Nikon D500 review
Although the D7100 was a great camera, suddenly the Nikon D500 was released. I simply had to upgrade again.
The fabled D400 was never released, but this camera was an amazing successor to the D300s (which was discontinued in 2012). It had everything I missed on the D7100:
- Tactile buttons and switches to quickly change important settings;
- A bit more bulk, so it fit in my hands a bit nicer, especially with heavy lenses attached;
- If I can't use my camera as an emergency hammer, than what's the point? So eh, yes, this one is sturdier;
- No silly on camera flash;
- Much faster autofocus;
- A swivelling screen;
- The ability to set aperture during video recording (only been waiting for that for 10 years);
- Many more frames per second. Ten;
- Very very smooth low light performance and massively enhanced ISO sensitivity range;
- Weatherproofing;
- Excellently large viewfinder. Very bright, apparently the same as the D5's.
- Much better Wi-fi connectivity.
These were all features available on my last camera in that series, the D200, and really really missed on the D7000 onwards models. They were just too small, and had too few buttons. Diving into menu's is never great when you have to take pictures quickly.
Specifications
Here's some relevant specifications.
| Feature | D500 | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Body type | Mid-size SLR | Yeah. Exact middle of the range. |
| Max resolution | 5568 x 3712 | Lots of pixels ahuh. |
| Effective pixels | 21 megapixels | 3 less than the D7100. Not that you'd notice. |
| Sensor size | APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) | So, crop sensor. |
| ISO | ISO 100 - 51200 (expandable to 50 - 1640000) | Very good sensitivity |
| Lens mount | Nikon F | Longest running lens mount. |
| Articulated LCD | Tilting | So nice when tripod shooting. |
| Screen size | 3.2″ | Nice and big. |
| Storage types | SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II compliant) + XQD | XQD is too expensive for me. Don't think it will ever go down in price. |
| USB | USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec) | Superfast. But I plug the SD cards into my computer which is faster. |
| Weight (inc. batteries) | 860 g | Lighter than the D200. |
| Dimensions | 147 x 115 x 81 mm | Excellent dimensions. |
Who is this camera for?
Anyone being serious about photography, but not having the cash for the Full-frame ecosystem, or simply not willing to carry around that much weight. I hope one day to get into bird photography. This camera would be the perfect platform as it balances out the heavier lenses, as well as giving you all the manual controls you need.
At the time I bought this camera, I was seriously considering upgrading to a Full-frame sensor camera like the D750, but quickly realised the cost of that move would be quite prohibitive. DX is a fine format, especially considering my library of lenses. Since I'm not making any money of this hobby, that kind of investment makes absolutely no sense. But maybe. When I finally find a way to monetise my hobby, we'll have to revisit this.