D7500 backward step ?:

BVS

While actual hands-on reviews post-release are still hard to come by, there is one review on Amazon which has some interesting observations vs. the D7200 that may be worth investigating further:

----- excerpts from review -----

1) While I don't forgive it for being only 20MP, this sensor is really impressive. I loved my D7200's sensor and the D7500 hardly distances itself from the D7200, but it does have better image quality. And by more than a hair. Better color and saturation and maybe better ISO performance. I need a little more time to determine ISO performance.

2) This is a BIG one. Live View AF actually works! This IS earth-shattering because it's the first Nikon DSLR I've owned (maybe the D500 is on par with the D7500 here?) that has usable Live View AF! That's a game-changer as now I can FINALLY shoot video with a DSLR!

...

6) Regular AF performance is noticeably improved at the AF points away from center. The D7500 has the same AF system as the D7200, but the D7500 has the greatly-improved metering system of the D500. A lot of pre-release hype was made of how this meter will improve AF. Sounded like typical marketing hype that amounts to nothing to me. But, whether it's the meter or something else in the camera, AF performance has improved.

...

9) The shutter is quieter now. It sounds more refined and is noticeably less intrusive. Nice.

----- full review -----

https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D7500-DX-format-Digital-Body/product-reviews/B06Y5ZCFHX/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_rvwer?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=1

Hiker

Darrell Young, the one that writes all the books for Nikon cameras has one and has tested it out. VERY impressed with everything!!

BVS

Did he do a review somewhere? Do you have a link?

Hiker

BVS said:

Did he do a review somewhere? Do you have a link?

There is nothing on his website. He posted in Nikonians and had many pictures taken at different ISO's, including 51,200. Looks pretty impressive.

DaveyJ

These are the RockyNook Books. I've followed this reviewer and his guides...not my favorite.
I myself am way more interested in Thom Hogan's review and he damn sure is NOT going to give a quick shot from the hip,review.

Hiker

DaveyJ said:

These are the RockyNook Books. I've followed this reviewer and his guides...not my favorite.
I myself am way more interested in Thom Hogan's review and he damn sure is NOT going to give a quick shot from the hip,review.

I learned more about my 7200 from his book, than whatever Nikon (they call it a manual) includes with the camera (Button...with an arrow pointing at it and a page number)!! So did you see the pics he posted. I mean the camera has only been out several days. I'm sure people are working hands on to get the ones that want to know what's happening.

DaveyJ

I do agree with you there, just saying an early assessment like his is to get viewers, and I think although early assessment is desired by some, it does push an envelope. Also yes the Nikon Instructions are usually not very user friendly. As to the pictures, and especially his assessment that colors were more vibrant, etc....I use the D7200 and the D500 and although there are differences in some things I think initial reactions have their drawbacks. Is the D7500 camera a winner? I am certain it is. Another offering recent is the Sigma 100-400. Initial posts II have seen of that seemed also a race to get attention, and unfortunately doesn't offer much real in comparison to other lens. However that lens posting of photos might convince some of its worth buying. Also better admit right now, we own some awfully exotic cameras and do not one such book on any of them.

Compare this to say a tractor, or and excavator. One tire or track by the way can cost more than any camera or lens usually discussed on these forums, save the $megabucks stuff.....I do not know a single farmer who owns such a guidebook, or heavy equipment operator. They all regard these devices as a tool, and can figure out how to run it and maintain it with a parts manual, and the company operator's manual. I am not knocking such books. But many can figure out how to operate an actually relatively simple device. The chances of crashing a DSLR camera is remote, and the needed features to make it work are not very abstract.

Hiker

I saw some pics from the Sigma 100-400 on Photography Life? I was not impressed despite what they said. Granted, my eyes are not what they used to be, but those pics they posted just didn't look sharp. And now Sigma released a firmware update for the OS and AF on a lens that hasn't even made it to stores yet?!. Anyway, time will tell for all of us as to the plus's and minus's of the 7500 and 100-400. I had and still have high hopes for the Sigma because I'm looking at replacing my Nikkor 70-300. The 7500? Nikon lost a sale because as I stated before they didn't know 10 hours before the release date when it was being released. So I now have, and will keep the 7200 and use it for several years.

heartyfisher

@Hiker I had a quick look at photography life but didnt see any thing about the sigma 100-400 have you got a link?

Hiker

It was on Sigmas Facebook page. I clicked on that and it took me to another page for photography. I'll have to look it up again.

Capt_Spaulding

DPReview has a couple of dozen sample images up.

https://www.dpreview.com/products/sigma/lenses/sigma_100-400_5-6p3_dg_os_hsm

I haven't pixel peeped them so I won't offer any substantive evaluation. Curious to see what the consensus is. At the moment I'm straddling the fence.

