[Review] Nikon Coolpix P500 36x Superzoom Digital Camera

Nikon launched the new full-featured, compact Coolpix P500 super-zoom digital camera. The P500 features a 12.1-megapixel backside illumination CMOS sensor, a super wide-angle 22.5mm-810mm (35mm equivalent) 36x wide-angle optical Zoom-Nikkor ED glass lens, EXPEED C2 dual image processor, 1080p full HD video recording, a 3-inch vari-angle LCD screen, hybrid vibration reduction stabilization system with image-sensor shift VR and electronic VR, Backlighting scene mode, in-camera high dynamic range (HDR) function, Night Landscape and Portrait modes, Easy Panorama mode, Scene Auto Selector, Best Shot Selector and Smart Portrait System, and a new shooting mode button for continuous frame shooting and a pre-shooting cache.

The Nikon P500 is its usual small, light, handsome self, with only a few immediately obvious modifications from its predecessor P100. You’ve never been closer to the action than you are with this 36x wide-angle optical Zoom-NIKKOR® ED glass lens. Its optical zoom (22.5–810mm) pulls you in from wide panoramas to crisp close ups. Plus, a side zoom control marks the end of shaky zooms—freeing you to capture great action photos with minimal blur. So whether you’re shooting a wild animal or zooming in on a beach scene, say goodbye to missed shots. This lens catches it all. It even allows for macro shooting as close as 0.4 inches.

The COOLPIX P500 is all you need to shoot eye-catching photographs, thanks to the three-inch, tilting, vari-angle monitor. This 921,000-dot display not only makes it easy to capture, review, and share images, but it also enables you to shoot from unusual angles and tricky vantage points. The Clear Color Display has a brightness adjustment and an anti-glare coating, so it remains vivid in the most challenging lighting conditions. And for those who want even more compositional freedom, the versatile COOLPIX P500 comes with an eye-level electronic viewfinder.

COOLPIX P500 features a One-Touch record button that lets you shoot Full HD (1080p) movies at 30fps while recording audio with a built-in stereo microphone. It’s great for sporting events because it will record high speed activity in slow motion, catching action missed by the human eye. The COOLPIX P500 also has an HDMI-CEC output for simple playback on your HDTV or computer—so now it’s as easy to watch your own movies as it is to shoot them.

The Nikon P500 can capture five full-resolution images at about 8 frames per second in a single burst. That’s as fast as a high-end digital SLR, though buffer depth is quite shallow. Some of the competition in this category can do up to 10 and even 40 frames per second.

It built with Auto panorama modes. The dual processors also allow for a new trick for Nikon – Easy Panorama. Rather than shoot a series of carefully captured images and have them stitched in the camera or on a computer, the Nikon P500 allows you to capture either 180-degree or 360-degree panoramic images by just pressing the shutter and sweeping the camera over the image area. It’s pretty awesome feature, and seems to work pretty well.

However the Coolpix P500 will be available for purchase from March 2011. Available in Black and Red colors, Coolpix P500 is priced at $399.95. Are you getting yours?

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