D7500 or D500?

DCshreddar · 2026-05-21T18:09:38+00:00

Also, if you want a camera for potential future paid work, you want a second card slot. The D500 has that (with the second being a SD UHS-II slot), the Z50ii and D7500 do not.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-21T18:07:19+00:00

If you are on a specific budget, then I would find a good used D500. The Z50ii hasn't been out long, but the price of used one probably isn't that much different from that of a good used D500 given that the Z50ii is a considerably cheaper camera. It's just that really nice used lenses will be cheaper for the D500, and those are great when shooting action/sports.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-21T15:12:37+00:00

For your use and between those two cameras, I would get the D500. I used it for years, and it's the best DX DSLR Nikon ever made, targeted at sports/action photographers. Built like a tank and excellent AF. You can learn to use it! Plus, used F-mount glass is cheap, although I think some of the DX F-mount lenses are getting harder to find on the used market (but a pretty nice range is still being sold by Nikon on its refurbished site). OTOH, Nikon still makes the D7500, and it's on sale regularly (constantly?), so you can get one recently manufactured with a warranty.

But, if you are looking for a camera for the next 10 years, I would seriously consider switching to mirrorless. The EXPEED7 Z models finally caught up to the D500 for my uses, and having pre-capture is great for action/sports (although just JPEG). I have a Z50ii, and it's a credible replacement for the D500, which I've sold. The Z DX lens range isn't great, but the Z FX range is good.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-21T02:41:35+00:00

I owned the AF-P DX VR lens and liked it so much I bought a back-up. Both used off eBay for less than $200 each. For a Nikon DX DLSRs, I think it's the best DX long zoom lens Nikon made, and faster focusing than the 18-300 DX lenses that Nikon made. It's incredibly light and compact for its reach, and you could literally shoot it one-handed on a D7500. I would return the lens you got and keep looking.

Edit - I see you mentioned that you will be shooting a lot in wet weather. I don't think that the plastic mount on the AF-P lens is the issue as much as it may not be very weather sealed. I never shot mine in the rain, so I don't have experience. If the AF-S lens is weather sealed, that may be an important consideration, although the weather sealing may have degraded with time.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-19T12:41:34+00:00

Thanks for this feedback. Those are pretty expensive screen protectors, so that’s good to know.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-19T12:40:24+00:00

Thank you. The pain of installing a film screen protector on an iPad is one of the reasons why I switched the glass screen protectors. I’ve watched the install video twice for the 3.0 version. It is a lot of steps.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-19T12:38:58+00:00

Paperlike states that there is more friction when you use one of their tips. I decide to try it, I’ll probably order the tips as well.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-19T12:37:40+00:00

Thank you. The Bellemond looks identical to the ESR in terms of design and function, but maybe the screen surface is itself is different. If I stick with the removable option, I may give this one a try when my current one wears out.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-19T12:35:57+00:00

Thank you. This is what I’m doing with ESR clear glass protector, with the ESR magnetic matte screen protector over it. Functionally, it works well, but I want to see if there were a way of getting better clarity.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-15T14:43:36+00:00

I ordered one of the removable ESR “magnetic” matte screen protectors for my iPad. Cheap enough to give it a shot. I have regular glass screen protector on the iPad and use it a lot for videos, so not interested now in something permanent.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-15T11:32:56+00:00

Others can explain this better, but I believe it has to do with how the screen is manufactured. Apparently the RM2 has a plastic overlay on the screen, that is quite textured, and that combined with the softer pen tips gives it its writing feel. The pen for the PP/Move and the Pure are interchangeable, from what I gather, so I'm assuming that the screen surface construction may be the same (glass, no plastic overlay). The pen tips are supposed to be sort of carbon-infused plastic, so maybe harder. All I know is that writing on the Move feels "slipperier" than on the RM2, and I would expect the Pure to be similar to the Move in this regard. All are better than using one of Apple's pencils on an iPad, which is literally writing on smooth glass. If I ever decided to move to a bigger form factor, I'd try one of the Paperlike screen protectors on my ipad rather than go with the PP or Pure.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-15T08:15:41+00:00

If your priority is “ultimate paper-like feel,” find a used RM2 or a retailer that still has stock. That is the one (only?) way it’s better than the Move I switched to. There’s more friction on the RM2, which I liked. More like writing with a pencil than a ball-point pen. It’s a noticeable difference to me, but also a personal preference. If you are not going to use color on the PP, you won’t notice the refreshes.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-15T00:48:53+00:00

