At ISO 51,200, there is some obvious detail loss and some smoothing in fine textures, but the overall contrast, colour saturation and impression of clarity is excellent. There's no detail though so adjusting black level or shadow contrast doesn't help, it just looks like garbage at that point or is at least beyond the point where higher ISO gives better results. The 180-pixel RGB metering sensor and the advanced subject recognition system combined create sublime recordings, even when capturing small or fast moving subjects. With so much of the same excellent technology now used in the D7500, this is increasingly looking like the smarter option.

You use the lever to switch between manual focus and autofocus, and hold down a button in the centre to change the autofocus mode and focus area using the front and rear command dials. Preserve the details in highlights and shadows, even when the scene includes moving subjects with Active D-lighting and set white balance simply by selecting the area of the frame that should be white.Its design incorporates a deeper grip for more secure and comfortable holding—a big advantage during longer shoots. I think that D7200 was too good for a crop sensor cam, and Nikon may be cutting the expenses with simpler sensors.

So a huge amount of development expense went into the D-5 sensor which is not exactly the same, but closely replicated in the D-500 which includes these extra focus related features. The new screen may be better (colors, contrast, etc), but a 24% cut in resolution seems significant?Ergonomic improvements include the new tilting monitor that offers touchscreen operation, and a deep grip for a stable, exceptionally comfortable hold. When you need every little bit of performance you can in crucial situations, the D500 would have to be the choice.