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Nikon COOLPIX B500 Digital Camera (Black) Review

The most relevant that we have learned from the Nikon COOLPIX B500 Digital Camera (Black) Review , is that new camera belonging to the popular Coolpix series is a mixture of versatility, photographic quality, and low price. In particular the product stand out for its super-zoom lens, which has been its most prominent feature recognized because has the ability to take pictures of all kinds. This feature is very useful for those photographers who seek inspiration both in everyday and special shootings.

The camera also has distinctive physical elements such as its screen or monitor on the back, which help the users to compose their photos.

Pros
The flip screen was a good decision of Nikon when they designed this camera, since it gives it an added value that users can take advantage of. In addition to that the Full HD resolution along with the ability to record videos at 60 fps are positive factors that makes the camera a very good product.
It has an excellent range of focal length that allows us to make ultra wide angle captures up to a range of 160 mm. Beyond that the 40x Zoom with the possibility of duplicating it with the Dynamic Fine Zoom function, allow to shoot excellent shots at a very long distance.
Another positive factor is that it has a fairly wide ISO sensitivity range that varies from 125 to 1600 in manual mode, and up to 6400 in automatic mode.
Also the flip screenis designed to facilitate the camera control remotely using SnapBridge, via WiFi, NFC or Bluetooth connection.

Verdict

Enjoying a powerful camera with an impressive zoom is not something exclusive to those initiated in photography; Its design can intimidate the neophyte, but nothing is further from reality. The COOLPIX B500 is a simple camera, we need nothing more than to turn it on and start shooting to get great photos and videos.

Also its connection with your Smartphone via Bluetooth using the SnapBridge function means that you can manage remotely many functions of the camera and every photo you take with it is automatically saved on your phone, so you can share it immediately without having to do any extra effort.

With a bridge camera aspect, the B500 has settings and controls that make its operation very easy and it takes minutes to familiarize yourself with the camera, leaving the configuration tasks to the different automatic modes.

It shows a 40x optical zoom. The side zoom button provides the necessary stability, and with the pivotable LCD screen, you can get unique positions.

Video-Unboxing the Nikon COOLPIX B500

What Is In The Box?

Nikon COOLPIX B500
4 AA Alkaline Batteries
AN-CP21 Strap
UC-E16 USB Cable
LC-CP31 Lens Cap

Design Of The Nikon COOLPIX B500 Digital Camera

The decisive factors for a perfect image are the powerful vibration function and the ergonomic handle. The Coolpix B500 offers both and that is why it achieves great performance with its classic style. Impress with very sharp images and details. You can also take pictures while filming. The large 7.5 cm flip screen is cover with a reflective coating so that the image is always easily visible. The object to be photographed is quickly identified with the AF function with target designation.

Lens Quality

The Nikon Coolpix B500 has a more impressive lens than its photographic sensor, since it incorporates a focal length range of 4.0 to 160mm, which is equivalent to 22.5-900 mm in a thirty-five millimeter. The 40x NIKKOR VR Zoom has the ability to take pictures from a wide angle as well. It should be noted that the scope of the video can be extended thanks to the 80x Dynamic Fine Zoom system that doubles the zoom range. The lens is composed of 12 elements in 9 groups and 3 ED (Extra Low Dispersion) lenses to improve the accuracy, color and image quality of photographs and video. It also has a vibration reduction system (VR) to compensate for the movements made by the cameras when using the zoom.

Nikon COOLPIX B500 Zoom

Sensor Of The COOlPIX B500

It should be noted that this sensor does not work together with an image processor (such as other model of Nikon) and that it has a slightly short ISO sensitivity range, being between 125 and 6400. Being a compact camera, Nikon has sacrificed the performance in the dark, to achieve to release a camera in this price range .

Bluetooth, WiFi and NFC

The great advantage of Smartphones is that when you shoot with your with them, the photo is already on your phone, so you can do what you want with it immediately: edit it, send it on Snapchat or WhatsApp , upload it to social networks like Instagram, etc. But of course, it does not shoot so fast, nor does it have an optical zoom as powerful as that of digital cameras.
But the B500 is different, with the B500 you don’t have to give up a great photo because of the immediacy of your phone. The Snapbridge technology that is present in the B500, allows you to connect your camera to the smartphone using Bluetooth with spending excessive power, so you don’t have to worry about whether you will run out of battery power on both the mobile or the camera.

