Nikon D7500 vs Sony A99 II: The DSLR Showdown for Enthusiasts and Pros

When it comes to mid-size advanced DSLRs, the Nikon D7500 and the Sony A99 II are titans in their own right - but they cater to slightly different shooters. Having spent thousands of hours testing cameras across genres, I’m here to guide you through a detailed, practical, and no-nonsense comparison of two machines that punch well above their weight.

Whether you’re a portrait artist, landscape lover, wildlife hunter, or a video creator, this hands-on analysis will get under the hood to help you pick the best camera for your unique style - not just give you specs to decode.

Let’s dive in.

First Impressions: Size, Build, and Handling

Right off the bat, you’ll notice that the Nikon D7500 feels a bit more compact and lighter, weighing in at 720 grams, versus the Sony A99 II’s 849 grams. Dimensions-wise, the D7500 measures 136x104x73mm, a smidgen smaller than the Sony’s 143x104x76mm.

In practice, that means for travel and street shooting, the Nikon’s grip and overall ergonomics lend themselves to all-day comfort, especially if you have smaller hands or prefer a less “clubby” camera. The Sony, on the other hand, feels solid and robust with a deep grip beloved by gamers and professional shooters alike who need a durable workhorse.

Both cameras feature weather sealing, but neither claims extreme waterproofing or freeze resistance, so take care in demanding environments.

Looking at the control layout on the top panel, Nikon sticks with traditional treble clubs for thumbs - well-labeled dials and a tilting screen that’s touchscreen-enabled for quick menu tweaks and focus point selection. Sony trades touchscreen for a fully articulated LCD, great for vlogging or awkward-angle shooting. Neither has illuminated buttons, so working in near-total darkness might require a flashlight (or a trusty assistant).

If you’re picky about physical controls and “feel,” the D7500’s design leans towards photographers who want solid tactile feedback and a streamlined experience, while the A99 II’s more extensive button library suits pros who juggle multiple settings on the fly.

Sensor, Image Quality, and Processing Power

This is where the cameras take a notable divergence: The Nikon D7500 features a 21-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor (23.5x15.7mm), whereas the Sony A99 II sports a full-frame 42.4-megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor (35.9x24mm) with backside illumination for improved light gathering.

In plain English: The Sony’s sensor captures almost four times the image area, and twice the resolution, meaning more detail, better dynamic range, and lower noise, especially important if you’re printing large or cropping heavily.

Thanks to its Expeed 5 processor, Nikon punches above its weight in color fidelity and dynamic range - DxO lab results back this up with a solid 86 overall score (including an impressive 24.3-bit color depth and 14 stops of dynamic range). Sony’s Bionz X processor, combined with the full-frame sensor, earns a 92 overall score, boasting a deeper 25.4-bit color depth and excellent low-light capabilities (DxO low-light ISO of 2317 vs Nikon’s 1483).

For photographers who shoot in mixed lighting or need clean shadows and highlights, that extra stop or two in dynamic range will be noticeable. However, the Nikon’s sensor resolution of 21MP still produces sharp, detailed images for everyday use.

LCD Screens and Viewfinders: Optical vs Electronic

The Nikon D7500 has a 3.2-inch tilting touchscreen LCD with a reasonable 922k dots resolution. It’s bright, responsive, and user-friendly, handy for adjusting focus or navigating menus - all good for beginners or hybrid shooters.

Sony chooses a 3-inch fully articulated LCD with higher resolution at 1,229k dots. While touch functionality is absent (which can feel old-school at first), the full articulation gives you more freedom for selfies, video, and creative angles.

Regarding viewfinders, Nikon’s optical pentaprism offers a 0.63x magnification and 100% coverage - classic DSLR experience with no lag and natural viewing. Sony’s electronic viewfinder packs 2,359k dots resolution with a 0.78x magnification and 100% coverage, delivering a bright, true-to-life preview with digital overlays (histograms, focus peaking, and more).

In the field, I often favor the Sony EVF for previewing exposure or depth of field live, but many still prefer the immediacy and zero latency of a well-built optical viewfinder like the Nikon’s.

Autofocus Systems – Dead On or “Fumbling in the Dark”?

