After using my new Nikon D7500 over the past weekend, my reaction is this: Nikon D7500, what a camera!

I have owned many digital cameras from Pentax, Nikon, and Canon. I’ve been impressed with some and I’ve been disappointed, too. Lenses are also hit and miss.

The D7500 is a dream camera for wildlife shooters and sports action. If you compare it to the APS-C flagship model, the D500 they have the same processor and same sensor under the hood. The D500 does have a larger buffer and two memory card slots. In the menu of the “International” version of the D7500 (the one I bought) is a setting for burst mode for a maximum of 100 shots. I was surprised to see that. So, does the buffer fill with 50, yes, but there was minimal pause until it started taking pictures again.

In other fine points, the D7500 grabs focus and really holds it. I was able to get crystal clear shots in 15 mile-per-hour winds with little wait. The auto-focus was killer in that respect.

Here are three sample shots from the weekend. The sparrow was in my backyard. The black-eyed-Susan shot and milkweed were from nearby Prairie Oaks Metro Park taken in a stiff breeze.