Canon SX500 IS vs Nikon P900: A Deep Dive into Small Sensor Superzooms from a Veteran's Lens

Navigating the landscape of small sensor superzoom cameras can be a bit like strolling through a carnival funhouse: optical illusions everywhere, with specs that dazzle yet often mask practical compromises. Today, I’m taking you through a hands-on, no-nonsense comparison of two noteworthy models from different eras and philosophies: the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS and the Nikon Coolpix P900.

Having personally handled thousands of cameras over a decade and a half, I’ll peel back the specs and reveal what truly matters when you’re out there chasing wildlife, capturing travel adventures, or just shooting family memories. Expect detailed technical insights, ergonomic realities, and real-world use cases that go beyond bullet lists.

Let’s jump right in.

First Impressions: Size, Handling, and Ergonomics

Before finger meets button, the way a camera feels in your hands often dictates how much you’ll enjoy shooting with it day after day. In our case, the Canon SX500 IS and Nikon P900 couldn’t be more physically divergent.

The SX500 IS, launched in 2012, channels the compact, pocket-friendly camp. We’re looking at a tiny 104 x 70 x 80 mm frame, weighing in at a light 341 grams. It comfortably tucks into a jacket pocket - a blessing for street and travel photographers who prioritize discretion and portability. The lens barrel is slim; the balance is reasonable, but with such a compact body and relatively long reach, it can feel a bit front-heavy at full zoom.

Contrast that with the Nikon P900, a 2015 model that dives full-on into bridge camera territory. The P900 is almost three times as heavy at 899 grams, measuring a substantial 140 x 103 x 137 mm. It sports a bulky grip that feels substantial and secure, ideal for steadying those very long telephoto shots inherent to 83.3x zoom lenses. While you lose pocketability, the ergonomics are designed to resemble a DSLR or mirrorless camera, with generous buttons and a sculpted handgrip, suiting photographers who prefer a more serious, camera-like experience.

Handling-wise, I find the Canon better for casual snaps and urban stealth, whereas the Nikon is built for extended telephoto-focused sessions where stability and manual control take precedence.

Control Layout and Top-Panel Interface

Moving beyond raw size, the design philosophy reveals itself in button placement and layout efficiency. Here’s a look at the top view comparison.

The Canon SX500 IS opts for minimalism. Its top deck hosts a small mode dial, zoom toggle, shutter button, and power button. Small, flush controls suit the compact body but can be fiddly for users with larger hands or in cold weather gloved shooting. The lack of a dedicated physical dial for aperture or shutter speed means the camera leans on menus for fine exposure adjustments.

The Nikon P900’s top plate walks a more traditional professional path. There’s a pronounced mode dial for quick access to P, S, A, and M modes, a dedicated exposure compensation dial, and a front control ring around the lens for manual focusing or aperture control. Buttons are bigger, clicky, and generally more satisfying to manipulate with tactile feedback - traits I appreciated during wildlife shooting in forests where quick tweaking is essential.

The slit between these two essentially boils down to user type: casual shooters who favor portability versus enthusiasts craving fast, intuitive access to manual controls.

Sensor & Image Quality: The Heart of the Matter

Both cameras share the same sensor size - a 1/2.3" sensor measuring 6.17 x 4.55 mm with an area of roughly 28.07 mm² - but the technology and image processing engines yield quite different results.

The Canon SX500 IS features a CCD sensor combined with Canon’s DIGIC 4 processor. CCDs, particularly in older cameras, offer respectable color reproduction, especially in daylight. However, they typically fall short against CMOS chips in noise control, dynamic range, and speed. In practice, this variant restricts native ISO to 80–1600, capping low-light performance. Expect noticeably grainier results past ISO 400, limited detail retention in shadows, and modest dynamic range - not ideal for those who like to push files in post.

The Nikon P900 adopts a CMOS sensor paired with the Expeed C2 processor, pushing ISO up to 6400 natively, with extended boost options up to 12800. The CMOS sensor architecture and more advanced processor translate into superior noise control and cleaner images in lower light. The P900 also benefits from a wider aperture range (f/2.8-6.5 vs. f/3.4-5.8), allowing more light in on the wide end. The difference is material: images from the P900 reveal better shadow detail and more vibrant colors, while the SX500’s images handle bright, sunny environments better but degrade noticeably in dimmer conditions.

It’s also worth noting that neither camera offers RAW support, so advanced post-processing flexibility is off the table regardless of sensor prowess.

Looking at the Big Picture: Rear LCD and Viewfinder Experience

Usability depends heavily on the feedback we get from the camera’s screen and viewfinder, especially in challenging light conditions or fast-paced shooting.

The Canon SX500 IS sports a fixed 3" TFT LCD with 461k-dot resolution. It’s serviceable but limited in sharpness and viewing angles. The lack of touch or articulation means some awkward angles in live view or low-angle shooting. Also, the absence of any kind of EVF means the LCD is your only composing tool - not ideal in strong sunlight, where glare can obscurate the screen.

