Nikon’s rumored D500 DSLR successor could raise the bar for crop-sensor mirrorless cameras

• Rumors point to a 'Nikon Z70' reveal before 2026 is out
• It's supposedly a mirrorless successor to the crop-sensor Nikon D500 DSLR flagship
• As such, expect a rugged design and high-speed photography features

One DSLR that Nikon is yet to give to give the mirrorless camera treatment is the decade-old D500 — but rumors over the last few months suggest that the wait could be over soon through what's being dubbed the Nikon Z70.

The D500 was Nikon's flagship crop-sensor DSLR (APS-C, known as 'DX' for Nikon cameras), with a rugged body, dual card slots and high-speed burst shooting. In other words, it's a mini, crop-sensor version of Nikon's D6 full-frame camera that's used by professional sports, wildlife and news photographers.

We already have the Nikon Z9 as the mirrorless spiritual successor of the D6, but now there could be the crop-sensor equivalent on its way too, in the form of a rumored Nikon Z70. It sounds like a dream camera for enthusiast wildlife and sports photographers.

The Z70 rumor mill has been grinding away for some time, but still lacks firm details, instead largely consisting of educated guesses. The New Camera, however, spotted a Z70 listing on Apple's official ProRes and ProRes RAW Authorized Products page in August, and believes the Z70 will land in November this year.

A flagship Nikon crop-sensor camera would naturally sit above the Nikon Z50 II, with a tougher pro-grade body and likely a faster sensor (perhaps the stacked type like the Fujifilm X-H2S), in-body image stabilization, and shooting speeds we haven't seen from a Nikon camera before. New Camera also suggests video specs will be strong, and include internal ProRes Raw recording (based on the Apple listing).

These kind of features would put the rumored Z70 in direct competition with the Canon EOS R7 — which could get a powerful successor soon — the Fujifilm X-H2S, and the Sony A6700, and I wouldn't be surprised if Nikon's tops the lot. Where it would currently come up short, however, is lens selection. On that front, there was concrete, promising news last week.

More good news for Nikon 'DX' shooters

While we don't know a lot about the rumored Z70, we do know that a new Z-mount lens for APS-C cameras was announced last week: the Sigma 16-300mm do-it-all travel zoom.

The lens has been around for over a year in Sony, L-mount and Canon RF versions, but it becomes the first Sigma zoom lens for Nikon's Z-mount, which is a promising sign for Nikon shooters.

Will the D500 finally get a spiritual Z-mount successor? (Image credit: Future)

Nikon has poured a lot of resources into its full-frame mirrorless camera system, but its APS-C cameras haven't received the same love. As such, it's slim pickings for any enthusiast sports/wildlife photographer wanting a high-quality Z-mount super-telephoto zoom native to its crop sensor cameras.

Sigma's 16-300mm lens, which has a 24-450mm equivalent focal length isn't quite the bright aperture lens for demanding sports/wildlife photographers. But with the door seemingly open to Sigma, we could start to see more crop-sensor Z-mount lenses that might just fill that niche.

And for photographers with deep pockets (and a strong back), the Nikon Z 120-300mm f/2.8 TC VR S (with built-in 1.4x teleconverter) for full-frame cameras (which would work with crop-sensor cameras like the rumored Z70) is en route. Nikon announced its development earlier this year, and recent rumors suggest it will land soon.