Nikon Coolpix P500 Review
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4.5Mb.
The Nikon Coolpix P500's image quality is good for a compact camera with a small image sensor. The Nikon Coolpix P500's dealt fairly well with noise, which becomes obvious at ISO 400 along with some colour loss. The noise, colour desaturation and loss of detail gets progressively worse as you go from ISO 400 to ISO 1600 and finally the unusable 3200 setting.
The Nikon Coolpix P500 handled chromatic aberrations excellently with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The 12.2 megapixel images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting and either require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you should increase the in-camera sharpening level.
The Nikon Coolpix P500's maximum shutter speed is 8 seconds, which is fairly good news for night photography enthusiasts. Macro performance is very good, allowing you to focus as close as 3cms away from the subject. Vibration reduction is a very useful feature that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or using the telephoto end of the zoom range. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The backlighting feature increases detail in both the shadows and highlights, although at the expense of some additional noise and loss of fine detail.
Noise
The Nikon Coolpix P500 has 6 sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 at full resolution.
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ISO 160 (100% Crop) |
ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
ISO 3200 (100% Crop) |
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Focal Range
The Nikon Coolpix P500's 36x zoom lens provides a focal length of 22.5-810mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.
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22.5mm |
810mm |
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Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops - the right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are slightly soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can alternatively change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes.
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Original (100% Crop) |
Sharpened (100% Crop) |
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File Quality
At full resolution, there are three JPEG quality settings available - Fine, Normal and Basic.
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Fine (5.28Mb) (100% Crop) |
Normal (2.55Mb) (100% Crop) |
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Basic (1.31Mb) (100% Crop) |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The Nikon Coolpix P500 shows remarkably little purple fringing, with limited effects in areas of high contrast as shown in the example below.
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Example 1 (100% Crop) |
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Macro
The Nikon Coolpix P500 allows you to get as close as 3cms to your subject, in this case a Compact Flash card.
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Macro Shot |
100% Crop |
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Flash
The flash settings on the Nikon Coolpix P500 are Auto, Auto with Red-eye reduction, Fill Flash, Manual (Full, 1/2, 1/4 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 and 1/64), Slow Sync, Rear-curtain Sync and Flash Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m. Some vignetting and barrel distortion is apparent at the 24mm wide-angle setting, irrespective of whether you use the flash or not.
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Flash Off - Wide Angle (22.5mm) |
Flash On - Wide Angle (22.5mm) |
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Flash Off - Telephoto (810mm) |
Flash On - Telephoto (810mm) |
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And here are a couple of portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Fill Flash or the Auto with Red-eye reduction options caused any amount of red-eye.
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Flash On |
Flash On (100% Crop) |
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Red Eye Reduction |
Red Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night
The Nikon Coolpix P500's maximum shutter speed is 8 seconds in the Manual mode, which is good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 8 seconds at ISO 160.
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Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
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Vibration Reduction
The Nikon Coolpix P500 has an vibration reduction mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the lens set to the same focal length and ISO speed. The first shot was taken with vibration reduction turned off, the second with it turned on. As you can see, with vibration reduction turned on, the images are definitely sharper than with vibration reduction turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether. Here is a 100% crop of the images to show the results.
| Shutter Speed / Focal Length |
Anti Shake Off (100% Crop) |
Anti Shake On (100% Crop) |
| 1/5 sec / 22.5mm | |
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| 1/6 sec / 810mm | |
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Backlighting
The P500 captures three consecutive shots at varying exposures and combines them into a single photo with a broader range of tones. Three different HDR settings are available for selection.
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Off |
HDR 1 |
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HDR 2 |
HDR 3 |
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Special Effects
You can apply six different special effects as you shoot, with a live preview on the LCD screen showing exactly what the final image will look like.
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Off |
Soft |
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Nostalgic Sepia |
High-contrast Monochrome |
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High Key |
Low Key |
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Filter Effects
You can apply four different filter effects in-camera to photos that you have already taken.
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Cross Screen |
Fisheye |
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Miniature Effect |
Painting |
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Easy Panorama
Easy Panorama allows you to take vertical or horizontal panorama photos simply by moving the camera in the direction of the on-screen guides. Multiple shots are then combined into a single panorama photo. The angle of view can be selected from 180° (normal) and 360° (wide).
| Easy Panorama - 180° |
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| Full-size Image |
| Easy Panorama - 360° |
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| Full-size Image |
Sample Images
This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon Coolpix P500 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.
Sample Movie & Video
This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1280 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 11 second movie is 19.6Mb in size.
Product Images
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Front of the Camera |
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Front of the Camera / Turned On |
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Front of the Camera / Pop-up Flash |
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Isometric View |
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Isometric View |
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Rear of the Camera |
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Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed |
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Rear of the Camera / Turned On |
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Rear of the Camera / Shooting Menu |
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Fold-out LCD Screen |
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Fold-out LCD Screen |
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Fold-out LCD Screen |
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Top of the Camera |
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Bottom of the Camera |
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Side of the Camera |
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Side of the Camera |
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Front of the Camera |
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Front of the Camera |
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Memory Card Slot |
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Battery Compartment |
Conclusion
The Nikon Coolpix P500 is a rather modest update of its predecessor, the P100, with the new 36x zoom lens the star of the show. Being able to shoot ultra-wide angle landscapes and extreme close-ups with the same camera is very liberating, but the overall image quality is merely good, there are a few unresolved handling issues, there's RAW format, and it struggles to keep up with fast-moving subjects.