Autofocus is the backbone of confidence in any camera, especially for wildlife, sports, or event shooters who need to nail focus quickly and consistently.

• Nikon D7500 features a 51-point autofocus system with 15 cross-type points, phase-detection focus in the viewfinder, and 51-point contrast and phase detection in live view. It supports face detection and eye AF, but lacks animal eye AF.

• Sony A99 II raises the bar with a whopping 399 phase-detection points across the sensor and 79 cross points, providing much more dense focus coverage, blazing-fast acquisition, and excellent subject tracking algorithms, including face detection (though no animal eye AF).

During field tests, Nikon’s AF performs admirably in daylight, locking focus accurately on faces in portrait sessions and tracking subjects decently in burst mode. However, in challenging light or fast-action wildlife, it struggles a bit with erratic subjects.

Conversely, Sony’s dense AF system shines in fast-paced situations - tracking erratic sports movements or elusive wildlife is markedly easier, with fewer missed shots and smoother focus transitions. The burst rate of 12 fps with continuous AF supports capturing decisive moments in sports or wildlife, whereas Nikon offers a respectable 8 fps.

In live view, Nikon’s touch-enabled AF point selection speeds things up, but Sony’s EVF with real-time focus peaking compensates well despite no touchscreen.

Nikon D7500 screen back Sony A99 II front Sony A99 II screen back

Image Quality in Different Photography Genres – Putting Them to Work

Portrait Photography

Skin tone rendering - a tricky beast - is handled differently by these two. Nikon’s 21MP sensor and Expeed processor produce warm and natural-looking skin tones straight out of the camera, thanks to mature Nikon color science. Bokeh quality from Nikon’s extensive F mount lens lineup, especially prime lenses like the 85mm f/1.8, is creamy and pleasing.

Sony, however, with double the megapixels, delivers ultra-fine details in everything from eyes to hair strands, great for commercial portrait work demanding crispness. The full-frame sensor enhances background separation, and the native 70+ G Master lenses produce gorgeous bokeh with minimal aberrations.

Though neither camera has animal eye AF, both offer solid facial recognition and consistent eye focus in stills, which I tested extensively in studio and environmental portrait sessions.

Landscape Photography

Landscape shooters love pixels and dynamic range, and here Sony takes a slight edge with its 42MP full-frame sensor offering huge 7952x5304 files suitable for large prints or heavy cropping. The Nikon’s 21MP APS-C sensor produces sharp 5568x3712 images, more than enough for most prints up to A2 size.

Nikon’s 14-stop dynamic range ensures you capture detail in shadows and highlights during golden hour, but Sony’s slight advantage in low-light ISO performance lets you push files further if conditions are tricky.

Weather sealing on both cameras is solid, but Nikon’s slightly lighter body makes for easier lugging during multi-hour hikes. Sony’s articulated screen is great for tripod-mounted macro or landscape work from low or high angles.

Wildlife Photography

For wildlife enthusiasts, AF responsiveness and buffer depth are key. Sony’s faster 12 fps frame rate and massive 399-point AF coverage allow a higher keeper rate when targeting fast-moving birds or mammals. Nikon’s 8 fps rate is still capable but more limiting for highly unpredictable action.

Lens ecosystem is a factor here: Nikon’s F mount boasts over 300 compatible lenses, including specialized wildlife glass. Sony’s native Alpha mount has about 143 lenses but more premium G Masters and third-party greats are increasingly available.

The tradeoff? Sony’s lower number of lenses narrows choices somewhat but gains from impressive in-body 5-axis image stabilization, letting you shoot handheld with long zooms more effectively.

Sports Photography

Sports demands relentless autofocus accuracy and high frame rates. Sony’s A99 II’s 12 fps with phase detection AF tracking and 399 points clearly outguns the Nikon for pro sports shooters needing precise focus on athletes in motion.

The Nikon is no slouch and can handle amateur events or recreational sports just fine, but in my experience, the Sony provides a more solid competitive advantage in this discipline.

Street Photography

Weight and size suddenly become critical. Nikon’s smaller, lighter body combined with a tilting touchscreen makes it sneakier in street settings and better for quick candid shots without drawing attention.

Sony’s larger frame and articulated screen feel more cumbersome in city hustle but offer more flexibility for diverse shooting angles. Its silent shooting mode (electronic shutter) can give you an edge in discreet shooting, though the Nikon lacks a dedicated silent shutter.

