My wife has a D90 paired with a Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens. She doesn’t shoot for a living but is what I would consider an advanced hobbyist. She primary shoots outdoor dog racing (whippets, just raced for fun, people’s pets) from varying distances, mostly at the upper end of the lens.

Would I be better off getting a D750 and keeping her current Sigma lens, or should I get a Nikkor 70-200 lens or maybe a prime sigma 300 2.8 and keep the D90. I’m trying to stay around $2500.  She handholds and being the subjects are moving I don’t think  VR would be beneficial,  but I can’t find any Nikon 2.8 telephotos without VR.

Thanks for any help

With a body that old definitely upgrade.  That lens should do just fine.

MP, focus points, and particularly ISO will be huge improvements.

Consider a used/refurb body for significant savings.

And keep that old D90 body for a backup.

Thank you for your help. I know next to nothing about photography. Just want to get her something decent for Christmas.

If you really want to make her day get the body and the Nikon lens.

I agree.

Upgrade the body.

I like my D90,  But it is old as dirt.

That's EXACTLY what the VR is made for.  Handholding and moving subjects.  It has it's limits, of course.

And yeah, if you want to be the ultimate husband get her the 750 and the Nikon 70-200/2.8.  But not for $2,500 unless yo find a hella used deal.

One other question; how important is full frame (FX) vs. crop sensor (DX) to her?

For sports/action I think the DX-sensor D500 edges out the FX models until you get to the single digit models (i.e. D5).  Crop sensors will give you a bit more reach with telephoto (200mm turns into an effective 300mm as compared to a full frame).

All FX lenses will work fine on DX bodies, but DX lenses tend to have vignetting on FX bodies.

Oh, and paging @Northpolar for more info...

I shoot my daughter's dance competitions, used D7000 with Tamron 70-200 f\2.8 G2 lens.  I was in the same position as you.  even D7000 is too slow to focus and buffer is too short for Ch shooting mode - 3-4 RAW exposures and then wait for writing.  I started researching body upgrade within $2000 budget.

I looked at D750, D810... could not afford D850 or D5... and then talked to an acomplished dance photographer that works during the events and who's pictures I admired... he shoot D850 and D5, but within my budget he reccomended to forgo any of the entry level FX bodys - he said they are all too slow for action and sports photography.  he reccomended a less known model - D500.  top of the line DX body - 153 focus points, latest processor, amazing high ISO performance and lightning fast with 10 fps and 200 exposures buffer(!), writing to XQD card.

I got it and I am hooked - as good as their pro D5 electronics, practically same AF-C speed, the only difference is cropped censor but unless you make 8x10 or bigger prints - there is no distinguishable difference

and black friday is coming...

https://photographylife.com/the-nikon-d500-reigniting-the-dx-fx-debate-and-a-few-high-iso-photos

also, this lens is better then previous generation Nikkor 70-200 and almost as good as their current lens

https://www.amazon.com/Tamron-70-200mm-Digital-Limited-Warranty/dp/B06X6GQPWL

https://kenrockwell.com/tamron/70-200mm.htm

A 20mp or larger camera will give you 11x14 to 16x20 prints with no problem. Minimal cropping of 12mp DX images will give you 16x20 prints all day long.  FX or DX. I've been shooting an FX D800 since 2012. 36mp. With DX lens it cuts it down to about 15mp. So, yes, you can use DX lenses on a FX body, but you lose megapixels. Usually my walk around lens is the Nikon 18-200 VR DX lens. It gets me what I want 85% of the time. Other times I have a 12-24 Nikon FX lens, the original 70-200 VR 2.8 FX lens, and an 80-400 VR Nikon FX lens.

I’ll have to read the thread, but I’m in. Tagging for now.

I own and have shot a lot with a Sigma 70-200/2.8.

Upgrade the body, without question.

The D750 is a "full frame" format camera which will be a wider angle view than what she currently has with the D90. Something to consider might be either a D7500 or a D500, either of which are "DX" format (same as the D90), and have some more advanced features for action shooting (better AF system, etc).

I shoot a ton of sports and action stuff, and do not own a VR lens. Adequate shutter speed and good AF, VR can cause as many problems as it purports to solve.

