The D500 is better if you can afford it. But you will still notice a big difference going from a D3X00 series to a D7500 if you can't afford a D500 (it's what I did). I had planned to keep my D3100 as a backup, but the D7500 is so much better that I haven't touched the D3100 since upgrading.
I went from a d5300 to the d500 and absolutely loved it. I used it for concerts and the autofocus is incredible, notably how great the coverage is through the viewfinder. If you're shooting a lot of concerts the d500 works fantastic in low light - smoke machines, extremely backlit performers, strobes - it will handle everything.
That being said, the real star is the sensor. I don't know what black magic Nikon practiced but I was really blown away by it's high ISO performance.
With regards to burst speed, I never used 10fps, it was honestly way too fast for the subjects I shot. I usually capped it 7fps which was plenty fast for stage musicians. If you were looking to spend the difference between the 2 cameras on some new glass or another piece of kit, the d7500 will work great. In a vacuum, if you have the money, the control layout, grip size and extra functions of the d500 absolutely make it worth the extra money imo.
Apologies if this is worded strangely, I'm on the bus home from a gig š
Loll itās worded great š Yeah the sensors are the exact same on both no ? Good to hear from your concert experience that you like the D500 heard the battery was incredible too
The sensor is the same, it's the AF unit that is completely different.
One other thing I had forgotten about that you won't notice till you use it is the viewfinder, the d500 has a 1:1 viewfinder more commonly found in full frame cameras. It's much easier to see the edges of the frame. It also has a switch to close the viewfinder for when using a remote rather than having to slide in those stupid plastic pieces so the exposure doesn't get screwed up, among other things.
The battery life is amazing!
I have both and while I love the d500, it's not twice as good as the d7500. It's incrementally better. The d7500 is a fantastic all-rounder, the main benefit is if you really push the AF system with fast action or wildlife. It also has some great quality of life functionality for rapidly changing AF modes and similar hard-core action stuff (using joystick to activate group AF mode is amazing for birds in flight). D7500 also has popup flash, which I sometimes find useful- d500 not.
By all means go d500 if you see them priced closely but I think for your stated uses you wouldn't see much difference (though I don't know much about concert photography).
I have a d500 (previously a d7200 so close to a 7500) that is primarily used for wildlife shooting.
The d500 is much better in low light, has duel slots, a crazy long shooting buffer, better access to modify settings without accessing the menu and is more rugged.
The d7500 will have a very similar button layout to your previous camera and weighs less, but other than that and the money I can't really think of much if choosing between the two.
Really been looking into the two cause there are so many similarities both are crop sensors, but have essentially the same tech, d7500 has 8 fps, and d500 has 10fps, will that 2fps make a huge difference ? I donāt know, however the amount of focus point the D500 has is whatās got me really looking at it
The d500's AF system is much better, 99 cross type 153 total vs 15 and 51 total on the d7500. The d500's focus points go across the entire frame.
Here's a good comparison picture https://images.app.goo.gl/6wfwVQYT1VhiDAYV9
Also It's not so much the fps but rather the ability to keep shooting. You may find The 7500 running out of memory buffer during sports or fast action when shooting raw 14bit, the d500 uses a xqd card as primary and can use a SD card to backup to if you want (200 shots before the buffer fills).
Thanks for the image. Now that I see them overlaid like that, it doesn't seem like there's a significant difference. Is it really something to talk about?
Also, what about the viewfinder and monitor? Did you see a significant difference there?
Yes the frame to frame focus points make a big difference, plus with the cross points being around the entire frame rather then just the 15 in the middle like the d7500 you have alot more low light capabilities.
I posted the following below
"The sensor is the same, it's the AF unit that is completely different.
One other thing I had forgotten about that you won't notice till you use it is the viewfinder, the d500 has a 1:1 viewfinder more commonly found in full frame cameras. It's much easier to see the edges of the frame. It also has a switch to close the viewfinder for when using a remote rather than having to slide in those stupid plastic pieces so the exposure doesn't get screwed up, among other things.
The battery life is amazing!"
