The Nikon D7200 shows just how far cameras in this class have come in the past few years. The D7200 offers excellent noise reduction for the category and has the highest DXO sensor score for cameras under $1,500 to date. A portion of that is due to removing the optical low pass filter, which renders a bit more detail but does make the camera more susceptible to distortions in fine patterns. The 51 point autofocus on the D7200 is also a plus, with quick and accurate performance. On the outside, the D7200 offers more controls for quicker adjustments compared to the D5500 and D3300.
At the time of the D7200's release, 6 fps was actually quite good for speed, and that comes with a 20-27 RAW and 100 JPEG buffer. And while the speed is still good for the price, there are now two APS-C DSLRs that offer a much faster 10 fps burst speed. The extra controls and features also makes the D7200 a bit heavier than Nikon's more beginner-oriented cameras.
While once the flagship for Nikon's crop sensors, that's no longer the case with the D500. Both the D500 and the 2014 Canon EOS 7D Mark II reach much higher burst speeds of 10 fps. Canon's closest model to the D7200, the Rebel T6s, is nearly $400 cheaper--but the D7200 also beats out the T6s in nearly every specification. With the highest DXO ranking in the price range, the D7200 may skip out on extras like a high burst speed, but offers excellent image quality and stands as a pretty versatile camera
