Nikon Coolpix P500

usability, portability, zoom, screen, performance

battery, durability, optics, energy, flash

92% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

usability, zoom, performance, portability, design

shutter, sensor, focus

89% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

36x optical zoom. Fast. Sharp images and very good low-light performance. 1080p video capture. Manual controls.

Bulky. Expensive for a point-and-shoot camera.

Still-Image Performance, Video, and Conclusions The P500 is fast, powering up and shooting in an average of 2 seconds, and you only wait 1.5 seconds between shots. Shutter lag, the time from button press to image capture, is a mere 0.5 seconds. In the...

Amazing versatility from the 36x optical zoom lens ; dSLR style body is easy and comfortable to handle ; Fully Automatic and Manual controls ; Excellent 1080p video recording with full use of the optical zoom ; Robust shooting performance ; High...

At full telephoto, the camera can be very hard to hold steady, even with the optical image stabilization ; Overall image quality is not up to our expectations ; No audio input ; Sub-Par battery life

Nikon's CoolPix P500 is an incredibly versatile and fun camera to operate. Sporting a 36x optical zoom lens, 12.1-Megapixel Backside Illuminated CMOS, 3.0-inch LCD and 1080p HD video capture this camera is capable of more than just fun. Its overall...

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...

Impressive zoom range, from 22.5 to 810mm equivalent ; Two zoom controls for more user choice ; Small, light, attractive body ; Improved grip ; Backside illuminated sensor ; 1080p movie mode with optical zoom ; Stereo audio recording for videos ;...

It's easy to accidentally activate the side zoom control, extending the lens inadvertently ; Charging via USB makes charging a spare more difficult, since the camera does the charging, and it's unavailable while charging is in process ; Too many will...

An extremely wide and long zoom, an easy interface, and very fast autofocus combine to make the Nikon Coolpix P500 an excellent companion camera. Shooting with the P500 reminded me of how much fun photography can be, and that's a nice intangible...

This quick-shooting ultrazoom wins our approval.

Excellent noise handling; Great resolution performance; A massive 36x zoom lens

Surprisingly disappointing color accuracy

So the Coolpix P500 performed horribly in our color accuracy test, especially for a Nikon. But here’s the thing: during our time with the camera, the images produced were actually very attractive. If you’d handed us sample photos from this model before...

The Coolpix P500 has the second worst battery life in the group, coming in almost 40% below average. Thus, you'll probably want to pick up a spare battery when you buy the camera. Also, I've heard stories about poor battery performance that is somehow...