Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Steve's explanation was excellent, as they always are. You might want to search for a list of his videos on YouTube.com, because to put it mildly Steve produces the absolute best videos available. They are technically correct, which tops virtually every other typical reviewer on YouTube. But he also has a really great presentation style. No wasted words...

And you do seem to have picked up exactly the point. Another way of putting it, is that if you are "focal length limited", the DX camera with the longest focal length lens you have is going to provided better resolution. It's pretty obvious from the actual sensor resolution numbers:
Essentially, in that order, if the image has to be cropped in post processing to get the desired framing, the cameras at the top of that list will produce a higher resolution cropped image than the cameras lower on the list. As opposed to that, if a longer focal length can be used to get the same framing, that will produce higher resolution if the ratio of lp/mm is greater than 1.5X.

For example, if you have a 600mm lens and shoot an object so far away that with a D500 image it has to be cropped by 50% of the width and height to get what is needed. A D7200 will provide a slightly higher resolution, and all of the other cameras will produce a lower resolution image. However, if no cropping is needed you can get the advantages of more pixels, such as with the D810.

BFS Loc: Queen City, MO

Ok I know I just keep asking question but how better to learn? Would a D7200 give me better quality than I am getting with my D5300? The D7200 and the D5300 as I understand has the same sensor. So would not the quality of photos be the same?

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

The D810 in DX crop mode gives the same field of view that the D5300 would using the same lens at the same location. However...

The D810 in DX crop mode produces a image with pixel dimensions of 4800x3200, while a D5300 produces pixel dimensions of 6000x4000. The D800 is a 15.36 MP image and the D5300 is a 24 MP image. The D800 has a resolution of 102 lp/mm and the D5300 has a resolution of 128 lp/mm.

If you want to print that image at any size larger than about 16" wide (about 300 PPI) the D5300 image will be significantly better. On the other hand, for a web display at say 800 pixels wide it just won't make any difference at all.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

The D5300 and the D7200 have about the same image quality. The difference is convenience and the bells and whistles. The D7200 has a much better pentaprism viewfinder that the pentamirror viewfinder on the D5300. It also has an AF drive motor build in for AF-D lenses. For my use those two issues would be a big deal, but they might not matter at all to others.

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

I was about to type my answer, but Apaflo told you exactly what I was going to say.

The only other thought I'd put out there is performance (I should have mentioned it earlier). The D500 is a fantastic action camera and if you like doing action (or think you might - it's like a drug LOL), then it should be high on your list. The D7200 is also good - better AF than the D5xxx series, better buffer, etc. However, as Apaflo says and I agree, from an image quality standpoint, all the current Nikon DX cameras are really good and you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I would add to the two reasons above. Although I have the earlier D7100, I also would mention an improved autofocus system, longer battery life and improved image with the removal of the optical bypass filter. A good sorce to do a side-by-side comparison is dpreview.com. You can plug in the models you want to compare, and the read the reviews as well.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

I can weigh in on this from personal experience. I own both the D5200 and the D7200. The D7200 was an upgrade because I wanted some of the features the D5200 did not have - namely 2 card slots and the ability to customize 2 mode buttons. As far as the IQ goes for both the D5200 and the D7200 - I really cannot tell which camera took which image just by looking at them. Both are excellent cameras.

DaveHam Loc: Reading UK

My questions are. If you shoot a photo both with full frame and a crop camera (since the D500 is said to be the D5 in full frame cameras lets use those two cameras) with the same lens and crop the full frame photo to DX size is there a difference in photo quality?

The only difference between a 'crop' and a 'full' sensor is sensor size and the density of photosites. If a crop has the same pixel count as a full frame sensor then the pitch of the photosites is tighter making the sensor more susceptible to a number of effects such as low light noise.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

In the hands of a skilled photographer, there is no difference between the D500 and the D5 as far as IQ goes. I shoot wildlife, so I want the reach, so it's the D500 for me. If you like landscapes and wide angle, go with full frame. I own a 24-120 which is the Nikon 16-80 on a cropped sensor camera. I love the range of the 24-120 but not the weight. I understand the 16-80 is lighter than the 24-120 and yes, it is a great walk around vacation lens (that is why Nikon produced it for the crop sensor cameras), you will be very happy with it.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

It is in unskilled, or at least less skilled, hands that there is no difference.

Indrajeet Singh Loc: Goa, India

Excellent!

