D7500 backward step ?:

sport

To me, the d7500/d500 is a reset back to the d90/d300 product offerings. The d7000-d7200 products were upgraded to fill in the hole created by no d400. Looking back at all the products Nikon offered over that time you can see where they were pushing dx products towards the consumer market. You can further see this in the lens options offered. Now that they seem to be steering back towards higher end products in dx it's going to be a growing pains problem. Add mirrorless and reduction in work force to the mix and it's going to be painful moving forward.

retread

I use the D7200 and D500. Set them up in manual and let the ISO float. If ISO gets to high I change the other settings with a turn of the wheel. Set up is different but they handle nearly the same after they are set up. I have not used U1 or U2 yet but like the idea. I don't find the pro controls horrible.

No vertical grip on the D7500 is the deal breaker for me.

spraynpray

Definitely. I don't even bother to try to use the memory banks on the D850 because they aren't hard programmed. The U1 & U2 ranges on my other cameras can be reset by flicking the dial round a click and back or turning the camera off and on. I used U1 for nightscape settings and U2 for macro. Perfect ergonomics and greatly missed.

PB_PM

WestEndFoto said:

It is the opposite for me as it wastes dial space. If I only shoot raw and typically aperture priority, is there any benefit of the U1 and U2?

U1 and U2 have nothing to do with RAW, specificly. U1 and U2 allow you to save every single setting, about 85% of menu options, and down to things like ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and even focusing mode. The best part is, even if you change settings to do something, when you want to revert to default settings, you just turn the camera on and off and you're back without digging through menus and fiddling with dials.

U1 and U2 are extremely helpful for changing situations, where you can go from shooting fast moving subjects to stationary ones. Ever since advanced auto ISO settings came around with the D810/D750/D7100 I abandon aperture priority, since it works in manual mode giving you full control. I'm honestly surprised anyone still uses aperture or shutter modes, considering they are the ugly step child now days, just as full auto and program auto were years ago.

Nikon could easily add U1 and U2 to the mode button on the Pro bodies, and why they haven't blows my mind. The U settings make the "banks" look like toys from the 1980s.

WestEndFoto

You have a point about manual mode. Hmmmmmm.........

Capt_Spaulding

Like some others, I use U1 and U2 for different types of subjects. U1 I use for things that stay put - mostly landscapes, light portraits and such, and U2 for things that are moving relatively quickly. I don't recall all the settings in each off the top of my head, but the differences are primarily with respect to the AF mode and the upper bound on the ISO float. That said, I still program the U modes as aperture priority.

I'm just getting started taking pictures of wildlife and have begun using manual with floating ISO independently of the user modes. All in all I would not want to be without the "U" modes.

HankB

In defense of Aperture Priority — because the sophisticated Auto ISO feature allows you to set a minimum shutter speed (as a function of lens focal length including zoom setting) and a maximum auto ISO, Aperture Priority can provide a user defined, yet constrained shutter automation. An additional tool!

As for the U1 & U2 settings — they are an example of good product design because a given user will either like the tool (as I do for the reasons set out by other posters) or can just ignore its innocuous presence.

PB_PM

HankB said:

In defense of Aperture Priority — because the sophisticated Auto ISO feature allows you to set a minimum shutter speed (as a function of lens focal length including zoom setting) and a maximum auto ISO, Aperture Priority can provide a user defined, yet constrained shutter automation. An additional tool!

Never found the minimum shutter speed to focal length settings overly useful, since I often need speeds far faster than what it allows for, thus using manual mode with auto ISO. For stationary subjects it's okay, but beyond that it's a little hit and miss. It is nice if you need to keep the ISO levels restrained though.

spraynpray

PB_PM said:

HankB said:

In defense of Aperture Priority — because the sophisticated Auto ISO feature allows you to set a minimum shutter speed (as a function of lens focal length including zoom setting) and a maximum auto ISO, Aperture Priority can provide a user defined, yet constrained shutter automation. An additional tool!

Never found the minimum shutter speed to focal length settings overly useful, since I often need speeds far faster than what it allows for, thus using manual mode with auto ISO. For stationary subjects it's okay, but beyond that it's a little hit and miss. It is nice if you need to keep the ISO levels restrained though.

You can set it to shoot a couple of stops faster than the reciprocal rule if you need it. I have it set like that on the D850 because it is harder to hold still enough for sharp pix unlike my D750.

PB_PM

I know you can do that, which is why I said “...often needs speeds far faster than it allows for.” I did use it a bit when I got a D750, but found it just wasn’t giving fast enough shutter speeds. With a 400mm lens it maxes out at 1/800th minimum, when I need 1/1000s or faster. That auto mode favours keeping ISO low, which is fine if that is what you require. It is flexible, just not always flexible enough.

BVS

U1/U2 can be set to have a true minimum shutter speed, not just relative to focal length, so you can set it to be 1/1000s minimum (or whatever speed you like) regardless of the lens attached.

PB_PM

We were talking about auto ISO, not U1/U2, which I use those types of settings for already.

