Les Brown wrote:
I am an avid amateur with many, many years of experience with good "amateur" Nikon gear. I have gone from a Nikkormat, FMs, to a D90, now to a D7200 with kit lenses, and a new 200-500. I am certainly not rich, so am I missing out on a giant leap by not moving up to pro level gear...D850 etc. if I am not intending to sell my work, but I do strive for better, sharper work for my own satisfaction.
First of all you need to ask yourself if you actually need a full frame camera. Your D7200 APS-C camera produces fabulous images already. I photograph wildlife almost exclusively and have no requirement for a full frame camera. I use a D500 APS-C and an Olympus EM1 mark II M43 format camera. To be honest, I only ever view my images electronically via a 55" UHDTV: and most of the time cannot discern any difference in quality between images taken on either camera. If however, I ever decided to make large prints (larger than 10 x 8) from either I would not be disappointed in the resulting quality. I also own a Nikkor 200 - 500mm f5.6 and would have no issues with using it on a D7200 because I know how good the results would be. Though the D850 is the only full frame DSLR I would ever purchase, I have no intention of changing my D500 for one. I would hold the same opinion if I owned a D7200. Hypothetically, if I owned a D7200 and wished to stay with Nikon, I would only change it for a D500.