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I often switch back and forth with my D500 and D810. I use FX lenses on my D500 and I find it to be very sharp.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

If you stand in the same spot you can change the focal length to get the same framing (in which case you also get exactly the same pixel dimensions), but if the focal length stays the same the framing will change. If the DX shot is then cropped to the same framing it will necessarily have a smaller pixel dimension.

With the same pixel size images made with different focal lengths the two images will have the same amount of fine detail, but the DX sensor will have more noise. The other FX image, taken with the same focal length and then cropped, will have fewer pixels for a given unit of length and will thus not resolve as much fine detail as the DX sensor.

However, the difference in noise amounts to the difference in dynamic range of changing the ISO by 1 fstop. Hence if the DX camera is set to half the ISO of the FX camera the noise in each image will be about the same.

The effect is that in low light where you need a high ISO the FX sensor will be able to produce lower noise. At low ISO's the higher noise from the DX sensor will be below the black level and thus not significant. If the subject is close enough that a longer focal length lens is available for the FX camera to frame the image the same as the image from the DX sensor so that no cropping is required then the resolution will be the same. But if the subject is far away and you are "focal length limited" the DX body will produce a higher resolution image with more fine detail.

The above works out nicely for the D500 and D5 because they produce exactly the same pixel dimensions for their images. For cameras with different MP images the calculation has to take that into effect.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You've gotten lots of good answers. In real life, looking at pictures on your monitor and posting online, I doubt you would be able to justify the higher cost of FX. On the other hand, it's always nice to get that nice, big sensor.

Lots of links -

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/article/g588ouey/the-dx-and-fx-formats.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/dx-vs-fx-its-not-debate-its-choice
http://www.lightstalking.com/cameras-sensor-size/
http://neilvn.com/tangents/full-frame-vs-crop-sensor-cameras-comparison-depth-of-field/

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

Steve, Both you and Apaflo are absolutely correct. As for DOF, it is exactly the same (given the same lens) on both cameras assuming that you shoot the same perspective (meaning you back up 1.5 times the distance on) on the DX to get the same image.
I have a 50mm 1.4 Nikkor lens and it gives great DOF on both my D610 (FF) and D7100 (CF) cameras. I just have to remember that 1.5 conversion.
If you look at the DOF calculator ( http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html ), the reason that they want you to input the type of camera is so that they can determine whether it is full frame or crop frame. For instance, that calculated says that my 50mm 1.4 lens at 10 ft on the D7100 will have an in focus area of .68 ft. That means that at 10 feet, everything will be in focus from 9.67 ft. to 10.4 ft. That same lens at 1.4 and 10 feet on my D610 a focus area of 1.02 feet and everything from 9.2 feet to 10.5 feet would be in focus. However if you move the D610 to 8.2 feet to shoot the same shot, you will have EXACTLY the same area of focus at f/1.4 on the same 50mm lens.

Now at f/16 and 8.2 feet (same as f/1.4) the focus area goes from 5.58 feet to 15.5 feet and is an area of 9.9 feet. On the D7100 at 10 feet and f/16 the areas are 7.23 feet to 16.2 feed and a focus area of 8.9 feet.

Both camera will work fine with that same lens and very little affect to the DOF. AND, since you are shooting digitally, if you need to worry about 3 inches one way or the other with a particular lens, you can always look at the results on the back of the camera and adjust.

Oh and as for the remark about fashion shooting, MOST of the photographers I know, use large format cameras and YES they DO crop and post process. However, I do know of a couple that also carry a Nikon D4 or D5 and or D800 or D810. They also choose between the cameras for what they are trying to get. Also, much of the fashion photography (not counting the runway shows) is for posters, billboards, and magazine layouts which typically need larger format images. However, the Nikon D2,3,4,and 5 and to a lesser degree the D800/810 have done well in this area as well as corporate and product photography. Hasselblad is probably one of the most iconic fashion photography cameras for its large format and interchangeable lenses. While there are others. Remember too, that photographers that haven't developed a "name" for themselves in that industry as well as many others, tend to purchase the cameras that their customers expect to see and not necessarily the best for the job. In Fashion, like many other events, you EXPECT to see Hasselblad, Nikon, and Canon, not so much Fuji, Kodak and Panasonic (not saying that they are as good or better than Hasselblad, Nikon and Canon but am making a point). Its not so much the camera as it is the ability of the photographer behind the camera, but very few advertising execs get fired for hiring a photographer with a Nikon, Hasselblad or Canon. Sometimes its about image and not results.