My schedule for the past week has been such that I've not been able to really get out and shoot much with the D700 yet but I expect to tomorrow and during the week ahead. I'll try to post more as I do shoot more.

I haven't had the 17-35mm for very long, really, but it quickly became my favorite on the the D300. Sharpness consistently blows me away. I, too, am really looking forward to shooting with it on the D700.

I'm anticipating that the 24-70mm will become more useful to me on the D700 while the 70-200 may become less useful. Only time will tell for sure.

Ok: The D700 seems to be producing excellent images at higher ISO's but are they any better than the D300 or the D2X at ISO 100-400? How many with the D700 are using it to take images of birds and other wildlife? I find that even with the D300 and my 500mmAFS lens that I would often like more reach. With the D700 are the files good enough to crop to the same image size of the D300 and produce as good a file? I have been shooting allot of hummers at the minimum distance (15 FT) of my 500AFS and adding a tc at a loss of DOF is not to my liking. hcarl

...are they any better than the D300 or D2X at ISO 100-400?

This seems to be an apples and oranges comparison. The real test might be at the same ISO settings.
I have the D700 for the FX frame and the same sensor as the D3 which is noticably better than either the D300 or the D2X at high ISO. I use the high ISO for more shutter speed to get sharper images as the condition I have (Nystagmus-involuntary eye movement) makes anything under 1/800 a little iffy for me when tracking moving objects or hand holding.
It affects how I perceive the image in the viewfinder. It seems to move when not actually moving.
I do like the extra "reach" with the D300 but can get close enough to the Herons, Canada Geese, Whitetail Deer, etc. that I shoot for the FX frame to be enough. For now I let the smaller birds be as they are not my interest.
Eric

Eric: I said the D700 produces excellent higher ISO images, but are the images at say ISO 200 any better than the D2X or the D300? I would like the D700 for the higher ISO capabilities but do not want to give up the reach which I have with the D300. If the files from the D700 are an improvement on the D300 then cropping the D700 images should give the same quality as the D300 full frame. What lens do you use with the D700 for your bird shots? I am hoping that to begin with the 24-85 2.8-4 and the 80-400VR will work well with a D700 as well as my 500AFS. hcarl

Sorry for my misunderatanding about the ISO.
I'm using a 70-200VR but sometimes add a TC17EII but the images are soft with the TC. May need to use AF Fine Tune to adjust?
Cropping a full frame image does give pretty good results but in DX mode the pixel density goes down on the D700. Still the images are pretty good.
I have a 24-85f3.5-4.5 that is really sharp and produces good color with both bodies.
BTW I also use a 12-24f4G on the D700 at 17mm with good results.
FWIW I really like both bodies but do generally use the D300 when I need extra "reach".
Eric

Eric: Thanks for reply and looks like we are talking about the same issues. I have been shooting hummers with my D300 @ ISO 800 and at times even ISO 1600 with good results. With good light that gives me 2500-4000 sec speed and I can close down to F8-F11. With a little fill flash the images have been turning out to my liking. Now with the D700 I should be able to use ISO 1600 on a regular basis and add a 1.4 tc or even the 1.7 tc and with the F/8-F11 stop down still produce the images I want. Maybe I will spring for a D700 and give it a go. hcarl

Nice looking Hummer and yes I want pretty much what you mentioned. High shutter speed with good DOF.
You will really like the D700 as long as you don't need the extra bells and whistles of the D3 which is why I got it.
The extra $$$$ are better off in my pocket anyway.
It also has the sensor cleaning feature.
An EN-EL4a or even 8 Double A's will give 8fps if you need it in an MBD10 grip. I have the grip because I like the balance I get with it hand holding the 70-200VR and for the shutter release on it in vertical.
If your not sure perhaps you can rent one first???
Eric

My feelings about the D300 is that the sweet spot for image quality seems to be around ISO 400. Lower ISO settings are not necessarily better, and may be very slightly "grainier" looking, than the D2X at 100 or 200. I shot some images at 800 on a recent trip and the results were very good but I did feel a need for some light noise reduction (Lightroom or Dfine).

From what I've seen so far the D700 images look better than any camera I've used to date. Noise handling is awesome, as expected from the D3 sensor, but what really impresses me is the tonal quality and smoothness of gradation the sensor is capable of. Attached is a photo made Sunday afternoon of the underside of a bridge. There is bright sun (very lightly diffused) coming in from the left and hitting the light gray concrete. The underside
of the roadway is in various degrees of shadow. It might be hard to really see in the small samples but even in the darkest areas there is detail, some tonal gradation, and no noise.
The light areas I might have expected to blow out a little but they held. This image, even the full image cropped slightly from full frame, was shot at ISO 400 (I'd be happy shooting at 400 anytime with this camera based on this result) with 70-300 ED, hand-held, 1/200 second at f10.

Crops are 5x7 inch portions of the full size image at 100%. I didn't do much with this image, either. Pretty much what came right out of the camera, processed slightly in Lightroom 2, and sized/cropped/sharpened in PS3.

BTW - one of the things I really enjoyed about the 1D MkIII was being able to shoot hummingbirds at high ISO (800-1200) without flash and getting outstanding images. I'm thinking the D700 will excel for that purpose as well.

Here's another D700 image. ISO 200, again with 70-300 ED (@80mm), 1/800 second @ f8, processed in Lightroom 2 and sized/sharpened in PS3.

The crop is a 5x7 portion of what would be a 40x60 full size image at 72dpi.

Weldon,
Apologies, I realise you have other priorities but have you had a chance to try the 17 - 35 2.8 on your D700 ? I would value your opinion as and when you have time to try that combination.
Thanks