I see the D3 shooters almost to a man/woman talk about better IQ (and how they therefore shoot their DX body less and less these days).

Are they really just speaking about the results achieved due to the 1-stop better dynamic range of the D3 over the D300 (paraphrasing Bill Claff's measured results)?

I know noise performance is 1+ stops better and this can also be a factor in the total package, but aside from noise is the benefit just a result of Dynamic Range improvements?

SteveK
My Nikonians gallery
'A camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.' -- Dorothea Lange

In most conversations I have had or read, the noise issue seems to be the main point. Much bigger photosites getting much more signal for the noise.

It so happens that there seems to be some dynamic range expansion as well. But most seem to be speaking of noise, explicitly or implicitly.

Best Regards,
Michael