D7500 a worthy upgrade from D7100?

I'm sure this topic has been covered before and I've been reading some old posts but looking for up to date opinions.

My D7100 has always frustrated me for its few weaknesses which I have always felt undermined its many strengths. Mainly the slowish fps and extremely small buffer. I also feel its IQ does drop off quite sharply as you push the ISO to 1600 and beyond. The auto focus is good but has now been surpassed. As a wildlife photographer mainly, this has held me back quite a few times when faced with birds in flight.

On the face of it the D7500 solves these problems. Superier buffer, frame rate, low light performance and better AF. I would love a D500 but it is just too expensive for the amount of photography I do these days. I couldn't justify it. It seems the D7500 does get quite a bit of hate, as it is not the camera many people (myself included) wanted to replace the D7200. But what are its drawbacks really? I can cope without a second SD as I will seldom if ever being shooting important events. I have never used a battery grip in my life so I won't miss not having one on a D7500. Where else does it fall short? The only concern I really have is its compatibility with 3rd party lenses I have. I read in another thread of an issue with it and Sigma 17-50mm, a lens I'm getting today. Does it have a poor track record and are those issues still ongoing?


Any experience D7500 users on here have are greatly appreciated. I want to hear the good and the bad. D7200 on the other hand seem harder to come by and as a result I don't see as many good deals for them.

Steve Perry reviewed it here. Compared to d500 and d7200.

https://backcountrygallery.com/?s=d7500

Only one person's opinion but this guy could be classed as a Nikon expert -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP3Fu-7v8bw

Between Steve (first video link) and the Angry Photographer (second video link) I would give WAY more credence to Steve's opinions.

Would a used D500 fit into your budget? You can get them in really nice shape for right around $1,000.

Woodyg3 said:

Between Steve (first video link) and the Angry Photographer (second video link) I would give WAY more credence to Steve's opinions.

Would a used D500 fit into your budget? You can get them in really nice shape for right around $1,000.

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I watched a lot of both of their videos and I would go along with your assessment! Not saying the Angry Photographer doesn't share some useful opinions and information but a take a lot of it with a large grain of salt. I watched the Steve video immediately after posting this thread. The drawbacks of the D7500 don't seem to impact too much on my needs. I can see how they would be a problem for some.

I have looked at used D500's but I haven't seen such good deals over here in the UK. For one in excellent condition I'm looking at around £1000, I can get a new D7500, albeit a grey import, for £679. I know the difference in price isn't huge but £700 is about the top end of what I can justify spending at this point. I would love a D500 though...

@Peter7100 thanks, I'll give this a watch now.

Well I've ordered one now. The hard part was convincing my wife. The options were I sell my D7100 plus at least 2 lenses or she could have the D7100, Tamron 70-300mm VC and my older 55mm 2.8 Nikkor macro lens, which I believe won't meter with the D7500. Thankfully she was quite excited about the latter option which saves me a lot of hassle selling things!

Elliot87 said:

Well I've ordered one now. The hard part was convincing my wife. The options were I sell my D7100 plus at least 2 lenses or she could have the D7100, Tamron 70-300mm VC and my older 55mm 2.8 Nikkor macro lens, which I believe won't meter with the D7500. Thankfully she was quite excited about the latter option which saves me a lot of hassle selling things!

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Good luck with the D7500! When I moved from the D7100 to the D7200, I noticed an improvement in the sensor. Then when I upgraded to the D500, the sensor is even better. Since the D7500 shares the same sensor as the D500, the noise you are currently experiencing with your D7100 will be significantly improved/reduced with the D7500.

Congrats on your upcoming D7500! I love mine and use it FAR more than my full frame that has dual card slots, vertical grip, yadayadayada. Haters gonna hate, but it seems all the hate comes from those who've never even used the D7500. If you're into macro, I bet you're gonna love the live view. Tilt the screen, focus manually, then with the lightest touch, tap the screen and your shots taken without pushing the shutter release. It's very handy

@TwistedThrottle I'm really looking forward to getting it. I would have got it even if it didn't have the tilting touch screen but I'm really looking forward to using those features. My only macro lens won't meter with the D7500 but I can work around that and intend to upgrade to a longer AF macro lens anyway.
@hark I am hoping to see a decent step forward in low light performance, especially considering I will be using it for my sisters wedding now, where I expect to have to push the ISO higher than I'm comfortable doing on the D7100. I might stick the 17-50mm with OS on the D7100 still, as I should be able to get away with slower shutter speeds with that one.

I had more or less stopped photography but I'm feeling really motivated to get back into it now.

Have fun!

Congrats @Elliot87 and hopefully you will let us know your findings once you have had a good chance to use it.

Congrats @Elliot87, I am sure you will enjoy it. I was one of those guys that was sure I had to have 2 card slots but the D700 cured me of that over 18 months of use. Also, I always thought I needed a grip but the more I looked at my photos the more I realized I rarely used them though I had paid for them.

For me that made it easy to move to the Z6 after the D700.

I am sure you will like the D7500 it does better in low light and from what I have heard the focus system works well too.

Congrats on a your new camera. My D7500 is my go-to wildlife camera, especially for BIFs.

After months of research and head scratching (and even a little head-banging!), I ordered my new D7500 since they are on sale this week. I had a D7200 several years ago and regrettably sold it since I was busy with taking care of my parents and had no time for photography. At least I have a little head start on learning the D7500.
@Elliot87 You've had yours for a month now - what do you think?

I upgraded to a D7500 from a D7100. I think it was worthwhile. I like the high frame rate, I think the pictures look nicer and it is noticably better in low light.
I did keep my D7100 for a spare and it has a grip and dual slot which the D7500 does not have, but I don't shoot events either. The 3D mode is more useful for focus too,
and I do use it for birds in flight/wildlife.

I have been shooting bird related photography with a D7500 for a few months now and overall its is a pretty good camera. My 2nd body a D7200 has slight better overall image quality but not big noticeable difference. Regardless of what setting I am on in the D7500 IE: Vivid etc, colours are better and more balanced in the D7200. I have tried the Group AF for flying birds but its seems only to work out if the back ground is minimal. The Highlight-Weighting Metering mode works nicely on white subjects that are your main subject to focus on. I tried it on a full adult white egret and it did a nice job of controlling blowouts in the camera before the image was taken. No post editing was necessary to make any adjustments. FPS is good, I haven't used the tilt out screen since owning it. Overall a good solid camera, if I owned a D7200 and it works then and upgrade would not be a reason to buy a D7500. As for a D7100, my opinion would be the same. Not a big difference between the D7100 & D7200. The only reason I purchased one is I could not find a new D7200 one to replace mine that got dropped but has since been fixed. But I am better off now when travelling with 2 bodies good to go instead of 1.

06Honda, do you realize this is an old thread from 2020? Also I agree with you, the D7200 is superior to the D7500. And even, except for flying birds or fast action, better or as good as a D500!