Long story short: I currently own a Nikon D7200 and several half-decent DX/APS-C lenses. I’ve got the opportunity to get a new camera body (long story) at around £1k. I shoot mainly sports and events (read high speed focus and shots, often in low light). So do I get:

• Nikon D500.
  The good: Fast shooting, fast focusing, great in low light. Undeniably an awesome cropped sensor camera and fulfils brief totally.
  The bad: It’s quite a lump and a few years old (which is why it’s near £1k) and is likely to be superseded fairly soon (read several years – I tend to keep cameras for several years) by mirrorless.
• Nikon Z 50.
  The good: Amazing FPS rate, great in low light, cropped sensor for current lenses, Z mount for future-proofing when buying new lenses (and slowly switching to full frame/FX), very light, mirrorless is probably the future.
  The bad: Apparently the auto-focus isn’t as good/quick as the 500, the battery life is less, the shutter speed isn’t quite as quick and it’s missing several features I like (LCD top screen, back focus button, 2 x SD card mounts).
• Nothing.
  Leave it all alone for a bit and go to the Winchester for a pint. When it reopens.

I’d go with the D500, I bought a D200 when they were first released and its never let me down in any weather or event. I gave it 18 months hard use doing freelance press work and it’s still going strong today.

Having had a D7100 in the past before upgrading to the D750, I personally wouldn’t bother going for another crop sensor camera after the D7200 if you’re planning on going to full frame in the next couple of years. I’d either jump straight to full frame now (and strongly consider mirrorless), or wait a while and then go to full frame.

I’d keep the D7200 and spend the grand on a lens.
I only got rid of my pair of 7200s when I won a D750 in a competition and it didn’t make sense to be running two sets of lenses. Sold the pair, bought a second D750 body, went all-in on full frame. Otherwise I’d still be running the 7200s, they were great bodies.

It depends what you find lacking on the D7200 right now.

If it’s the autofocus and buffer then yeah the D500 will be a big upgrade.
If it’s low light performance then you aren’t gaining anything worthwhile moving to the D500. Maybe 0.3 of a stop at best. You need full frame to get a meaningful improvement. You can get a good deal on a D750 now but then you would need glass too.
A Mirrorless option like a Z50 just won’t cut it as far as autofocus performance is concerned for your use.
I agree with Pyro. Invest in decent glass. I’d get a used Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR II and enjoy the benefits of that (brighter viewfinder, super-fast autofocus, shallow depth of field, sharpness, lower light/lower ISO).

I’d get a used Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR II and enjoy the benefits of that (brighter viewfinder, super-fast autofocus, shallow depth of field, sharpness, lower light/lower ISO).

An excellent lens..

Although if you’re doing mainly sports work, I’d also look at maybe a 2nd hand D4 body; you’ll need FX glass, but the 10 frames a second and faster AF are a real benefit.

Thanks all. Some great suggestions. Stupidly I have an eBay search set-up for a Nikkor 70-200 but hadn’t even thought of looking at lenses…

What is the D7200 lacking? Not a lot, TBH. I also have a D300 as a back-up which is an awesome camera; it was replaced because of the advances in low light performance (the D300 shows its age here) and to get double SD ports. So, to compare the two, I do miss the auto focus button on the back, the D300’s more solid build / weather resistance and slightly higher FPS (with additional grip: 8fps vs. 6fps). But otherwise I cant fault the 7200 (well, maybe a larger buffer wouldn’t go amiss).

Going FX will probably happen at some point. Unfortunately I can’t buy bargainous second hand with this particular deal, so a used D4 is probably out of the question at this point. But it doesn’t hurt to have a goal! A lens would be a good start.

Again – thanks all. This has helped sort out a few ideas.

Love my 500, its awesome. Back up is a 300. The 500 feels like the 300 but is much faster focusing as well as the low light performance of the 500 being in a different league. For sports you are simply not going to be able to beat it. Pair it with a 70-200mm from Nikon and the weather proofing is a massive bonus

If it helps, I have the Z7 and I’m super happy with it, but if I shot sports I think I wouldn’t be, so maybe not the Z50 ?

Pretty sure you can reconfigure the AE/L button to be an AF on button if that helps?

The bad: It’s quite a lump and a few years old (which is why it’s near £1k) and is likely to be superseded fairly soon (read several years – I tend to keep cameras for several years) by mirrorless.

Is it. I think we are getting near the pinnacle of flappy mirror. It’s meant to be awesome

I think the z50 would be disappointing. Both using an adaptor or ff didn’t appeal

If your going full frame then go full frame. The z50 just adds another step

If it helps, I have the Z7 and I’m super happy with it, but if I shot sports I think I wouldn’t be, so maybe not the Z50 ?

I think we are getting near the pinnacle of flappy mirror. It’s meant to be awesome

I think the z50 would be disappointing.

Agreed. I’m rapidly moving away from the Z 50, as a tool for what I generally want to achieve.

Pretty sure you can reconfigure the AE/L button to be an AF on button if that helps?

I think you’re right. One day I’ll read the manual. 😆