Setting it up is very simple: you just have to pair them, and once you are done you can forget about having to connect both each time as you have to do with WiFi cameras.
In addition to Bluetooth, the COOLPIX B500 has WiFi and NFC, that allow to use the Snapbridge application, so you can configure for example the position sharing, save your photographs or control the camera from your phone.

Video Tutorial-How to Use The WiFi

Nikon COOLPIX B500 Camera Screen

The screen of the B500 is foldable; This makes it very convenient to take photographs from low or high perspectives, but where it is really useful is in video recording in which not only prevents us from forcing the posture, but also improves the grip getting more stable videos with better framing.

Its size is 3 inches diagonally, and has a resolution of 921,000 dots and brightness adjustment. The power consumption of this screen is very low, something that our batteries appreciate, allowing us to take up to 600 photos or 1:30 hrs of video with alkaline batteries, and more than 1000 photos and or than 4 hours of video when using Lithium batteries.

Q&A

Question: Can the screen be flipped to shot selfies?

Answer: No, it is not possible because the screen cannot be flipped completely. You can move it up and down, and see what you are shooting. The LCD screen doesn’t come with a lens that can be rotated.

Question: What is the maximum amount of memory that the camera SD card can handle?

Answer: The COOLPIX B500 can use a 64 GB memory card, but Nikon says that should be a card from an approved brand. These brands are TOSHIBA, SanDisk, Panasonic and Lexar Media. Approved types and sizes are SDHC, SD, SDXC cards that range in size between 4 GB and 516 GB. You can get more information at their website.

Question: Is it possible to go through a device to send pictures or just connect to a WiFi signal to send them?

Answer: You should have to connect to a device that has the Nikon app installed on it.Once you set up the Snapbridge app, the camera automatically sends the photos to your tablet or mobile, and from them you can then send the pictures anywhere.

Question: Does the camera take good action shots?

Answer: I bought the camera for my nephew. The pictures that he took look great. I research a lot before buying it, since I had a lot of doubts. Finally I concluded that the best option was purchasing it from Amazon, since that was the best deal that I have found. I asked my nephew about action shots and he said that he took ,for example several shots of a moving ship and they came out great. He said that he would definitely recommend it.

Manual Of The COOLPIX B500

Manual Link

Buyers Opinion

Buyer 1: I purchased the Nikon COOLPIX B 500 camera because I wanted a camera that would take better pictures than using a smartphone, and also have a powerful zoom. After spending some time on the net reading buyers opinions, I decided to buy it, and fortunately I feel that I took the right decision. I was also looking for a camera that was easy to use. The camera is easy to setup using the app. I experimented a lot with different modes and settings, and I can say that everything worked amazingly. The battery life still shows as full after taking nearly 150 pictures, and the performance of the zoom was outstanding.

Buyer 2: Really good camera from the unboxing. Be aware the If you receive an error message you have to turn it off and then remove the lens cap. The optical zoom works efficiently, and without using a tripod I was able to take steady pictures from long distance in plain daylight. Nature photos came out beautiful. Some can say that the Smartbridge app. is slow, but in my opinion it works okay. All in all, great value product and I would recommend it to a beginner photographer that is ready to advance to the next level in photography.

Buyer 3: I like to keep photography simple. Amateurs will love the simple point-n-shoot features, and yes, there are really sophisticated products available, but my decision was based on simplicity. I bought this camera in a kit that came with a 64 GB Samsung memory card and camera case and so far not complains at all.

So, in short I think that the initial impression regarding quality and performance is that the COOLPIX B500 is a great camera and it is not necessary to read a long manual to be able to manage it. This camera is great for families with young kids and pets, especially while traveling as the camera size and weight are just about perfect.

SnapBridge App

>Final Thoughts Of The Nikon COOLPIX B500 Digital Camera (Black) Review