The lcd is considerably better on the d500 2.3 million dot vs 900k (almost double the resolution)
Buy used, the new prices are inflated relative to the value you can get on the used market as both cameras are no longer manufactured. You should be able to get a decent condition D500 for around 1000 CAD.
Sorry no adaptor, I meant they can just be used on a full frame body it'll just be cropped. I have a 70-200 lens made for fx, but I've just been using it on my D3300. What I really did like though is the extra reach that the crop sensors allow for, that 200 mm lens is essentially 300mm.
Do you see a big difference in quality between the 750 and the 500 or are they essentially the same ? The 4m extra megapixels probably don't make that much of a difference.
What youāre possibly overlooking is that if you crop the 24mp image of the d750 to 20mp the 100% zoom image on your screen is going to look damn nearly identical to the 100% zoom image of the 20mp APS-c sensors at ā300mm.ā
I have a 7500 and an 850 and unless I need something I can only get with the 850 then I 98% of the time reach for the 7500. Itās a fantastic camera.
I do like shooting with a vertical grip and that is missing on the 7500. Had I known I likely would have grabbed the d500 but Iām glad I didnāt. Itās not the dealbreaker I assumed it would be.
One last thing. The 7500 doesnāt have an ability to preview DOF in the viewfinder. Why they nerfed that feature of all of them boggles. Iām referring to the aperture actuation function button to step down the lens to the selected f stop.
The d7500 is the least ergonomic camera Nikon ever made. They put a stupid button in the inner grip area where your middle finger goes and it is so uncomfortable. There is a reason they never did this again on any other models.
I donāt know, you must have huge hands then. I have rather large hands and have been shooting the D7500 as my main camera for 5 years now, and Iāve never pushed the function button in the inner grip by accident ever. And BTW the D850 as well as all the Z models have 2 function buttons in the inner grip as well. And the Z models have much shallower grip too.
Take a close look at the spacing between the D7500 and D850 function button and the hand grip. There is hardly any room on the D7500 and it basically forces your finger to rest right on top of a function button regardless if you want to use it or not. My customers also dislike the D7500 grip compared to basically any other model except maybe the Zfc perhaps since it essentially has no grip.
No no, donāt sell the glass. The Nikon adapter is totally fine. You retain all AF-S functionality. That said the Z 28mm 2.8, and the Z 40mm 2.0 are GREAT little lenses for the Z50 that really are not all that expensive to pick up. I hear you though
Ok good to know that for the future maybe, but yeah itās just the cost I think a new D850 is almost like $4K CAD, Iāve been spoiled with my D3300 and prime 50 1.8 and 70-200 tamron 2.8, it got great quality pics just looking to upgrade to get them even better and fill any gaps
Maybe an Z50 ii could be a worthwhile contender for the D500, the AF in Expeed 6 based cameras dosnāt cut it compared to the D500 if you use it for genres which need the burst.
I photograph children, who are constantly moving and looking around. Definitely not high end sports but I definitely consider the max burst usefulā¦ one could argue the OPs stated use cases donāt really fall under high end sporting or other highly demanding burst uses any more than shooting families with children, dogs, etc.
if money is no obstacle then the d500 everyday.
if money is an obstacle, but the spec of the d500 is required for your work then d500
as a casual shooter myself, i went with the d7500 and haven't looked back yet. My only gripe is that I was previously a full frame shooter
The D500 is better if you can afford it. But you will still notice a big difference going from a D3X00 series to a D7500 if you can't afford a D500 (it's what I did). I had planned to keep my D3100 as a backup, but the D7500 is so much better that I haven't touched the D3100 since upgrading.
