I currently have a d7200 which i use every weekend for wildlife photography mainly birding with a tamron 150-600, which i am fairly happy with but have the chance to upgrade one item. But which one the new d500 was on the cards with its great auto focus advantage and other features like moved iso button etc, or keep the d7200 and invest in a better lens to get more light and speed with a lower f-stop. But now the d7500 is being released not as high spec as the d500 but has many similar things. You know when you buy something then find a better one and think you have made the wrong decisions. I know its a hard choice but im favouring the d500 at the moment might not get me more light but sharper auto focus shots, any thoughts here......cheers
The D500 is a cracking bit of kit, however I have returned mine as it didn't function right with the Tamron 150-600mm. Over 520mm only limited AF points were available. Now I couldn't get to try another D500 so couldn't get to the bottom of whether the D500 just doesn't work well with the Tamron, or whether my D500 was slightly faulty and the outer AF points weren't as sensitive as they were supposed to be. Nikon wouldn't comment, just saying they don't test with 3rd party lenses and Tamron didn't know, but hadn't heard of any issues. It could of course just be that the Tamron is f6.3 and so the D500 just using the limited AF points as it would do with certain lens/TC combos, but then why did they only stop working beyond 520mm and not from around 420mm when the lens stops down to f6.3. Also, my D750 doesn't have any issues, but then the AF points are much more central. Ideally I'd have liked to have tested another D500. So if you still consider one, try it with your Tamron first. Having used both the D7200 and D500 the D500 is a marked improvement and imo a much better camera overall. However, in terms of the final image I don't think there's much in it unless shooting at high ISO.
As for the D7500 I can't get my head around that one. After Nikon's recent announcement of losses and restructuring they said they were going to narrow down the body ranges and concentrate on mid to high end, then they come out with a camera that seems to fit between two other model ranges, and a range that imo doesn't need filling. Am I also right in thinking that it's only got one card slot? I can't believe that new mid to high end cameras are coming out with only one card slot
That'd stop me buying it straight away.
As for lenses I don't know what to suggest. Getting the Nikon 200-500mm or Sigma 150-600mm C is a sideways step rather than an upgrade. The IQ of the 80-400mm is no better really so is kind of a backwards step as it's not got the reach. There's the Sigma 150-600mm S but teh difference in IQ is only minimal yet there's a big weight and price cost. The only lenses that are going to give you significant IQ advantage whilst maintaining good reach are the primes, but these are very heavy and very expensive.
in the same price range the 200-500 seems the better lens but heavier since im always hand holding . Any recommendations for lenses as i know how important low f-stops and zoom/primes come into play. I know with my tamron i struggle with iso and have to bump it up at times in shaded areas.
That's debatable, there's a number of reviews and tests that say that the Tamron is sharper at the long end. Add to that you can use the Tamron at 550mm and it's even sharper yet still having slightly more reach than the Nikon I'd rather save the weight. The Nikon's better built though for sure imo.
