The Nikon Coolpix B500 is an ultra zoom bridge camera, with a 40x optical zoom lens, 16 megapixel sensor, a tilting 3inch screen, and built in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth. The Nikon Coolpix B500 is available in a number of different colours, and takes AA batteries.
Nikon Coolpix B500 Features
The Nikon Coolpix B500 features a 40x optical zoom lens, zooming from a wide-angle 22.5mm to 900mm in 35mm equivalent terms, with built in Vibration Reduction (VR) optical image stabilisation to keep shots sharp when shooting in low light or when using the optical zoom. There's a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, and the camera has a number of modes that can be selected from the mode dial, including automatic modes, scene modes, and creative effect modes. The camera doesn't feature manual controls, but does let you change a number of settings including ISO and white balance.
On the side of the camera is another zoom control with a side zoom button to quickly pan out so you can re-find your subject if you've lost it. The camera updates last years Nikon Coolpix L840, which has a 38x optical zoom lens, and also uses AA batteries.
The Coolpix B500 (insert joke about taking the B road here), features built-in Wi-Fi and NFC for connection to a compatible smartphone or tablet. The camera also has built-in Bluetooth for use with Nikon's Snapbridge software. This is designed for easy and low-power image transfers, as Bluetooth uses much less power than Wi-Fi. Using the app you can transfer images as well as remotely control the camera.
FullHD video recording is included, and the camera lets you use optical zoom while recording, and audio is recorded with the built-in stereo microphones.
Key Features
- 16 megapixel CMOS sensor
- 40x optical zoom lens, 22.5mm-900mm equivalent, f/3-6.5
- Vibration Reduction (VR) optical image stabilisation
- 3inch tilting screen, 921K dots
- FullHD video recording, stereo sound
- ISO125-ISO6400
- 1cm Macro
- Panoramic shooting
- 9fps continuous shooting for 7 shots
- Wi-Fi / NFC / Bluetooth connectivity
- Available in black, plum, and red
Nikon Coolpix B500 Handling
The Nikon Coolpix B500 has a large hand-grip with a good rubber grip that has a very grippy textured pattern on it. When using this in combination with the thumb grip on the back of the camera it's very easy to get a good hold of the camera, helping you keep it steady. There is no electronic viewfinder, so you will need to use the rear screen to compose and frame your shots, but thankfully the screen tilts which helps when using the camera outdoors.
There are a number of controls on the camera, including a mode dial, giving quick access to common settings, including exposure compensation, macro shooting, and video recording. The buttons are clearly labelled, and with on-screen text explaining the shooting modes, the camera is easy to use. The menus are clearly laid out and text is clear is easy to read. The screen looks good, and because you can tilt the screen you can set the screen so that is is easy to see even when shooting outdoors in bright sunlight.
Wi-Fi features / Snapbridge: With built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth you can transfer images to your smartphone, and if yours features NFC, then setting up the connection is even easier. You can also used the app to shoot remotely, and you can adjust the optical zoom. There's an option to add GPS data from your smartphone to photos, as well as setting the camera's time.
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| Connect | Remote Shooting | Camera Settings |
Battery life - You can shoot approx. 600 shots when using alkaline batteries, approx. 1240 shots when using lithium batteries, or approx. 750 shots when using Rechargeable EN-MH2 batteries. This is quite impressive and should mean you can get a good amount of shots before needing to worry about the batteries.
Speed - The camera is reasonably quick at switching on and shooting, with focus speeds okay when shooting towards the wide-angle end of the lens, or when not using much zoom. When using full optical zoom, the camera can take longer to focus. Continuous shooting is impressive, as the camera can shoot at 9fps for 7 shots.
Nikon Coolpix B500 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Nikon Coolpix B500 Sample Photos
Nikon Coolpix B500 Lens test images
Camera Performance - Exposure is reliable, and the camera produces images with good colour. D-Lighting helps with dynamic range but also produces images that look a little un-natural and we preferred the more contrasty images that were possible with this switched off. Images will look good when shared to social media websites, but detail isn't great when viewing images at 100%. Once you go past a certain point using the optical zoom, at around 30x optical zoom, image quality drops off noticeably. Lens flare can be an issue if a bright light source is in the frame, for example, the sun. Macro performance is quite good, and you can get close to the subject, with the camera showing on screen the best zoom to use.
Nikon Coolpix B500 ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - Noise performance is good up to and including ISO800, with images becoming less detailed at ISO1600 and above. ISO3200 and ISO6400 are best avoided.
Nikon Coolpix B500 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well under both tungsten or fluorescent lighting. There are tungsten and fluorescent presets available, although these don't make much difference.
Nikon Coolpix B500 Digital filters
Digital Filters - There are a number of Creative Effects available in the Creative mode - You can choose from different styles, and the camera will take one normal photo and 4 different photos with effects applied to them. The choices are Depth, Light, Selective colour (blue, green, red), Variety, Noir (Black and White), Classic and Memory. If you choose the backlighting mode on the mode dial, you can also access the HDR shooting mode that combines a number of shots in camera.
Panorama mode - The panoramic photo is quite low resolution, at just 920 pixels high. However, the image is quite well stitched together.
Video - The camera records full HD video with stereo sound, and optical zoom is available. Results are reasonable, however lens noise when using the zoom is quite noticeable. Focus struggles at the telephoto end and it can take a long time for it to focus correctly. Additional sample videos can be found on the ePHOTOzine YouTube Channel.
Value For Money
The Nikon Coolpix B500 is available for around £199. There are a number of different ultra zoom cameras you could look at with a lot of optical zoom, as well as one travel-zoom camera with a 40x optical zoom lens, however, none of the other cameras use AA batteries, and some of these aren't available everywhere. If you're looking for AA powered cameras, the most recent alternatives are the Nikon Coolpix L840 and Fujifilm FinePix S9900W.
Canon Powershot SX720 - 40x Optical Zoom Travel Zoom, £270
Canon Powershot SX540 - 50x Optical Zoom Bridge, £280
Canon Powershot SX530 - 50x Optical Zoom Bridge, £190
Canon Powershot SX420 - 42x Optical Zoom Bridge (Argos £129, half-price offer)
Panasonic Lumix FZ72 - 60x Optical Zoom Bridge, £199
Sony Cyber-shot H400 - 63x Optical Zoom Bridge, £199
Have a look at more ultra-zoom bridge cameras in our Top 10 Best Ultra Zoom Bridge Cameras, or have a look at the Top 10 Best AA Cameras. You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Nikon Coolpix B500 Verdict
The Nikon Coolpix B500 has a lot going for it as a budget ultra zoom bridge camera, with a wide-angle 40x optical zoom lens, tilting screen, and Full HD video recording with stereo sound. On top of this, there's Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth for quick and easy connection to your smartphone - something that's becoming more and more important in today's market. We weren't overly impressed with the image quality when using the full optical zoom, but if you're sharing photos to social media, then colour and exposure were both reliable, and the camera should keep most people happy, particularly at this price point.
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For those looking for an AA-powered and connected ultra-zoom bridge camera, the Nikon Coolpix B500 is it. |