Yeah, the D90 is ancient by DSLR standards. ANY Nikon DSLR body sold today will outclass it.

Alrighty...

First off +1 on everyone saying to upgrade from the D90.  To be brutally honest, that was a great camera back in the day but anything on the market would be a full torso above it in terms of performance.  How old is the Sigma lens?  That'll be a big deciding factor.  IF the glass is fairly recent and works well, I'd keep it and upgrade later if needed.  Hell, I'm using a 10 year old (ish) 70-200mm f/2.8G on my Nikon D850 without issue or resolution problems.  Good glass lasts a long time.

Personally I'd go with the D500.  That'll last her a good long time.  Add in the memory card and reader and you're at $2000.  IMO I'd toss in a good bag to go with it, top off her cleaning supplies with new stuff (add in a new Visible Dust hepa rocket blower, sensor loupe, etc) maybe replace the extra Watson battery that comes with the D500 with an OEM one, grab a focus calibration target, etc.  Basically set it up to get the best performance out of the camera possible.

Barring the D500, the D7200 is a damned good DX camera.  A lot of us used them for years flawlessly.  I only sold mine to move up to the D850.  The D7200 and D750 are on par with each other largely, one is a DX and the other is FX but are pretty comparable really.

BUT the D500 blows both out of the water in terms of ISO performance, frame rate, etc.

For $2500, this is what I'd recommend:
Nikon D7200 refurbished $770
Nikon D500 $1800 with free Nikon battery grip (normally $350 on it's own)
Nikon D750 $1400 with free Nikon battery grip (normally $350 on it's own)

D500 specific:
120gb Sony G series XQD card $222
Sony XQD reader $70

Thanks Everyone. I believe I’m going to purchase a D500 bundle. I will wait to see if there are any Black Friday deals on them before I pull the trigger. I appreciate all the input.

As others have said, you'll benefit tremendously from a newer body.

The free grip bundle usually is their Black Friday deal. Refurbs go on sale and a few lenses here and there, but the cameras are essentially $500 off right now, counting the $100 overall discount and grip.

went from a D7000 to a D7500 refurb.   The 7500 was $808 thru ebay (buydig).   Ebay had a 15% coupon at the time.

The 7500 made my 7000 feel like a potatoe......upgrade your body!

She will LOVE the D500.

I am late to this discussion, but I made the D90 to D500 upgrade a couple years ago. It was a wonderful upgrade. Your plan of a D500 bundle is a solid move. The kit lenses have improved markedly over the years, so while you could upgrade the lenses you don’t have to. In fact, my current go-to lens is an 18-140.

The D500 is a heck of a capable camera!

-shooter

I agree with all the above statements on the d500.

I had a d90 years ago and loved it at the time, after a few year break, bought back into Nikon with a d5300. The 5300 was rather disappointing to me, after 11 months i had to upgrade and I've loved the 500 since purchase a year ago

The Abes of Maine is a far cry from the Abe's of Maine of the 90's and mail-order fame. I have seen more than a few people struggle to get orders filled by them.

-shooter

Certainly nothing wrong with a D500, it's a great camera and I have one.

The D7500 is quite a bit less expensive, but has the same sensor and most of the features of the D500, so might be something to consider.

Whichever camera you pick, might suggest to her that she do the AF Fine Tune for her lenses, it can make a very noticeable difference. The AF on the D500 is so good along with fine tuned AF that I shoot a lot wide open with f2.8 lenses.

Ummm, not really.

D500 has 153 focus points, D7500 only has 51
D500 has 99 cross-type focus points, D7500 has 15
D500 will do 10 fps, D7500 will do 8 fps

Here's a more complete rundown

Good advice there. It's what I would do, IMO.

Are we talking camera or his wife?    

the D500 will be a significant upgrade to a D90

Still using my old D50, looking to replace it soon. Seriously thinking the D500 will be the new one.

Do it.  It's more than ten times better.

My D50 is in a box in the closet.

As soon as my wallet says I can..........

Especially for action events/sports the difference in performance between a d50-d90’and a new body is pretty stunning. The focus accuracy/speed, high iso performance and dynamic range will change your shooting style dramatically.