DaveyJ

I have looked at both the images from the Sigma C 100-400..... despite the hype attached, I could not see it myself. And the images taken with the D7500 and they looked pretty good, but as to better color? Yeah right, that is just a vivid versus normal or the like....

NSXTypeR

DaveyJ said:

One detail mentioned somewhere in this thread, And unfortunately I believe it to be true (bad news travels fast) is that the manufacture of D7200 costs more than the new D7500 and the D7200 supply might dry up a lot?I have NO true knowledge of this, just a fear.....hopefully the D7200 will still be available a year from now. It is a fantastic bang for the buck!

I had hoped to pick one up a year from now too, it would easily be "my last camera". However, I went to Best Buy today and I liked how it handled. I like how the display in the viewfinder is nice and bright with the LCD display inside instead of the older LED display. I liked the flipping screen and I used live view for a little bit. Overall I think it's a good package and I don't mind the single card slot. I lamented missing the AI-S tab, but honestly, the only AI-S lens I have is my dad's 50mm 1.2, and I never use it. It seems marginally lighter than a D7000 for some odd reason.

I had originally knee jerked and said I'd pick up a D7200, but honestly, I have a lot to gain with the D7500. I don't need the extra mp with the D7200, so that's a moot point too.

BVS

NSXTypeR said:

I had hoped to pick one up a year from now too, it would easily be "my last camera". However, I went to Best Buy today and I liked how it handled.

I'd like to give a special shout out to my local Best Buys for saving me money by never having anything on display for me to handle, otherwise I might have bought one by now.

NSXTypeR

BVS said:

NSXTypeR said:

I had hoped to pick one up a year from now too, it would easily be "my last camera". However, I went to Best Buy today and I liked how it handled.

I'd like to give a special shout out to my local Best Buys for saving me money by never having anything on display for me to handle, otherwise I might have bought one by now.

I was super surprised too, I wasn't even expecting the camera to be physically there but today they had one on display and it had a battery attached to DC power inside it.

I felt like I won the Best Buy lottery. They even had the iPad model I wanted to try out, the new 10.5 inch iPad Pro.

Usually I only see about 3 Nikon cameras on display, and a few times I went a D3200 sadly was on display without a lens, sitting on the magnetic platforms naked, along with a D5000 and a D7200 both without batteries and kit lenses. I was so saddened and disheartened by why I saw in comparison to stores like B and H and J and R.

Sigh, I miss J and R.

Unfortunately, the Nikon and Canon display usually has empty slots for cameras and they both equally look terrible. The Sony booth is usually the best stocked and most visible. It's perhaps because Sony has multiple products being sold at any one time in Best Buy.

But long story short, usually it's not Best Buy stopping me from buying things, it's my small wallet.

Edit- Going back to my thoughts about Live View on a D7500, it genuinely felt snappy, but anything is going to feel snappy in comparison to a D7000 trying to focus in Live View. The tilting screen with Live View definitely feels like a good combination as it's definitely going to be useful in odd angles. Plus, the Live View was in combination with the 18-140 and even then it still felt fast in fairly low light, indoor situations.

BVS

NSXTypeR said:

I was super surprised too, I wasn't even expecting the camera to be physically there but today they had one on display and it had a battery attached to DC power inside it.

I felt like I won the Best Buy lottery. They even had the iPad model I wanted to try out, the new 10.5 inch iPad Pro.

Usually I only see about 3 Nikon cameras on display, and a few times I went a D3200 sadly was on display without a lens, sitting on the magnetic platforms naked, along with a D5000 and a D7200 both without batteries and kit lenses. I was so saddened and disheartened by why I saw in comparison to stores like B and H and J and R.

...

Edit- Going back to my thoughts about Live View on a D7500, it genuinely felt snappy, but anything is going to feel snappy in comparison to a D7000 trying to focus in Live View. The tilting screen with Live View definitely feels like a good combination as it's definitely going to be useful in odd angles. Plus, the Live View was in combination with the 18-140 and even then it still felt fast in fairly low light, indoor situations.

The funny thing is, my Best Buy used to be well stocked, even having some of the FF cameras like D750 on display, but then about a year ago they did some kind of 'reorganizing' and the display has been barren ever since. *sigh*

You should try the AF-P lenses in Live View. They focus nearly as fast as through the viewfinder. Really snappy, even on the D3400.

If you get a chance, do you think you could test the through-the-viewfinder face detection on the D7500? I think you have to be in auto-area mode with matrix metering and custom setting b4 - face detection turned on. I'm really curious how well this works, especially in af-c mode.

NSXTypeR

BVS said:

The funny thing is, my Best Buy used to be well stocked, even having some of the FF cameras like D750 on display, but then about a year ago they did some kind of 'reorganizing' and the display has been barren ever since. *sigh*

You should try the AF-P lenses in Live View. They focus nearly as fast as through the viewfinder. Really snappy, even on the D3400.

