Nikon D7500 gives a little to get a lot
Nikon finally adds a tilting screen to its dSLR for shooting action on a budget but made a couple sacrifices along the way.
It's been a while since Nikon made any substantive changes to this enthusiast-focused series of dSLRs. The D7100 was the last major update, and that was in 2013; the subsequent D7200 pretty much rested on the D7100's laurels. But with the D7500, the every-other-year pendulum swings back to deliver some notable enhancements, many of which are inherited from last year's D500 -- hence the model number jump.
The pricing remains similar. Nikon plans to sell it body-only for $1,250 or with the veteran 18-140mm lens for $1,750. (I don't yet have prices for other regions, but those directly convert to roughly £1,000 and AU$1,670 for the body and £1,400 and AU$2,335 for the kit.) The camera's supposed to ship this summer.
Shop for Nikon D7500 (with 18-140mm lens)
See all pricesWhat's new
- Sensor and image processor. The D7500 incorporates the same sensor and Expeed 5 imaging processor as the D500. That allows for the same increase in the expanded ISO sensitivity range to ISO 1,640,000. However, the native sensitivity range -- the top of which is usually as high as you want to go for decent-quality low-light photography -- only increases by a stop over the D7200 to ISO 51200.
- Metering system. I think metering systems are the unsung heroes of dSLRs. Modern ones do more than determine exposure; they bolster the speed and accuracy of the autofocus system. The D7500 gets the metering system of the D500, Nikon's 180,000-pixel RGB 3D Color Matrix Metering III.
- Performance. The D7500 increases to 8 frames-per-second continuous shooting speed, with an improved buffer of up to 50 raw frames. So while Nikon didn't update the autofocus system, I'm hoping the new metering system will allow it to focus fast enough to work with the higher frame rate. It did add group-area autofocus to the AF-area options, which is great. And though Nikon's touting the 950-shot battery life, that's actually a drop from the D7200's 1,100-shot rating.
- Design and features. The body has been redesigned slightly to make it a little smaller and lighter. Plus, I have been asking for a tilting or articulated display on this series for years, and woo hoo! But it looks like the sacrifice was two of my favorite features: it has only one card slot (the D7200 has two) and Nikon moved the metering button to the set on the left side of the LCD from the top of the camera where it was faster and easier to access. It also exchanges Bluetooth for NFC for a persistent low-power connection to mobile devices. Sadly, Nikon's SnapBridge app still rates less than 3 stars on both the Apple and Google app stores.
- Video. 4K UHD/30p recording comes to a lower Nikon price point, with capabilities similar to that of the D500. I'm not crazy about Nikon's Live View autofocus, though, and with the exception of the added ability to calibrate AF for individual lenses, it's unchanged. But Nikon has incorporated power aperture control, which allows the camera to adjust exposure more smoothly for less jarring transitions, from its higher-end cameras. The D7500 also supports in-camera time-lapse movies.
My take
With the exception of the moved metering button and dropped card slot, these are definitely welcome changes, and there's really no dSLRs to compete with its price/performance balance. Most competing dSLR and mirrorless models, with the huge exception of the Sony A6500, are significantly more expensive.
Comparative specifications
Nikon D500 | Nikon D7200 | Nikon D7500 | |
Sensor effective resolution | 20.9MP CMOS | 24.2MP CMOS | 20.9MP CMOS |
Sensor size | 23.5 x 15.7 mm | 23.5 x 15.6 mm | 23.5 x 15.6 mm |
Focal-length multiplier | 1.5x | 1.5x | 1.5x |
OLPF | Yes | No | No |
Sensitivity range | ISO 50 (exp)/ISO 100 - ISO 51200/ISO 1,640,000 (exp) | "ISO 100 - ISO 25600 (up to ISO 102,400 in black and white)" | ISO 50 (exp)/ISO 100 - ISO 51200/ISO 1,640,000 (exp) |
Burst shooting | "10fps unlimited JPEG/79 raw" | "6fps 100 JPEG (Normal quality)/27 raw (12-bit)" | "8fps 100 JPEG/50 raw" |
"Viewfinder (mag/ effective mag)" | "Optical 100% coverage 1.0x/0.67x" | "Optical 100% coverage 0.94x/0.63 x" | "Optical 100% coverage 0.94x/0.63 x" |
Hot Shoe | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Autofocus | "153-point 99 cross-type (15 cross-type to f8) Multi-CAM 20K" | "51-point phase-detection AF 15 cross-type center to f8" | "51-point phase-detection AF 15 cross-type center to f8" |
AF sensitivity | -4 - 20 EV | -3 - 19 EV | -3 - 19 EV |
Shutter speed | 1/8,000 to 30 secs bulb; 1/250 sec x-sync (1/8,000 sec x-sync with FP shutter) | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/250 sec x-sync, 1/320 sec x-sync at reduced flash output, 1/8000 sec FP x-sync | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/250 sec x-sync, 1/320 sec x-sync at reduced flash output, 1/8000 sec FP x-sync |
Shutter durability | 200,000 cycles | 150,000 cycles | 150,000 cycles |
Metering | 180,000-pixel RGB sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering III | 2,016-pixel RGB 3D Color Matrix Metering II | 180,000-pixel RGB sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering III |
Metering sensitivity | -3 - 20 EV | 0 - 20 EV | 0 - 20 EV |
Best video | H.264 QuickTime MOV 4K UHD/30p, 25p, 24p | "H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/60p, 50p @ 1.3x crop; 1080/30p, 25p, 24p" | H.264 QuickTime MOV 4K UHD/30p, 25p, 24p |
Audio | stereo; mic input; headphone jack | Stereo, mic input, headphones | Stereo, mic input, headphones |
Manual aperture and shutter in video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Maximum best-quality recording time per clip | 4GB/29:59 mins @ 144 Mbps | 10 mins | 29:59 mins |
Clean HDMI out | Yes | Yes | Yes |
IS | Optical | Optical | Optical, electronic with HD video |
Display | "3.2 in/8 cm Tilting touchscreen 2.4 million dots" | "3.2 in/8 cm Fixed 921,600 dots" | "3.2 in/8 cm Titling touchscreen 921,600 dots" |
Memory slots | 1 x SD, 1x XQD | 2 x SDXC | 1 x SDXC |
Wireless connection | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC | NFC, Wi-fi | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
Flash | No | Yes | Yes |
Wireless flash | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Battery life (CIPA rating) | "1,240 shots (1,900 mAh)" | "1,100 shots (1,900 mAh)" | "950 shots (1,900 mAh)" |
Size (WHD) | "5.8 x 4.6 x 3.2 in 147 x 115 x 81 mm" | "5.3 x 4.2 x 3.0 in 135.5 x 106.5 x 76 mm" | "5.4 x 4.1 x 2.9 in 136 x 104 x 73 mm" |
Body operating weight | "30.3 oz 848 g" | "26.9 oz 762 g" | "22.6 oz (est.) 640g (est.)" |
Mfr. price (body only) | "$2,000 £1,960 AU$3,500" | "$1,000 £870 AU$1,450" | $1,250 |
Primary kit | "$2,600 AU$5,000 (with 16-80mm lens)" | "$1,300 AU$1,900 (with 18-140mm lens) £910 (with 18-105mm lens)" | "$1,750 (with 18-140mm lens)" |
Alternate kit | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Release date | March 2016 | April 2015 | Summer 2017 |