D7500 vs D7200: Here goes on my first post! I have been using a Nikon D7000 for five years, and thinking about upgrading. I own 2 FX lenses, a 50mm f1.8D, and a 24-85mm f3.5-5 g...

marklevisay Loc: Central Virginia

Here goes on my first post! I have been using a Nikon D7000 for five years, and thinking about upgrading. I own 2 FX lenses, a 50mm f1.8D, and a 24-85mm f3.5-5 g (non-VR), and also 3 DX lenses, a 35mm f1.8G, an 18-140mm f3.5-5.6G VR and a Tokina 11-20 mm f2.8. With my lenses I'll definitely stick with Nikon, and probably DX as my wife & I like to hike and weight counts. Both D7200 and 7500 seem like they would improve on the D7000, and there is currently not much difference in price between the two. Do current D7500 users notice the supposed improvement in focus tracking and face recognition based on the new meter sensor? The D7500 is also supposed to be significantly lighter than either the 7000 or 7200. I process most of my photos in Lightroom, and post a good many on flickr. Thanks in advance for any advice and/or comments.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

It's up to you and the features you want. Does dual card slots carry any weight for you? I love my D7200 and if I was going to upgrade I would move to the D500, not the D7500. Just my opinion.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Both are fine cameras, the differences are minor where 1 will have "this" feature and the other will have "that" feature. Since you mention LR, if you're not a subscriber, make sure your software will support RAW files from the camera you select. Both models are covered by the standalone v6, with the point releases applied taking it to v6.14. But, if you're running something older, you need at least v6 for either camera. It might be your computer equipment that is the deciding factor for a change.

marklevisay Loc: Central Virginia

Thanks for the comment! My wife uses Adobe CC for her consulting business, so I am on Lightroom CC, which should accept D7500 RAW files. I'm probably most interested in the supposed improvements to the facial recognition/3D tracking, as we have our first grandson at 2 months old right now, and he'll be getting faster shortly! I assume the images from either 7200 or 7500 will be an improvement over the D7000.

marklevisay Loc: Central Virginia

Thanks for the comment! I'm not sure I've ever used the 2nd card slot on the D7000 in the 5 years I've used it, so I don't think that's a big deal. I really like the light weight specs of the D7500 as opposed to the D500, and I also use the pop-up flash on my D7000 sometimes ( I have an SB-700 for serious flash shooting). No built in flash on D-500 is not good. Would like the 153 point AF system, though!

Bear2 Loc: Southeast,, MI

marklevisay wrote:

Thanks for the comment! My wife uses Adobe CC for her consulting business, so I am on Lightroom CC, which should accept D7500 RAW files. I'm probably most interested in the supposed improvements to the facial recognition/3D tracking, as we have our first grandson at 2 months old right now, and he'll be getting faster shortly! I assume the images from either 7200 or 7500 will be an improvement over the D7000.

I do not have a D7500, but I do have a d7200 and a d7000. The d7200 is faster and sharper focusing, better in low light, has Wi Fi, and more over the d7000, which I still have and love. Have a Nikkor 18-200 VR ll on the d7200 90% of the time, and a 70-300 - 3.5-5.6 VR on my d7000 most of the time. The 18-200 is awesome. Both cameras & lenses have been fine tuned in the custom menu. One button on the D7200 gives you 100% image enlargement, and when I do my part, they are perfectly clear. This feature is not available on the d7000. Both have a pop up flash for adding a sparkle to eyes, plus shadow control, and so does the D7500. I have a couple SB 700s, but they are not always with me, so I often call on the pop up flash.
Hope this helps.
Duane

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Mark,

I just want to cite your post for its clarity on your objectives, needs, and view of the benefits possible through an upgrade. Also for your responses to additional questions. You will get some snark before your questions have been fully answered, as well as some “My gear’s better than yours” but I’m also interested in the responses as I’ve also wondered about the FR software.

Thanks for asking this question!

Andy

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

I moved from a D7000 to a D500. I'm not looking back. And I don't miss the pop up flash since my new camera lets me shoot indoors at ISO 1250 - 1600 without noise issues. And if your shooting kids in action you can't beat it's 10 fps burst mode. Seriously, if you can afford it get the D500. I bought a previously owned body with the Nikor 16-80mm zoom for $2000 from Adorama (about a $1000 less than new). BTW, I use one card slot for jpeg and the other for RAW.

marklevisay Loc: Central Virginia

Thanks for your comment! How does your D7200 do in 3D tracking AF? Are your images sharper than the D7000? I'm hoping to get actual users of the 7200 and 7500 to comment on their experiences-thanks for yours!

marklevisay Loc: Central Virginia

Thanks Andy! We'll see what we get!

marklevisay Loc: Central Virginia

Thanks for your comment! To me the biggest drawback of the D500 is weight. After 3 or 4 miles on the trail, the D7000 gets kind of heavy. D7500 is supposed to be 54 grams lighter. I am thinking 8 fps will be plenty for grandchildren-I rarely use over 3 fps now when photographing trains. Looking forward to better low light performance from the D500/D7500 sensor! Do you like the 16-80 mm f2.8-4 lens? I might be able to get a good discount on it in a D7500 kit on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

marklevisay wrote:

Thanks Andy! We'll see what we get!

I should add that I recently moved to a D7100, and though circumstances have prevented me from testing it on more than one lens so far, I am very happy - especially with the IQ, autofocus speed and accuracy, and low light performance. I’ll skip the 7200 for now, and when I upgrade eventually, it will likely be to a 7500 or successor model.

Andy

marklevisay Loc: Central Virginia

Andy, I've heard good things about that camera, so enjoy! I'm mostly trying to improve my AF situation, as getting older always seems to involve lower visual acuity! I'm curious to see the difference between sensors with and without the AA filter.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

marklevisay wrote:

Andy, I've heard good things about that camera, so enjoy! I'm mostly trying to improve my AF situation, as getting older always seems to involve lower visual acuity! I'm curious to see the difference between sensors with and without the AA filter.

That was my major reason for upgrading from our D3200. Ive been taking night shots and viewing them at high magnification in LR. Noise is very low, even shooting at a higher ISO than I usually choose. We had a chance to bargain shop for it, far from home, and after detailed review of the features, I didn’t think the additional iq of the 7200 was worth delaying the purchase. Whichever you decide on, I’ll be looking forward to hearing more. With two of us shooting we tend to “hopscotch” our gear acquisition.

PS: I’ve played around trying to intentionally create some visible Moore effects, but so far I haven’t seen any sufficient to be visually distracting.

Andy

marklevisay Loc: Central Virginia

Andy: I need to do some night time sky photography-we have a good, dark view to the northwest and the Blue Ridge. I shot a D-40 for 5 years, and the 16mp D7000 sensor was a big improvement. I've seen photos at up to 20s which don't seem to show appreciable motion blur. With low noise/high ISO that should do well?