I've been shooting with a d200 for over a year and a half and have a d70 as my main bkup. I'd love to hop on one of the d700s b&h has in stock, but don't want to drop 3k. Would now be a good time to pick up a d300? Will I notice an improvement over the d200? Should I buy a used one? Rent first?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I used to shoot a camera for YEARS before picking up something new....but with the leaps and bound Nikon is making, well it makes it hard to ignore. Especially after shooting with Hassel's D3. Oh my Goodness!!! Like 'but-ta".

Great question! I am considering the same thing. Should D300s drop in price? My D200/D70 combination needs an upgrade.

The d200 is a great camera in its own right. Probably the only drawback with that body is the battery life. I'd say if you're stocked in batteries and got that covered, it'd probably be a nice, better back up body.

The d300 corrected the battery life issue and I find it getting similar time as my old d70...keeps going and going and going.

That said, I've seen the d300 drop $250 since coming out, so that's good, too.

What are d200 going for now?

Edit: Oh, and from what I've read and heard from others that have owned both, the ISO improvements are a major, major factor.

used D200 850ish Used D300 1450ish new 1600

should drop a bit in four months or so when more D700's hit the market.

I would wait a tiny bit before you get a d300, like Steve said, the price will drop a bit more. You might also start to see the prices of full frame lenses jump a bit, while the dx lenses will drop just a tiny bit or stay the same. Try renting the d300 for a week or two and see how you like it. It really is leaps and bounds over the d200!