Just picked up my D300 from the PO and have a few initial impressions:

Positive:
Made 5 quick test images before putting the battery on charge and I'm very impressed with the image quality - crisp, clear, and colorful. AF and metering appear to be spot on, so far. And I haven't even cracked open the (thick) instruction manual yet! I'll definitely be studying that and shooting some more serious images this evening and over the next few days.

Not so positive:
I definitely hate the tiny rubber eye-cup and I vow to find a workaround if I have to make it myself. It might not be so bad if it extended away from the back of the camera a bit more. The eyepiece diopter correction knob (located next to the eyepiece and half buried in the eyecup rubber) is a pain to operate as well - too small and too tight turning even if you remove the eyecup.

Also, I never used a D200 so can't relate this camera to that one but the D300 feels way small in my hands - just to the point of feeling cramped. I wish they'd made it just a bit larger. My MB-D10 grip is on the way and we'll see how that affects the feel of the camera - I'm sure it will make a difference. Build quality seems good enough and I don't see any big problems there at this point.

For some thinking the D300 might be a good "full-time" replacement for a D2X I don't really think this is it (image quality issues excepted). I think the D300 will be an excellent 2nd or backup body for most but I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with it as a primary tool.

Keep in mind these are just initial impressions and more time with the camera may change that. I'll post more later and I look forward to hearing others impressions as they get their own hands on one too.

Weldon,
Picked my 300 up Saturday and got some shots of my 6 year old grand nephew playing indoor soccer. While my shooting technique is not too good after 7 years away from photography I was pleased with the results.
I used Program Mode-ISO3200 and the color was spot on.
Being a rookie to digital I can't speak to any noise.
Dittos on the rubber eyepiece and diopter knob.
My hands are a bit small and the camera felt very comfortable to me.
When I get a little better I will post some images for those of you more experienced to critique.
Eric

My hands are about average, I think, but I've always favored larger camera bodies. The cramped feeling I get from the D300, I think, probably has a lot to do with the shape of its grip (my 30d which is slightly smaller feels better to me) and the fact that I am very much used to larger bodies with built in vertical grips, such as the D2X and 1D MkIII.

The images I shot, so far, were at ISO 400 and I thought noise was pretty good though not earth shattering - again more extensive shooting will tell better.

Weldon,
Here's a work around for the eye-cup. http://www.barbeephoto.com/articles/eyecup/eyecup.htm
It's actually around $30 with all the parts but it works.

Way cool - thanks for the link!!!

http://www.bocaphoto.com/products/new/nikon/nikonacc.htm

Here is a bunch of eye cups.

And here: http://www.enjoyyourcamera.com/Nikon-Acc...0-etc::231.html

I like this last one.

Bill

I picked up my D300 last Wednesday, and have had the chance to use it all weekend. I also have a D200 (which my wife has told me she will now inherit) so I could compare the two. The D300 takes great shots, maybe even better than the D200. I haven't yet mastered the manual, so things should get better with time.
I picked up the MB-D10 grip today, and it does make the D300 feel much more balanced in my hands. (I have rather largish hands, so the bigger grip is a blessing.) My only complaint comes from comparing this grip to the MB-D200 grip. The D200 grip holds two batteries, both of which are accessible from the door in the back of the grip. The MB-D10 only holds one battery, and the other battery remains in its original location in the camera body. This means that to charge the second battery you have to remove the grip. You would think that the Nikon folks would have made this more ergonomically friendly!

Given the choice, I would have loved to see them include the EN-EL4 battery in the body of the camera, powerful enough to run the body at 8 fps from the beginning, then offer the grip with a place for the extra battery. At least that way, you'd get the necessary charger and one battery with the camera. I know there is some marketing strategy going on there, but it adds another $450 to the package just to get the extra FPS, vertical button, and extra battery life. I have one each of the necessary parts on order, but it is going to sting a little to write that check.

M. Jackson

My initial impressions having shot over 200 pictures with one this weekend (jpegs at iso 200) was that it focuses noticeably faster than my D200, seems to get the proper subject in focus almost every time, and also seems to meter slightly better, holding on to highlights better. On the D200 I haven't quite given in to the autofocus selection and often focus and recompose; I have a lot more confidence in the D300's AF, so I can shoot faster. I haven't shot high iso images or nefs, nor have I done a side by side with my D200. It handles the same as the D200, and except for the larger LCD, it takes a close look to tell them apart. Only trouble I had (I didn't read the manual) was I couldn't find the bracket button (by default it's the lower button beside the lens). On the plus side the LCD is useful enough to judge focus, the zoom function is much easier (which is why the bkt button was eliminated), and seeing the autofocus points is also useful). Having now read the manual, I can see some greater flexibility in setting up the camera presets, and have tried the D-lighting feature which is nice to have in camera but more from a snap-shooter perspective (it can save a hastily shot photo similar to post-processing, but this shouldn't be relevent when setting up shots properly).

Shot a wedding with the D300 last saturday and must say the images were spot on and no focus problems even after the lights got turned down. Did just add the verticle grip as the camera did feel small compared to my D2x and needed more battery power. Not sure why Nikon did not include the needed cover to use the En4 battery though. Noise level blows away the D2x as I shot some shots at 3200 Iso when I had to time to experiment a bit. All in all I am very happy and cant wait for my D3 to get here.