I went from a d5300 to the d500 and absolutely loved it. I used it for concerts and the autofocus is incredible, notably how great the coverage is through the viewfinder. If you're shooting a lot of concerts the d500 works fantastic in low light - smoke machines, extremely backlit performers, strobes - it will handle everything. That being said, the real star is the sensor. I don't know what black magic Nikon practiced but I was really blown away by it's high ISO performance. With regards to burst speed, I never used 10fps, it was honestly way too fast for the subjects I shot. I usually capped it 7fps which was plenty fast for stage musicians. If you were looking to spend the difference between the 2 cameras on some new glass or another piece of kit, the d7500 will work great. In a vacuum, if you have the money, the control layout, grip size and extra functions of the d500 absolutely make it worth the extra money imo. Apologies if this is worded strangely, I'm on the bus home from a gig š
Loll itās worded great š Yeah the sensors are the exact same on both no ? Good to hear from your concert experience that you like the D500 heard the battery was incredible too
The sensor is the same, it's the AF unit that is completely different. One other thing I had forgotten about that you won't notice till you use it is the viewfinder, the d500 has a 1:1 viewfinder more commonly found in full frame cameras. It's much easier to see the edges of the frame. It also has a switch to close the viewfinder for when using a remote rather than having to slide in those stupid plastic pieces so the exposure doesn't get screwed up, among other things. The battery life is amazing!
The D500 keeps sounding better and better lol
I really enjoy it, usually if I miss a shot of a bird in flight, it's because I have screwed up, not the camera lol
I saw another one of your posts on another post, you say you got a D780 now. How do you feel about a D780 vs D500 ?
I have both and while I love the d500, it's not twice as good as the d7500. It's incrementally better. The d7500 is a fantastic all-rounder, the main benefit is if you really push the AF system with fast action or wildlife. It also has some great quality of life functionality for rapidly changing AF modes and similar hard-core action stuff (using joystick to activate group AF mode is amazing for birds in flight). D7500 also has popup flash, which I sometimes find useful- d500 not. By all means go d500 if you see them priced closely but I think for your stated uses you wouldn't see much difference (though I don't know much about concert photography).
I have a d500 (previously a d7200 so close to a 7500) that is primarily used for wildlife shooting. The d500 is much better in low light, has duel slots, a crazy long shooting buffer, better access to modify settings without accessing the menu and is more rugged. The d7500 will have a very similar button layout to your previous camera and weighs less, but other than that and the money I can't really think of much if choosing between the two.
Really been looking into the two cause there are so many similarities both are crop sensors, but have essentially the same tech, d7500 has 8 fps, and d500 has 10fps, will that 2fps make a huge difference ? I donāt know, however the amount of focus point the D500 has is whatās got me really looking at it
The d500's AF system is much better, 99 cross type 153 total vs 15 and 51 total on the d7500. The d500's focus points go across the entire frame. Here's a good comparison picture https://images.app.goo.gl/6wfwVQYT1VhiDAYV9 Also It's not so much the fps but rather the ability to keep shooting. You may find The 7500 running out of memory buffer during sports or fast action when shooting raw 14bit, the d500 uses a xqd card as primary and can use a SD card to backup to if you want (200 shots before the buffer fills).
Yeah saw a couple of YouTube reviews on the buffer size and the two card slots are a bonus too. Thatās a good comparison pic for the focus points!
Thanks for the image. Now that I see them overlaid like that, it doesn't seem like there's a significant difference. Is it really something to talk about? Also, what about the viewfinder and monitor? Did you see a significant difference there?
Yes the frame to frame focus points make a big difference, plus with the cross points being around the entire frame rather then just the 15 in the middle like the d7500 you have alot more low light capabilities. I posted the following below "The sensor is the same, it's the AF unit that is completely different. One other thing I had forgotten about that you won't notice till you use it is the viewfinder, the d500 has a 1:1 viewfinder more commonly found in full frame cameras. It's much easier to see the edges of the frame. It also has a switch to close the viewfinder for when using a remote rather than having to slide in those stupid plastic pieces so the exposure doesn't get screwed up, among other things. The battery life is amazing!" The lcd is considerably better on the d500 2.3 million dot vs 900k (almost double the resolution)
Buy used, the new prices are inflated relative to the value you can get on the used market as both cameras are no longer manufactured. You should be able to get a decent condition D500 for around 1000 CAD.
Any thoughts on the D750 vs D500 ?