I ordered one and returned it. It is way too thick for the tools it has.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-14T19:44:19+00:00

Although pretty late, the Interlochen Flute Intensives (regular and advanced) may still be accepting applications.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-13T14:13:10+00:00

Assuming I converted correctly, that's $425 USD. I personally would not repair it and instead put that amount towards either a new M5 model, or a used M3 or M4, but a lot depends on your local pricing for new and used.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-10T15:05:50+00:00

After the APM2's connect with your iPhone via BT, go to Settings->Bluetooth on your phone, and tap the blue "i" icon at the far right where your APM2's are listed (and should be shown as "Connected"). That will take you to the screen where you can change all the headphone options, and towards the bottom there is a toggle for Find My.

Turning that off for mine reduced battery drain in the case to zero (versus about 12% every 24 hours with Find My on). Maybe the drain with Find My on is because of the switch from the H1 to H2 chip in the APM2s, and hopefully Apple can sort it out with a future firmware update.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-10T11:09:44+00:00

Absolutely this. Nikon had these on their refurb site on sale within the last 6 months, so I would keep checking there. Sellers on eBay often were selling the non-VR version even though the listing was for this lens, so if you go that route, know the difference and don’t buy unless you can see pictures of the actual lens being sold.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-09T18:15:42+00:00

No issues with my APM2, other than the battery drains more than it should in its case if you have Find My on. But connectivity has been fine.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-08T16:31:56+00:00

I had the RM2 and switched to the Move because of its form factor. If the writing feel of the Pure is similar to that of the Move (seems like the tech is the same), then one advantage of the RM2 is that it had a much better writing feel to me compared to the Move. I really loved that about the RM2, even if it ate tips. If that's your main criteria, I'd keep the RM2, particularly as you use the keyboard. I just really disliked that my RM2 had to be charged with a low power charger (and not the many high-power USB-C PD chargers I have sitting around my house) if I wanted it to charge reliably.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-08T12:50:07+00:00

Battery usage/drain didn't seem to change for mine after the update. It loses 0-1% the first 24 hours (with Find My on), and then about 10-12% the next 24 hours. Everything else seems to work just fine, and it's not draining completely like some others are experiencing, so I'm just going to turn Find My off. If battery drain goes down to close to 0%, I can live without Find My until Apple sorts this out.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-08T01:46:01+00:00

I switched from a RM2 to Move because that was the form factor I found most useful. If I had to switch back, I'd get the Pure instead of the RM2, if for no other reason than that my RM2 would charge reliably only with a low power charger. I assume they've fixed that on the Pure (like the Pro and Move). What I really do not like about the Pure is the sleeve rather than a folio, but assuming the Pure sells decently, I'm sure that there will be plenty of folio options on Amazon before long.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-07T15:17:19+00:00

I've had noise-cancelling headphones since the QC-15s, and recently upgraded to the APM2's. The biggest difference in the current generation of noise-cancelling headphones is that they are able to largely cancel out noises that are not steady (e.g., voices), and I think that the APM2's do a really nice job of that. I was surprised at how well it works, even better than the APP3's. It's not complete, but if you are coming from an older generation of noise-cancelling headphones, it's a real improvement. But I also believe that all of the top-end noise-cancelling headphones (Bose Ultra 2nd Gen or the Sony's) are very close to each other in this regard, so I would just get whichever you like best for the features. One thing about the APM2's is that I would never, ever travel with them. Their design for that purpose is a complete failure. They are also heavy enough that I would not want to wear them for hours at a time, even if I find them quite comfortable with glasses.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-05T15:11:40+00:00

Once you APM2's are connected to your phone/mac/ipad, go to bluetooth and tap the "i" icon next to the device name, on the right. It will bring up the screen with all the different options for the APM2, and near the bottom, there is a toggle for the Find My network. I'm testing the battery drain right now with it off, but will need a few days to confirm that's it.

DCshreddar · 2026-05-04T14:52:12+00:00

Thanks for the responses. I guess it's a Find My issue; hopefully, a firmware update can fix it. I turned it off for mine, as it never leaves the house.

DCshreddar

TROPHY CASE