Yep, the D3 is a great cam, the high iso was borderline revolutionary at that time. I almost bought one two years ago for 2 kilobuck, good thing that I listened to reason and ended up getting the D300 for one kilo. Also a swell shooter. Still sometimes wonder about that choice, though.
And yeah- the only thing I don't actually like about the 14-24 is the supersize front element, easy to smear/damage. And on that wide end every mark will show up on the pictures. Also filters...