Thoughts on the Nikon D7000?

I've read reviews and have some insight but I'm curious to know what the more serious photographers in this section have to say.

I'm currently shooting with a D300 and would like to add the D7000 to my arsenal at some point. The D300 belongs to the company my husband works for and is loaned to him for as long as he's employed with the company. Although my husband has no intentions of leaving the company any time soon and his job is stable (he's been with them for 9 years), I'd still like to be able to purchase my own camera with no strings attached or any worry I'll be left without a camera.

It may be awhile before I can buy it (though if I'm lucky it could be sometime in the spring) but I feel that if I get good advice and opinions from those whose opinions I know are solid in this section it'll help my decision process. I checked out the D3200 just for giggles recently and it's just too small for me. I've grown accustomed to a large, sturdy camera like the D300. If I had the budget for it I'd consider the D600.

So… Thoughts? Thanks for any insight!

Added (1). @ PT: Yea, I do like the functionality of the D300. Those switches make life so much easier. I'm a simple gal when it comes to shooting and hate wasting time fiddling with menus.

Thanks for your thoughts! Something to think about. I may have to just go to my local camera store and fiddle with it myself to see what I think.

I just got my D7000 that I ordered for my birthday. Its absolutely great. And the best part is that it has an internal autofocus so it can work with basically any nikon lens. The HD video is also impressive. However, the D7000 is basically a D5200 with more buttons.

A good website for any other questions about the D7000, its pretty thorough:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/.../d7000.htm

The D7000 like your D300 can use all of the Nikon AF, AF-I and AF-S lenses.

If you do not mind manually focusing, any Nikkor manual focus AI lens will also work on those two cameras.

If you are used to the D300, there are a couple of things that might put you off about the D7000 - AND the D600. I love the way I can change almost EVERYTHING about the operation of the D300 without going into menus. I can change the meter pattern with a switch. I can change the focus mode with a switch. Changing the meter pattern on the other cameras involves a two finger operation. I see that there's a switch for AF-M by the lens, but I guess you have to go into the menu to switch between C and S (continuous and single) focus modes. THAT would drive me nuts, especially at the rce track where I shoot so often. Speaking of… I can get 8 fps on the D300, which helps for really active motorsports, but the D7000 only goes to 6 fps. That's not a deal-breaker, though.

There are fewer AF points int he D7000 and they occupy a smaller area of the frame. I almost always use the center spot and recompose, but there are a few things that the 51-point 3-D AF works for quite nicely. I guess that's gone.

I like the hard-wired cable release, too, but I guess I could get used to a battery-operated remote control.

I think the D300 is more rugged and better sealed against the weather, which makes a difference to me, also.

Personally, I would wait to see if Nikon comes out with a "semi-pro" D300 replacement instead of a high end consumer-oriented camera. I'm not even thrilled about the D600, because of all of the concessions made for a lower price. Give me more ONE TOUCH switch controls for the features I use the most instead of making me work through a menu.

The U1 and U2 might overcome some of my objections, though, if these functions can be pre-programmed and stored there.

I upgraded from the D300 some 3 years ago when the D700 came out - and found there was little difference in the controls BUT a helluva difference in the ISO latitude which was useful for my low light photography.

Might I suggest that if the D300 is good enough for you save the hassle of buying the latest but look for bargains with the D700 since that is now being replaced by newer models despite still being a GOOD buy. That way you gain 2 ways - have a better camera but at a cheaper price which gives you more money in pocket. More importantly the D700 will happily use any lenses that you currently use with the D300.