Mandy Hester Loc: North Carolina

Hey guys. I’m looking to upgrade from a D7100. I mostly take sports pics of my high school age children. I am wondering if any of you have experience with the D500 for indoor sports and what you like/dislike about it. Thank you so much.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Your D7100 features a 24MP sensor, where the D500 lowers the resolution to 21MP. The increase to 10 fps and the newest processing may make a difference in your sports shooting. But, if concerned about indoors, you might want to consider your lenses more than your camera given you already have a sports-capable model. Are you shooting with f/2.8 or faster lenses in both the 18-80 range and the 70-200 focal lengths?

Mandy Hester Loc: North Carolina

I shoot with the 70-200 2.8 and occasionally a 50 1.8. I definitely get better results with the 70-200.

BebuLamar

If he shoots in long burst the D7100 has very small buffer while the D500 seems not to fill the buffer.

CO

I have two D500's. It has Nikon's best autofocus system. The D5, D850, and D500 are the first Nikon's to have a processor dedicated to solely the autofocus system. When I got my first D500, I noticed the difference right away. It also has flicker detection, the autofocus is sensitive down to -4EV, and has an almost unlimited buffer. The XQD and UHS-II speed SD memory cards slots allow for faster data transfer.

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CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Which types of sports? The 50 should be very close to the 70mm end of zoom, although at f/2, you should be able to shoot at 1-stop faster on the shutter or 1-stop lower in the ISO vs the 70-200 at f/2.8.

If you were floor level for basketball or other sports "right in front" of you, you might need a lens covering the wide-end like a 14-24 f/2.8 or 17-55 f/2.8 or even 24mm or 35mm primes to be more useful than the 50mm.

The buffer for the D500 might be the best reason alone to change, followed with the advanced AF system.

Mandy Hester Loc: North Carolina

I shoot volleyball mostly.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

What seems not to be understood on this site is that the D500 is an "apex" all around camera...like the D850. It does everything well. There is no important difference between 24mp and 21mp. If you tend to adjust your camera's functions, you will find the D500's professional user interface day vs. night when compared to the D7100. It is a pleasure to shoot under all circumstances. The 21mp sensor has a pixel density almost exactly the same as the D850. And if you should ever venture into the full frame arena with a D850, you will find the menus and controls identical.

I won't tell you whether you should get a D500 or not. But I will tell you that if you decide to do so, you will find it a pleasure to use every time you pick it up, no matter what you are shooting. It is also compatible with more Nikkor lenses that any other Nikon DSLR, which means any other Nikon Camera.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Mandy,
Have you read about flicker detection?
"When powered by alternating current, fluorescent lamps and certain other types of artificial lighting flicker at a rate determined by the frequency of the power supply, which depending on the timing of the shutter release may produce areas of uneven color or exposure. Flicker reduction helps prevent this by matching the timing of the shutter release to the flicker rate."
Maybe you've experienced it but didn't realize it.
Before I used it, I was getting inconsistent exposure and color balance in a few indoor locations.
Manual exposure and a custom white balance doesn't fix the problem.
NPS loaned me a D500 body to try and the difference was like night and day.

As CO pointed out above...
You would have to move up to the D500 (or D7500) to get flicker detection.
Both have it and it works amazingly well for shooting inside with artificial light.
(some geniuses were thinking out of the box there!)
https://nps.nikonimaging.com/technical_solutions/d500_tips/useful/flicker_reduction/


As far as the camera interface goes, the D500 is similar to the full-frame pro bodies.
I had a D7000 and couldn't stand the D7xxx's layout, so haven't used any models above it.
The change in handling may confuse you at first, but be patient.
I find it quicker and more intuitive.

They have the same sensor and maybe the processor, so they are even there.
The 7500 shoots 8fps... the 500, 10fps, but I think the D500's buffer will allow you to keep shooting much longer.
The D500 has a technically better AF system, with 3 times more autofocus points than the D7500.
Whether this translates to more usable images, I couldn't tell you, not having used a D7500.
My money would be on the 500.
(Back in my newspaper shooting days we were lucky to get 3fps and our "buffer" allowed a total of 36 exposures).

Having used a D500, I was quite impressed.
It is an incredible body.


The other questions:
What lenses are you using?
What kind of access do they let you have?

wetreed

I think you will love the D500. It’s a great sports camera, but it’s also a great all around camera. I give the D500 my highest recommendation.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

The D500 will focus faster, performs better at high ISO, and has just about unlimited buffer and higher shooting rate than the 7100.Having said that, I still think the 7100 is fine for what you are using it for. If you go for the 500 I'd keep the 7100 and use both cameras with different lenses on them so you won't have to change lenses during fast moving sports action. At least that works best for me!

Revet Loc: Fairview Park, Ohio

I went from the D7100 to the D500 and I will never look back. The D500 is a far superior body for reasons stated by others and for whatever reasons, my images improved immensely (using the same lenses). The biggest change is that my keeper percent went up dramatically. I mostly shoot outdoors (wildlife and landscapes).

tcthome Loc: NJ

Spot advice here. D500 is much better for what you are doing. If you can get the vertical grip also.

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

The D500 has GROUP AUTO FOCUS, which is ideal for indoor or outdoor sports. WITH GAF you get a group of four squares in the viewfinder, as long as you subject is within these four squares, your subject will be in focus. The focusing system in the D500 is also advanced and is the same one in the D850 and D5. So, your getting a $6500.00 focusing system for $1500.00, not bad. Did I mention that the D500 nails focusing on fast moving objects. Check out the image below of a Cattle Egret stealing a nesting stick from a neighboring nest. You will really enjoy the quick focusing on the D500.

uhaas2009

Check the 850, FF...... I would get 850 before the 500