Excellent DSLR with few compromises.
The D7500 is a great camera. I came from a D5200, which was my first DSLR. I had not used an SLR camera in many years and made due with point and shoot cameras. The D5200 provided a nice reintroduction to photography for me. I did however want more features and better low light performance as time went on.
I already purchased a 16-80mm NIKKOR 2.8 - 4E lens for my D5200. This lens seemed to breath new life into that camera. I finally had been juggling the idea of purchasing a new camera and researched mirror-less, full frame and Nikon´s latest crop frame cameras. Cost, size, proven performance and compatibility with my current equipment were all factors in my selection process.
The D500 was very tempting but the D7500 just seemed like the best option for my needs and I have not been disappointed. I´m an amateur photographer and I don´t need the very best equipment. I didn´t want a very large camera so that nixed moving to full frame regardless of the benefits. I also wanted to give mirror-less more time to grow and to see better battery life. The D7500 is larger but smaller than the D500. It feels more balanced than my D5200, especially with larger lenses and speedlight attached.
Compared to my D5200 the D7500 has more physical controls...enabling me to change settings faster, U1/U2 settings, touch screen, better sensor performance, more focus points, flash commander mode and more. It also has a built in flash compared to the D500...I can go on and on...just a very powerful camera system.