Hello,
Tom: My final question in my original post was not about noise, but noise *is* a big concern for me. It's not *the* only concern, and that's why I posted here instead of choosing a pixel-peeper forum.
Of course you get rid of most of the noise by exposing correctly. But as I said in one of the previous posts: when you shoot at ISO 1600 (on a D70), with your lens at f/1.8, the issue isn't correct exposure; it's a compromise between shutter speed and movement blur. Going to 3200 "might" let you decide shutter speed for correct exposure. But even if I had a ISO 3200 setting on my D70, I'm not sure I'd be ready to go there for most shots. Justifying spending 2000$ for a D300, for me, requires a much better noise (or signal to noise) management.
MagicNikon: Price is a concern for me too, but I don't think I could switch, and then switch back a few months later... Don't think my fiancee would be ok with that!
Rootrider: the noise in the D300 seems better than on the D70. But that's the least they can do: the D70 is a 3.5 year old camera. And 3.5 years in the electronics world is a long time! And the D70 is not in the same "class" as the D300. So you're talking nearly 4 years of improvements and a step-up in class. Also if I was only comparing Nikons with Nikons, I would indeed buy the D300 no regrets. But that's not the case.
Loa