11 Buffer capacity, NEF and JPEG

For anyone interested in photographing moving subjects, the camera’s maximum continuous shooting speed is clearly important. At eight frames per second, the D7500 is pretty speedy, and sits exactly halfway between the cheaper D7200 (6fps) and the higher-end Nikon D500 (10fps). But the maximum frame rate is only half the story, because the camera needs to be able to keep this speed up for as long as possible, and that’s where the buffer capacity comes in.

This is where the D7500 really scores. Its new sensor and Expeed 5 processor give it a buffer capacity of no fewer than 50 NEF files, and that’s using the high-quality, 14-bit setting with lossless compression. This doesn’t match the incredible 200-NEF buffer of the D500, but it’s way ahead of the 18-NEF buffer capacity of the D7200. For a nonprofessional camera, the D7500 certainly succeeds in delivering exceptional continuous shooting performance.