Nikon D300

It's hard to express how much I love this camera!

It starts with the feel of solid quality when you pick it up, and all the controls are laid out exactly where you need them. Nikon have done a great job. I've read one review where the reviewer didn't like the feel of the command dials as compared to the D70(s), but I haven't felt any problems.

Pluses:

Great feel
Superb color
Huge, bright screen
6 fps frame-rate
4 banks of menu pre-sets
"favorites" menu
programable function button
51-point 3D autofocus (it's like it reads your mind)
Live preview on the screen
HDMI socket
Shutter rated to 150,000 releases

Minuses:

battery life (much worse than D70(s), but still better than Canon)
I wish it still had the button for back light like the D70(s) instead of having to turn the on-off switch

It has, of course, all the funtionality you would expect from a professional camera (and yes, I would describe this as such):

Mirror lock-up to reduce shake
PC socket
Remote socket
RAW + jpg / tiff modes
9 frame bracketing
custom white balance, both direct and from a previous shot
timed multiple shutter release

Other things worth mentioning:

In live preview mode, the mirror still needs to come down for focusing.
It takes a full external battery pack that leaves you with the internal battery.

Get your D300 from Adorama or Amazon