The main attraction of the P500 is of course that 22.5-810mm equivalent zoom lens, which covers the focal range of at least 4 SLR lenses. But there is a lot more to the Nikon P500 than just an insanely long zoom. It also offers SLR-like handling, manual exposure and focus, an eye-level viewfinder, an articulated and high-resolution LCD screen and full HD movies with stereo sound, full-time AF and optical zoom as well. The P500 is a very well rounded package that is surprisingly compact and lightweight and will more than satisfy the needs of many users.
In terms of handling, the P500 suffers from the same main issues as its predecessor. These include a lack of direct access to ISO speed and white balance, a missing second control wheel and the inability to attach an external flashgun. Generally speaking, however, the Nikon Coolpix P100 offers better handling and ease-of-use than some of its competitors, and would be an even better camera if Nikon could eventually address those few issues. The addition of the side zoom control on the lens barrel is a very welcome one, especially for videographers.
Image quality is more of a mixed bag. It's not bad for a compact camera, but the move to a 12 megapixel sensor, despite it still being a back-illuminated CMOS one, hasn't done the P500 any favours. There is simply too much smearing of fine detail in the full-resolution images, even at the lower ISO speeds, with things starting to fall apart at ISO 400 and getting progressively worse as you go up the range. Just like its smaller brother, the P300, which shares the same sensor, the P500's overall image quality is pleasing, but simply not as good as its rivals.
Despite the image quality, lack of RAW mode and handling issues, the Nikon Coolpix P500 remains a good choice for those who want the convenience of a superzoom but also require the creative control provided by a higher-end camera. It may not produce the best photos at higher ISO speeds or focus quickly enough for fast-moving subjects, but it's a lot more portable and convenient than an SLR with a bag full of lenses and also doubles up as an effective video camera thanks to its excellent video mode.
| Ratings (out of 5) | |
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| Design | 4 |
| Features | 4.5 |
| Ease-of-use | 4 |
| Image quality | 3.5 |
| Value for money | 3.5 |
Review Roundup
Reviews of the Nikon Coolpix P500 from around the web.
reviews.cnet.com »
The Nikon Coolpix P500 improves on its predecessor's features and shooting performance, but its photos and video quality still aren't as good as the rest of the package.
Read the full review »
infosyncworld.com »
Call it a Super, Mega, Ultra, Deluxe, Supreme, or Big Booming Zoom—the new Nikon Coolpix P500 continues the tradition of obscene zoom ranges with its 36x optical range, one of the largest magnifications available within the current compact camera circuit. This is a 10x optical leap from last year's Nikon Coolpix P100, but that's not the only primary upgrade on the P500.
Read the full review »
Specifications
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*1 Based on CIPA industry standard for measuring life of camera batteries. Measured at 23°C; zoom adjusted with each shot, |
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| Effective pixels | 12.1 million pixels |
| Image sensor | Type: 1/2.3-in. type CMOS with active cell array; Color filter array: RGB filter; Total pixels:Approx. 12.75 million pixels; Recording pixels: Approx. 12.00 million pixels (4000 x 3000) |
| Lens | Optical 36x zoom, NIKKOR lens; Focal length: 4.0-144mm (35mm [135] format equivalent to 22.5-810 mm); Aperture: f/3.4-5.7; Lens construction: 14 elements in 9 groups (one ED glass element) |
| Focus range (from lens) | Normal shooting: approx. 50 cm (1 ft. 8 in.) to infinity (at wide angle setting), approx. 2.2 m (7 ft. 3 in.) to infinity (at telephoto setting); Macro close-up mode: approx. 1 cm (0.4 in.) to infinity (at closest focus distance), approx. 2.2 m (7 ft. 3 in.) to infinity (at telephoto setting) |
| Monitor | Size: 7.5 cm (3-in.); Number of dots: Approx. 921k-dot; Type: TFT LCD monitor; (Acrylic) cover: Protective acrylic panel with anti-reflection coating on both sides and HD coating (no air-gapless structure) |
| Storage media | Internal memory (approx. 102 MB), SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card *2 |
| Vibration Reduction (VR) | Image-sensor shift type + electronic type (still image); Other blur-reduction functions: Motion Detection (conventional type), BSS (Best Shot Selector) |
| ISO sensitivity | ISO 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200*3 (4000 x 3000) , Auto (ISO 160 to 800), Fixed range auto (ISO 160 to 400) |
| Interface | Hi-Speed USB/PictBridge |
| Power Sources | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5 (1100 mAh), AC Adapter EH-62A (option) |
| Battery life *1 | Approx. 220 shots (EN-EL5) |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | Approx. 115.5 x 83.7 x 102.5 mm/4.6 x 3.3 x 4.1 in. (excluding projections) *4 |
| Weight | Approx. 494 g (1 lb. 1.5 oz) (including battery and SD memory card) *4 |
| Movie | HD 1080p: 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), HD 720p: 1280 x 720 (30 fps), iFrame 540: 960 x 540 (30 fps), VGA: 640 x 480 (30 fps); HS movie: (15/60/120/240 fps; no sound) |
| Supplied accessories | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5, Charging AC Adapter EH-69, USB Cable UC-E6, Audio Video Cable EG-CP16, Camera Strap AN-CP21, Lens Cap LC-CP23 and ViewNX 2 CD-ROM |
| Optional accessories | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5, Charging AC Adapter EH-69, Battery Charger MH-61, AC Adapter EH-62A, USB Cable UC-E6, Audio Video Cable EG-CP16 and Lens Cap LC-CP23 |
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