Well I managed to have a look at all of the options today, which was an improvement over what I expected! I did ask at LCE about opinions on a D300 replacement, and whilst they didn't know of any D400, they felt that the D7000 series was the path they thought Nikon were taking as a replacement, so maybe I am a little too quick to dismiss.... I really really don't get Nikon's numbering convention though - clearly I'm not supposed to! Maybe another topic there...
D7000 - I think will be out of contention, although the price is tempting - its not far off D90 (new) money. However the D7100 seems so much better.
D7100 - probably the sensible front runner in terms of initial outlay still allowing me to convert my D90, and in terms of lens replacements. Looks a great camera, and will be the painless upgrade option and seemingly a worthy upgrade for me. Lack of a screen protector seems odd mind! Maybe full frame at a later date, and upgrade my lenses from DX in the mean time.
D600 - still very much in contention. I understand the D600 is basically a full frame D7000? I have to admit, there didn't really seem much difference in feel. So the toss up really comes between crop and full frame, and that will require more research from me! They both certainly seemed very similar, although the 7100 did clearly have some features not evident on this or the 7000.
D800 - Lets be honest, unless I win the lottery, I'm just not going to do this camera justice in terms of lenses. I didn't get much time to play with this camera, as only John Lewis had one available on the display mount with nobody around to ask. Its certainly bigger, I did prefer the ergonomics and the idea of having medium format like images sounds great, but it'll just be too high maintenance and I couldn't afford to convert my D90 or get any suitable lenses. So out of contention. hm...
I also had a look at a couple of lenses related to my other thread, of which one was coupled with the D7100 (the 18-105VR and 70-300VR replacement).
Firstly the 18-300VR DX lens - my god, what a weight! Whilst I'd love a single lens solution, and I'd heard it was fairly weighty, I didn't quite appreciate quite how heavy it would feel - it really did change the balance of the camera compared to my current setup! It did seem very slow to focus too, but maybe that was just the environment. I'll have to research how images compared to my current kit. Obviously this would lead me down a DX route as well, and wouldn't help me in terms of future proofing my kit! £700-odd too... ouch, but no great surprise.
I hadn't considered the 24-300 though. This WOULD provide a future proof solution being a full frame lens, and whilst I lose out a little at the wide end (I've got a Sigma 10-20 so maybe I'll just have to use that more!), I'm guessing I'll gain over the 18-105 in terms of quality, and not lose out on the 70-300 too much. It felt lighter than the 18-300 and was around £100 cheaper! Maybe I've just found my lens solution too!
EDIT: Thanks for your reply IanP - that certainly tallys with what I picked up today (and again prompts the question about Nikon version numbering!) and I think your reply gives me greater confidence in the 7100! Good point about reviews though, although I know those have caused consternation in the past when awesome cameras got mediocre reviews!
Can I (be bothered to) wait for prices to drop? Hmm... Its a much about converting my D90 to IR as getting a new camera.... We'll see!
