The Nikon D7500 is the Best Beginner Camera for Sports Photography
- The Best Beginner Camera for Sports Photography: Basic Specs/Features
- The Best Beginner Camera for Sports Photography: Imaging Capabilities
- The Best Beginner Camera for Sports Photography: Video Capabilities
- Is the Nikon D7500 for You?
- Camera Type: DSLR
- Sensor: 20.9MP APS-C CMOS sensor
- ISO: 100 - 51,200 (expandable to 50 - 1,640,000)
- Lens Mount: Nikon F Mount
- Speed: 8.0 fps
- Autofocus: 51 AF points
- Video: 4K/30p & 1080p/60p
- Size/Weight: 136 x 104 x 73 mm / 720 grams
- Battery Life: 950 shots
- Stabilization: Digital
- Touchscreen: Yes
- Nikon AF-S 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR DX
- Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED DX VR
- Sigma 150-600 f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM C, Nikon Fit
- Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G
- Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G
- Is the Nikon D7500 Really That Much Better Than the Nikon D7200
- Should You Get a Full Frame or Crop Sensor Camera?
If you are a beginner photographer who likes shooting sports and wildlife photography and wants to upgrade from your phone camera, it’s your lucky day! With so many amazing cameras currently on sale, we know how overwhelming it can be to figure out which one to buy.
That’s why we created this detailed Nikon D7500 camera review. It breaks down the D7500 and tells you why it is, without a doubt, the best beginner camera for sports photography on the planet!
One excellent resource for finding great deals on used Nikon D7500 cameras, and a place I have bought and sold tons of sports photography gear, is MPB. They are a trustworthy and reliable online platform that sells used photo and video kit at unbeatable prices.
Moreover, all of their cameras are dutifully hand-inspected by knowledgeable product specialists and backed by warranties, allowing you to make your purchases confidently and worry-free. Another fantastic feature of MPB is its online marketplace, where you can trade and sell your old gear to help offset the cost of new-to-you sports photography gear you want and need.
With that out of the way, it’s time to take a closer look at what makes the Nikon D7500 the best beginner camera for sports photography!
Table of Contents
The Best Beginner Camera for Sports Photography: Basic Specs/Features of the Nikon D7500
The Nikon D7500 is a semi-professional DSLR that launched in June 2017. Compared to its predecessor, the Nikon D7200, it has received some key upgrades. For starters, it features a new 20.9-megapixel APS-C sensor and a lightning-fast Expeed 5 image processing engine.
The image sensor is the same one found in the higher-end Nikon D500 and helps this camera deliver stellar photos and videos. On the other hand, the powerful image processor increases the camera's speed and will drastically improve your overall workflow and productivity when shooting.
Another terrific aspect of this camera is its lightweight and easy-to-use design. Despite being fully weather-sealed and having a larger, more comfortable grip than the previous model, it weighs less. Also, the new tilting rear display has touchscreen capabilities. The screen helps when shooting at difficult angles and makes operating the menus and changing the camera settings super easy.
Other notable features of this best beginner camera for sports photography include a new autofocus system, in-camera RAW image processing, and built-in Wi-Fi to quickly transfer photos and videos to your mobile devices.
Here’s an in-depth look at the key features and specs of this best beginner camera for sports photography:
The Best Beginner Camera for Sports Photography: Imaging Capabilities of the Nikon D7500
The Nikon D7500’s impressive still capabilities are one of the primary reasons it’s the best beginner camera for sports photography. Its updated image processor gives it a max continuous shooting speed of eight frames per second. That’s more than fast enough to catch all the action when photographing sports.
Better yet, it maintains that speed even when using the camera’s advanced new 51-point AF system. The AF has accurate and reliable real-time tracking and delivers sharp, in-focus images even when your subjects move fast. In addition, the expanded buffer of the D7500 can capture 50 RAW photos and over 100 JPEGs during burst shooting.
If you prefer JPEGs, you will be happy to hear that colors and skin tones typically look warm and natural straight out of the camera. Alternatively, the colors in RAW images tend to look a bit flatter and less vivid. However, they also have a better dynamic range, allowing you to brighten them up in post-production easily.
One more photography feature I love is the camera's wide ISO range. By boosting your ISO, you can comfortably work well into the night. Keep in mind that as you increase the ISO level, your pictures will gain more noise, though.
Learn More:
The Best Beginner Camera for Sports Photography: Video Capabilities of the Nikon D7500
Videographers and filmmakers will be thrilled to learn that the Nikon D7500 now offers 4K video. It can capture 4K UHD footage at frame rates of 24, 25, and 30p. While the resolution is spectacular, the significant 1.5x crop factor is the major downside of recording 4K clips with this camera.
Due to the cropping, unless you are using an ultra-wide-angle lens like the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, I recommend filming in 1080p Full HD. And don’t worry, the Full HD video quality is still exceptionally sharp.
When filming sports, another one of my top tips is to film at 1080p/60p. In this frame rate, fast-moving subjects will appear sharper, and there will be less motion blur. Also, if you ever want to slow down your footage during video playback, it will be noticeably smoother when recorded at 60p.
Finally, this best beginner camera for sports photography has a few more awesome video features: microphone and headphone jacks, multiple video profiles, and zebra stripes for monitoring shadows and highlights. The video profiles, in particular, are helpful and make color correcting easier when using software like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro.
Is the Nikon D7500 for You?
As you can see, the Nikon D7500 packs a powerful punch. And whether you shoot video, photos, or both, it’s unquestionably one of the best beginner cameras for sports photography!
I hope we have been able to help you in your camera search, and as a big thank you for reading the entire article here’s a list of our favorite used Nikon lenses currently in stock at MPB to pair with this killer sports photography camera:
