Any of the top shelf models from Nikon or Cannon, will take outstanding images. Were I starting with a clean slate, I'd choose whatever body was most intuitive for me to operate, and one whose ergonomics were most compatible with me.
Which is exactly my thoughts, and again the D300 had controls that weren't far off my Minolta, so the transfer should be fairly easy, even for an old geezer like me...
Don't sweat the whole brand thing. Buy what you like, and then, most importantly, learn how to use it, and go out and have some fun!
My two pennies.
Jeff
Those are good, new and shiny pennies...