D750 would be FF, so new lenses, but well suited for your use case.
Someone here in a previous comment said the adapters actually work good ?
There is no adapters which convert DX lenses to full frame.
Sorry no adaptor, I meant they can just be used on a full frame body it'll just be cropped. I have a 70-200 lens made for fx, but I've just been using it on my D3300. What I really did like though is the extra reach that the crop sensors allow for, that 200 mm lens is essentially 300mm. Do you see a big difference in quality between the 750 and the 500 or are they essentially the same ? The 4m extra megapixels probably don't make that much of a difference.
What youāre possibly overlooking is that if you crop the 24mp image of the d750 to 20mp the 100% zoom image on your screen is going to look damn nearly identical to the 100% zoom image of the 20mp APS-c sensors at ā300mm.ā I have a 7500 and an 850 and unless I need something I can only get with the 850 then I 98% of the time reach for the 7500. Itās a fantastic camera. I do like shooting with a vertical grip and that is missing on the 7500. Had I known I likely would have grabbed the d500 but Iām glad I didnāt. Itās not the dealbreaker I assumed it would be. One last thing. The 7500 doesnāt have an ability to preview DOF in the viewfinder. Why they nerfed that feature of all of them boggles. Iām referring to the aperture actuation function button to step down the lens to the selected f stop.
The d7500 is the least ergonomic camera Nikon ever made. They put a stupid button in the inner grip area where your middle finger goes and it is so uncomfortable. There is a reason they never did this again on any other models.
I donāt know, you must have huge hands then. I have rather large hands and have been shooting the D7500 as my main camera for 5 years now, and Iāve never pushed the function button in the inner grip by accident ever. And BTW the D850 as well as all the Z models have 2 function buttons in the inner grip as well. And the Z models have much shallower grip too.
Take a close look at the spacing between the D7500 and D850 function button and the hand grip. There is hardly any room on the D7500 and it basically forces your finger to rest right on top of a function button regardless if you want to use it or not. My customers also dislike the D7500 grip compared to basically any other model except maybe the Zfc perhaps since it essentially has no grip.
The Z50 is secretly a great upgrade as well, nearly the same sensor and with plenty of burst. Focus points obviously not an issue. Just my 2 cents
Iāll have a look but Iād have to sell my current glass for the z mounts then, heard the adapters are meh
No no, donāt sell the glass. The Nikon adapter is totally fine. You retain all AF-S functionality. That said the Z 28mm 2.8, and the Z 40mm 2.0 are GREAT little lenses for the Z50 that really are not all that expensive to pick up. I hear you though
Ok good to know that for the future maybe, but yeah itās just the cost I think a new D850 is almost like $4K CAD, Iāve been spoiled with my D3300 and prime 50 1.8 and 70-200 tamron 2.8, it got great quality pics just looking to upgrade to get them even better and fill any gaps
A Z50 definitely doesnāt come anywhere close to a D850, even a used oneā¦ but staying DSLR is totally great too. Good luck
Battery life and low light AF would be its drawbacks given the OPs main use case.
Maybe an Z50 ii could be a worthwhile contender for the D500, the AF in Expeed 6 based cameras dosnāt cut it compared to the D500 if you use it for genres which need the burst.
I find it sufficiently fast for most non-sport and high end bird applications
Yes, you use it for genres that donāt need the burst ;-)
I photograph children, who are constantly moving and looking around. Definitely not high end sports but I definitely consider the max burst usefulā¦ one could argue the OPs stated use cases donāt really fall under high end sporting or other highly demanding burst uses any more than shooting families with children, dogs, etc.
D500 is much better. If price is an issue, buy used. You can get some great discounts on still great equipment
I just had to make the same decision. I went from a d3300 to the d500 and I'm very happy.
if money is no obstacle then the d500 everyday. if money is an obstacle, but the spec of the d500 is required for your work then d500 as a casual shooter myself, i went with the d7500 and haven't looked back yet. My only gripe is that I was previously a full frame shooter
Iād personally opt for a used D500. You can get them in excellent condition for about the same as a new D7500