I wonder if they used some of that Gorilla Tape just to be sure..

18-400... great choice...

Why not lug around a lens that'll give you reach when you want or need it... depending whether or not you want or need it. I have an 18-400 and am glad I have the range with me whenever I need it... and I use it a lot... You'd be surprised how useful it can be once you start using it...

I wear prescription glasses and found the viewfinder on the D7500 to be user friendly. I can easily see the settings on the inside (as well as the full framing of the picture) not to mention they will also appear on the LCD scree on the back of the camera as well. I do not know what the battery life is on the D500, but the D7500 can be a little thirsty depending on what you do with it. I always carry 1-2 spare batteries with me, but have not as of yet run out of juice on a charged battery on any given day of shooting. It does drink juice a bit faster than my D5200 did, but then it does a lot more than it did. Again, I have no regrets about getting the D7500.

The flash issue was a deal breaker for me as I wanted the convenience of having a bult in flash even though I have an SB-700 that I use when I plan to use one. Sometimes the need is so apparent in advance. I for got to mention that I came from a D5200 when I got the D7500... Night and day starting with picture quality. The auto function on the D7500 works nicely though I am venturing more into the manual world. The D7500 has a good memory bank for burst mode, something I couldn't do so well with the D5200 (which is now my backup camera). I have 4 different lenses I use, but found the Tamron 18-400 to be an excellent match for the D7500. Below is an example.

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I recently went through this debate with myself between the D7200 and the D7500. I made a list of camera features between the two and rated their importance to my need and rated their importance on a 1-5 scale. The answer became clear that the D7500 was the better choice for me. I took a brief look at the D500, but it was more camera than I needed. I suggest a trip to you local camera store and take a look how they feel in your hands (including how the controls are set up). I did this and it did help, but to no great degree. Most people here will speak from a perspective of their needs (for which there is nothing wrong with doing as I do that as well). I've had the D7500 now for five months and am delighted with it.

Sometimes you need to crop with a computer while at other times, a paper cutter...

Being retired I have lots of time to ..... get sucked in!!! No big deal. Everyone needs a hobby... including me...

There was one on whether or not you tether your lens cap to your lens... Fourteen pages later... Very enlightening... People like to go bat-crazy over stuff like that...

I never really gave it much thought. I shoot mostly horizontal, but will shoot vertical when the subject matter is improved (as in framing the picture). Sometimes I will shoot both and pick the better shot later to use.... When I'm shooting,mind falls to what looks best in the viewfinder. I realize there's are programs that allow you to rotate and crop as desired or needed, but having learned during the time of film, I try to frame my picture when I shoot because of the costs of processing film back in the day. When I first starting shooting in High school, we had the tools to process and enlarge as needed, but after that, not dark room. The darkroom in school was quite literally a small broom closet that was converted over for film and print processing...

I sincerely hope it'll work as well for you as it has for me...

The answer is simple. If you don't make what people want or need, they will stop buying your product...W. Edward Deming (He is primarily the person most responsible for making Japan what it is today in the are of quality)... So it's not so much about being forced as it is about making what will sell...

You kinda hit the nail on the head. "QUALITY"... What is a quality product?... It s a product that meets customer needs, expectations or requirements. No matter how effective, precise, or durable an item is, if it doesn't do what the buyer wants or needs it to do, it's not a quality product (workmanship and durability are usually part of the equation just the same). I don't believe in bashing anything that I haven't used (or reasonably attempted to use) at least three times. This is why I value the input from a broad range of people with varying back grounds, or the ones that actually use what I'm looking for... be they professional, amateur, or hobbyist. When I was inquiring about the D7500 before buying it. I read a lot of opinions from both sides of the table. Some made issues where they really didn't exist for me such as the number of card slots. One slot meets my need. General statements without explanation didn't have any value to me either. At some point, after reading both internet and Hedgehog opinions, the selection became crystal clear since I focused on what I was looking for in a camera. What do you want to do with it or rather what do you want or need from it becomes the paramount question.... BTW, I used to teach TQM in the Air Force (besides being a damn good Medic)....

I believe the photo should belong to whoever owns the camera unless a prior agreement is reached. I also believe that if someone rents a camera (to include borrowing one for exchange of consideration) it should belong to the person who rented/borrowed the camera, again unless an agreement is made before taking the pic as to ownership of any of the photos taken with the camera. This being said I believe the two following things should be true:

1. The photo should belong to the owner of the camera.
2. The monkey (or whoever else may have used the camera) should be charged with attempted theft for taking what didn't belong to them in the first place. If PETA considers the monkey to either be their agent of client, then PETA should too be held accountable for said attempted theft since they are attempting to extort money from the photographer....

That is is the craziest damn thing I've ever read.... The monkey owns the pic since it was a selfie and PETA calls this an ethical issue. Whether of not it's even possible for a non humanoid mammal to actually "own" the copyright on anything may be in question, the real moral of this story is... Always be careful which monkey butt photographer you let use your camera equipment... It could end up costing you in the long run...