When a camera like the enthusiast-level D7200 is due to be retired, the young upstart of a successor had better be nothing short of impressive. Nikon certainly looks to have pulled out all the stops to give its D7500 a fighting chance, dipping liberally into the feature set of the APS-C flagship, the D500.
The D7500 is reported to be 5 percent lighter than its predecessor, has been given a modified grip and is better able to stand up to less-than-ideal weather conditions thanks to improved sealing. It gains a tilting touch-enabled rear monitor, which is still 3.2 inches diagonally but loses a little in the definition department (922k dots instead of 1,229k).
And, though the new camera has been treated to a new battery, it's actually slightly less capable than the one powering the D7200 (offering around 950 per charge compared to 1,110 in the outgoing model). Nikon has also sacrificed an SD card slot, with the new camera rocking one instead of two.
The D7500 features the same 20.9 megapixel APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor as the flagship D500, which works with the Expeed 5 image processor to offer photographers an increased light sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 512,000, which can be expanded up to ISO 1.64 million. Sadly, Nikon hasn't given the D7500 the same impressive autofocus as the D500, and the new camera retains the AF capabilities of the D7200, but it does get fed data from a high resolution RGB metering sensor.
Continuous shooting rises from 6 frames per second to 8, with the buffer now able to take 50 uncompressed RAW images instead of the D7200's 18, or 100 JPEG format images. The camera can also batch process RAW images for improved workflow.
The midrange DSLR can now give your new big screen TV something to show off, too, being capable of 4K video recording at 30 frames per second. Dropping down to 1080p does brings e-VR image stabilization benefits though, and other tools likely to please the film-maker are 4K output over HDMI, auto ISO and microphone and headphone jacks.
Finally, Nikon's SnapBridge wireless system is in residence, for remote control over Bluetooth and large file transfer over Wi-Fi, but NFC has been given its marching orders.
The D7500 is due to ship in the (northern) summer for a body only price of US$1,249.95, or $1,749.95 with an 18-140mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR lens.
Source: Nikon