I dunno Frank
The D300 has an amazing lcd screen, more focus points, better noise @ ISOs above 1200, and you can go on and on. It's more of a machine than the D200, but you have to determine whether you need those things or not. IQ wise I prefer the D200s output, but this is subjective and i know some people get mad when i say this (please don't be upset, it's just my
opinion), but i just have always admired (lusted :tongue

the D200s output and metering and thus it was always the camera I desired (it's kinda like lusting after a classic car instead of a new one i guess)...i am not really your gotta have the latest greatest thing type of person mind you, so i am a minority here in many respects.
You have to look how I shoot:
-I am a daylight shooter; love the outdoors, so ISO is good enough on the D200. I tend to shoot @ ISOs 600 and below.
-I don't shoot sports and I don't shoot wildlife - so I don't need 51 focusing points - hech I only use 3 on the D200 :wink:
-I don't really use the LCD as much as I did on the D50 as the D200 is a pretty reliable machine, it nails focus and metering well and has buttons to access just about everything via the body and the most pertinent information can be found on the top lcd.
-i wouldn't mind having live view, it's cool, but than again i don't know how much I would really use it.
-the battery life of the D200 is a bit better than I expected, it's gets trashed quite a bit, but i can do a full days worth of shooting with one battery, then again i am a 'picky' shooter, so i don't shoot thousands of pics like some people here (more like 300-800 on a weekend)
- fps 5 is more than enough for me. i don't do sports or birds in flight, i stay in single shot mode most of the time unless i need to work with changing subjects.
i purchased the D200 for a couple of reasons:
1) I wanted a better meter, the D200 has that.
2) I wanted better image quality. The D200 produces better pics than my D50 (which I still love) - more dynamic range, better tonal an color graduations, better color output and better detail (cleaner IMHO).
3) I wanted a better built camera with a noted shutter life.
4) I wanted more accessibility via buttons on the camera body itself.
5) I wanted to meter Nikon's manual lenses
My only gripes thus far:
1) The viewfinder is big (compared to my D50), but still not big enough for manual focusing (need that D3 screen I guess :wink

2) The camera is too heavy for my wife to hold when I need her assistance :tongue:
My needs are quite simple and the D200 met them, as you can see i worked things out methodically, spending quite a bit of time thinking and researching for I made a decision. I think for you, the D300 might be a better choice as low light is key.