Macro Photography

Both cameras lack focus stacking or bracketed autofocus (a bit surprising in this segment), so achieving perfect focus manually or with external aids remains necessary.

Nikon’s tilting touchscreen aids accuracy at close distances, whereas Sony’s full articulation helps frame tricky compositions.

Five-axis sensor stabilization on the Sony is a huge benefit, reducing blur in handheld macro shots. Nikon’s lens-based stabilization works, but not as comprehensively.

Night and Astro Photography

Here, sensor noise performance and max ISO matter. The Sony A99 II’s sensor provides cleaner images at ISO 25600 and beyond, whereas the Nikon starts to show noise past ISO 51200 native max, though it technically goes higher via boost.

As someone who has set up countless night sky shots, I find the Sony better suited for long exposures and astro-tracking setups, due to its superior high-ISO noise management and electronic viewfinder for composing stars.

Both cameras support time-lapse recording, a bonus for night sky timelapses.

Video Capabilities

Nikon offers 4K UHD recording at 30fps with decent bitrate (144 Mbps), plus microphone and headphone ports for audio monitoring - a solid setup for vloggers and filmmakers on a budget.

Sony also delivers 4K UHD but extends codec support to AVCHD and XAVC S, favored by professionals for editing fidelity. It also includes mic and headphone jacks, plus in-body 5-axis stabilization, which is a boon for handheld shooting.

Sony’s video autofocus is fast but lacks touchscreen support, so manual focus and menu control can be fiddly. Nikon, with its touchscreen and more straightforward UI, will be easier for new videographers to navigate.

Battery Life, Storage, and Connectivity

• Nikon D7500 : 950 shots per charge (CIPA-standard), accepts one SD/SDHC/SDXC card. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi facilitate quick transfers but USB 2.0 is slow by today’s standards.

• Sony A99 II : Only 490 shots per charge (about half of Nikon), but dual card slots provide workflow flexibility - a must for pros. Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC cover wireless needs.

In practice, Nikon gives more shoot time for fewer dollars, but Sony requires carrying extra batteries for professional shoots.

Lens Ecosystem and Compatibility

One advantage Nikon holds is the staggering 309 lenses available for the F-mount, spanning budget primes, classics like the 50mm f/1.8, to top-notch AF-S supertelephotos for wildlife.

Sony’s offerings total 143 native lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount), including stellar G Master lenses but with fewer budget options. However, Sony’s mirrorless-mount ecosystem (separate from this DSLR line) eclipses these numbers and may be attractive if you plan a future mirrorless transition.

If your budget insists on cheap, plentiful glass or you already have Nikon lenses, the D7500 keeps your costs down.

Price and Value: What’s the Real Cost?

At ~$1,250, the Nikon D7500 is an incredible mid-tier DSLR package offering excellent image quality, user-friendly controls, and a rich lens library.

Sony A99 II comes at a steep $3,200 price point, aiming squarely at pro shooters demanding top-tier resolution, shooting speed, and build quality.

If you’re pinching pennies or just getting serious with an APS-C setup, Nikon dazzles with bang-for-buck. But if you want the best sensor tech, maximum image fidelity, and a sports/wildlife machine - expect to pay a premium with Sony.

Final Verdict: Which One Should You Choose?

In my hands-on testing across multiple genres, the Nikon D7500 impressed with its versatility and approachable design, making it a fantastic choice for enthusiasts and budget-conscious pros alike. The Sony A99 II, while pricier and bulkier, delivers on all professional fronts with top-of-the-line sensor performance, AF, and build.

The decision essentially boils down to balancing your need for resolution, speed, and professional grade performance against your budget and preferred handling style. Both cameras still hold their ground years after release and can produce stunning images that would make any photographer proud.

If you want to keep your kit lightweight with excellent battery life and easy controls, go Nikon. If ultimate image quality, high-speed AF, and full-frame detail is your game, Sony’s A99 II is worthy of your investment.

Happy shooting!

I hope this detailed breakdown helps you make a well-informed camera purchase decision. Feel free to reach out if you want sample files or real-world test images - nothing beats seeing the proof in pixels!