Capt_Spaulding

One of the beauties of the "U" modes is you can combine them with the AUTO ISO
settings and program the auto ISO separately for each. Forgive me if I'm plowing old ground but when you go into the ISO setting menu/minimum shutter speed/AUTO another right press on the selection wheel takes you to a menu that allows you to select a range of "faster" or "slower" speeds. In my U2 mode (things moving quickly with long lenses) I set it to the first "faster" setting. In U1 I leave it at the standard setting which I think follows the reciprocal rule.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm moving toward using M with floating ISO (6400 max) for some things, but the aperture priority User modes with with situation specific max auto ISO/min shutter speeds has worked pretty well in rather difficult lighting.

I can't tell you off the top of my head how much of a change it makes, I'll check it at some point. My orthopedist tells me not to pick up anything heavier than my left hand for several weeks so it'll be while.

tc88

With a 400mm lens it maxes out at 1/800th minimum,

I know the lowly D7100 can set a maximum of 1/4000th in auto ISO regardless of the focal length. So I would be surprised that D750 can only do 1/800th? While I do use M with auto ISO very often, there is a risk that if the light condition suddenly changes to much brighter, it can be over exposed if the base ISO is still too much. Using Aperture Priority with auto ISO as HankB mentioned can solve this problem.

Pistnbroke

Commenting on the D7500 one card slot and how reliable SD cards are now ,,I just had a Lexar 64GB Pro go unusable when it worked fine a couple of weeks ago ...No No never a one slot camera.

spraynpray

Perhaps we all think that because it hasn't happened to us yet, it will not happen or it is somehow the other guys fault. One card failure could change all that.

Reading this thread through, it seems that the marketeers have harmed the brand by diminishing the prosumer range as they have. Big shame really becuase the D7200/D750 are really brilliant cameras and for sure all that 99% of buyers need. I still think the D7500's plus points could have been incorporated into the D7200. The lower mp D5 still sells along side the D810/D850. My macro shots from my old D7100 are at least as good as the ones from my D850, if not better. Truly stunning detail using the same lens. Here is an example: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spraynpray/28291662986/sizes/o/

Searcy

I a huge fan of my 7200. When the 7500 came out it looked like a step backwards to me. The biggest issues for me were no second card slot and the dismal (in comparison) battery life. But to be fair the battery life on the 7200 is hard to compete with.

HankB

spraynpray said:

Reading this thread through, it seems that the marketeers have harmed the brand by diminishing the prosumer range as they have. https://www.flickr.com/photos/spraynpray/28291662986/sizes/o/

Yes, par for the course. The world would be a better place if marketeers were restrained from doing anything beyond advertising (or maybe just restrained...period). Of course, marketeer sabotage of low to middle priced consumer goods to artificially inflate the superiority of the top models is absolutely legendary in the automobile industry.

Note that by "sabotage" I mean withholding or debilitating features or quality where there isn't a reasonable or proportional cost savings to the manufacturer.

WestEndFoto

Actually, I think that Nikon’s problem is the opposite. Nikon has failed in communicating how good its products are.

mhedges

Along those lines I need an intervention because I am sorely tempted by all the incentives on the D750

PB_PM

tc88 said:

I know the lowly D7100 can set a maximum of 1/4000th in auto ISO regardless of the focal length. So I would be surprised that D750 can only do 1/800th?

Not I said minimum, not maximum, shutter speed, People need to follow the thread, before commenting. We were talking about aperture priority with auto ISO with minimum shutter speed set by focal length.

Capt_Spaulding

mhedges said:

Along those lines I need an intervention because I am sorely tempted by all the incentives on the D750

I know whereof you speak. I've looked longingly at the 750 as the deals on it have become more and more tantalizing. My intervention is the D610 sitting on my desk. It takes incredibly good images and I simply do not think a D750 would make me a more skilled photographer. But, man o man are the deals on the D750 mouthwatering.

tc88

PB_PM said:

tc88 said:

I know the lowly D7100 can set a maximum of 1/4000th in auto ISO regardless of the focal length. So I would be surprised that D750 can only do 1/800th?

Not I said minimum, not maximum, shutter speed, People need to follow the thread, before commenting. We were talking about aperture priority with auto ISO with minimum shutter speed set by focal length.

I did. The following is what you previously said.

PB_PM said:

I did use it a bit when I got a D750, but found it just wasn’t giving fast enough shutter speeds. With a 400mm lens it maxes out at 1/800th minimum, when I need 1/1000s or faster.

What I pointed out is that D7100 can limit itself to a slowest of 1/4000th in auto ISO, and I'm surprised that you can't get your D750 to do 1/1000th in auto ISO. Is that clear enough?

Pistnbroke

is 1/4000 the slowest or the fastest ?? or is it shortest or longest ??On my Nikons you can set the Minimum shutter speed anywhere in the range that the camera is capable of.
Does not matter how you set your D7500 if the single card has gone caput.
Why would you want to buy a 24 mp D750 when there are cameras with more MP available?
Does not make sense to me. I would buy a couple of D850 if the silent mode was properly executed.

spraynpray

I can't agree with the last point you made there Pistnbroke. The D750 I had was a soooperb camera. In fact, for landscape/portrait type (undemanding subject) type photography it is all 99% of photographers need. D850 has not changed my mind. In fact, for really low light, it is better that the D850. The supposed BSI sensor just hasn't lived up to the hype in my experience. IMHO of course.