If you get a chance, do you think you could test the through-the-viewfinder face detection on the D7500? I think you have to be in auto-area mode with matrix metering and custom setting b4 - face detection turned on. I'm really curious how well this works, especially in af-c mode.

Unfortunately, I will not be returning to Best Buy anytime soon. Perhaps another member might be able to help you with that. The lenses, as you might know, are locked to the bodies for display purposes, so I wasn't able to swap any lenses out. Maybe if you knew the sales associates they might be able to help you with trying out the AF-P lenses.

I wish Nikon kept backwards compatibility with AF-P. The D7000 is still doing well for me, and I don't have a reason to upgrade. However, I was forced to buy the 70-300 AF-S VR because I wanted full VR compatibility.

manhattanboy

NSXTypeR said:

I was super surprised too, I wasn't even expecting the camera to be physically there but today they had one on display and it had a battery attached to DC power inside it.

I felt like I won the Best Buy lottery. They even had the iPad model I wanted to try out, the new 10.5 inch iPad Pro.

WTF is going on with that Best Buy? I would have demanded to talk to the manager and ask how dare he have products people might actually want on display AND have them actually working! The manager of that store must be new and not realize that this type of behavior is not very Best Buy like

NSXTypeR

manhattanboy said:

NSXTypeR said:

I was super surprised too, I wasn't even expecting the camera to be physically there but today they had one on display and it had a battery attached to DC power inside it.

I felt like I won the Best Buy lottery. They even had the iPad model I wanted to try out, the new 10.5 inch iPad Pro.

WTF is going on with that Best Buy? I would have demanded to talk to the manager and ask how dare he have products people might actually want on display AND have them actually working! The manager of that store must be new and not realize that this type of behavior is not very Best Buy like

Is it too much to ask for a functioning store? I'm not too sure, I'm probably pushing my luck here.

Oh, I forgot to ask, they had stock of the new 10.5 inch iPad Pros too, in the LTE version that I wanted too.

Shocking, I know.

BVS

manhattanboy said:

WTF is going on with that Best Buy? I would have demanded to talk to the manager and ask how dare he have products people might actually want on display AND have them actually working! The manager of that store must be new and not realize that this type of behavior is not very Best Buy like

So, funny story, I drove many miles out of the way on my way home from work today to a Best Buy that assured me they had the D7500 on display. When I arrived, everything looked good - they had all the usual stuff, plus the D7500, D750, Sony A7s, even a 5DIV on display. I got excited. Then I tried to turn on the D7500 and... nothing. Wouldn't turn on. Took out their DC adapter and put in the battery from my D7100 and... still nothing. Tried the D750 for the heck of it, and the shutter got stuck every time. Tried the D5600, and it gave an incompatible battery error. Of course, none of the cameras had memory cards in them anyway, so even if they had worked it wouldn't have mattered. They promised to call me if/when the D7500 gets fixed, but in the end it was a waste of time. Well played Best Buy. Well played.

BVS

That said, I did get to at least handle the camera a bit. The grip is a lot deeper and the camera feels significantly lighter, more than the few grams difference in the specs would lead you to believe, making it less of a brick than the D7100/D7200.

The rubber on the grip feels different than the D7100. Not necessarily better or worse, just different.

The flip screen seemed fairly sturdy.

The only real negative was that, from a purely tactile standpoint, the lack of metal on the body makes it feel slightly cheaper than the D7100/D7200. Also, I think the control dials lost their rubbery coating, although I don't remember exactly.

Hiker

Don't really know him but another forum had a link to Thom Hogans initial "review" of the 7500.

NSXTypeR

BVS said:

Well played Best Buy. Well played.

Haha, I'm sorry that I got your hopes up!

BVS said:

That said, I did get to at least handle the camera a bit. The grip is a lot deeper and the camera feels significantly lighter, more than the few grams difference in the specs would lead you to believe, making it less of a brick than the D7100/D7200.

The rubber on the grip feels different than the D7100. Not necessarily better or worse, just different.

The flip screen seemed fairly sturdy.

The only real negative was that, from a purely tactile standpoint, the lack of metal on the body makes it feel slightly cheaper than the D7100/D7200. Also, I think the control dials lost their rubbery coating, although I don't remember exactly.

I agree! The D7000 seems slightly heavier in my opinion, and I also like how the grip feels more substantial. And it's not because of the lens, because I use my D7000 with my 18-135 which is similar in size and weight to the 18-140. I was not aware of the plastic build on the D7500 going in, but it's not something I noticed. I started digital photography with a D40, so plastic is something I'm ok with. Plus, I've gone through drizzle and snow with the D40, so if that can go through it, I'm sure the D7500 can take that.

BVS

Full review of the D7500 is up on DPReview:

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d7500-review-speed-and-capability

Photobug

Thanks BVS. Interesting review.