to be spent on a really good lens in a year, once you found out what kind of photography you're into.

Spend no more than 40% of your long term budget on the camera body. Lenses are more important to image quality, and also the better long term investment. A body lasts five years. A good lens can last for life.

Also give Pentax a serious consideration. You won't find better price/performance ratios.

Well there is no direct comparison of Nikon for the 60D. I would say the closest rival would be the D90, which is quite old and offers a lot less. However the D90 is considerably cheaper, and while it's offers a lot less, a lot of the extra stuff on the 60D is not totally necessary.

If you need 1080p video, and 18MP then the 60D has to be the one, otherwise you will be fine with the D90.

Personally I think the 7D is much bigger a jump forward, and you could compare that to the D300s.

well nikon does not have anything at price point ,

for bit higer price you can get nikon d7000 which is just great ,

if you mad at spending the money you get 7d , for most practical purposes 60d and 7000d are enough