The Nikon P900 ups the ante with a fully articulated 3" LCD boasting 921k dots, doubling the resolution of the Canon. It’s bright, reasonably responsive, and articulate enough for a variety of shooting angles, including selfies or over-the-head shots. Crucially, the P900 incorporates a 921k dot electronic viewfinder with full 100% coverage. This EVF offers sharp, bright framing with real-time exposure previews - a tremendous advantage for outdoor use, especially at long focal lengths where handholding cameras become less stable. I frequently defaulted to the EVF in bright midday sun, where LCD glare rendered the Canon nearly useless.

These differences highlight Nikon’s tilt towards serious enthusiasts who value framing precision and flexibility.

Autofocus and Continuous Shooting: Catching the Moment

One of the biggest practical gaps between a camera that “feels” responsive in action photography and one that struggles is autofocus speed and burst rate.

The Canon SX500 IS delivers a pedestrian 1 fps continuous shooting speed, with a single 1-point contrast-detection autofocus system. While it has face detection, focus acquisition is slow and often hunt-prone in low light or complex scenes. This limits candid street shots and wildlife action considerably. The lack of AF tracking and limited focus points restricts faster-moving subject capture.

Conversely, the Nikon P900 claims 7 fps continuous shooting, paired with contrast-detection AF that supports single, continuous, center-weighted, multi-area, and selective AF modes. Face detection is also present, with a bit better reliability. The result is a substantially nimbler system for wildlife and sports photography. While it can’t match phase detection AF systems of DSLRs, it’s a competent performer in its tier.

If you often chase fast wildlife moments, the P900 is clearly superior. The Canon feels better suited to deliberate, slower shooting.

Zoom Capabilities: The Narrative of Reach

This is where the superzoom category earns its name and where our two contenders differ dramatically.

• Canon SX500 IS: 24–720 mm equivalent (30x zoom), f/3.4–5.8 aperture range
• Nikon P900: 24–2000 mm equivalent (83.3x zoom), f/2.8–6.5 aperture range

No contest here: the Nikon P900 offers unprecedented reach, capable of getting close to distant wildlife, moon shots, and long-range telephoto effects unattainable on the Canon.

The Canon’s more modest 30x zoom is still quite versatile for travel and casual wildlife photography but struggles when you want to fill the frame with a distant bird or distant sports action. It also retains a slightly brighter aperture on the long end (5.8 vs. 6.5), which marginally helps in lower light - but the difference is not enough to outweigh the Nikon’s massively extended reach.

I’ve personally used the P900 for birding and lunar photography with remarkable results, leveraging its long focal length and stabilization system.

Image Stabilization and Shutter Speeds: Steady Hands Required

Both cameras incorporate optical image stabilization (OIS) to grapple with shake at long zooms, arguably the most precious feature in a superzoom camera box.

In testing both in various handheld scenarios, the Nikon P900’s stabilization system felt more robust and made tripod-free shooting at extreme telephoto settings more feasible. Coupled with a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000s, it offers more versatility in bright and action-intensive contexts.

The Canon SX500’s stabilization works well but is limited by a maximum shutter speed of just 1/1600s, restricting some fast-action and wide-open captures in harsh light.

Video Capabilities: Giving Moving Images a Chance

The Canon SX500 IS supports a max video resolution of 1280x720p at 25 fps, encoded in H.264. It’s basic, producing decent still-video clips but nothing to write home about.

The Nikon P900 steps up to Full HD 1080p recording at up to 60 fps, using efficient MPEG-4 and H.264 formats. While it lacks 4K, it delivers smoother motion and more flexibility for video enthusiasts. It also supports time-lapse recording and contains built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, making file sharing and remote operation easier.

Neither camera offers microphone or headphone ports, indicating their video functionality targets casual rather than professional videographers.

Connectivity, Storage, and Battery Life Considerations

For extended travel or fieldwork, features like battery endurance and connectivity can make or break your experience.

• Battery Life: The Canon SX500 IS claims around 195 shots per charge, while the Nikon P900 nearly doubles that at 360 shots. In practice, the Nikon’s slightly bigger battery and more efficient processing deliver longer shooting sessions, important for wildlife or travel.

• Storage: Both cameras rely on a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot - standard and unremarkable.

• Connectivity: Canon’s ammunition here is limited to Eye-Fi card compatibility, meaning wireless transfer intents hinge on an added accessory. Nikon equips the P900 with built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and GPS. The GPS tagging on the P900 is a boon for travel photographers wanting to log shooting locations automatically.

Combined, Nikon’s more modern connectivity features underscore its emphasis on versatile use and ease of sharing.

Build Quality and Weather Resistance

Neither camera offers any official weather sealing, dust, shock, or waterproofing. Both are predominantly plastic-bodied, with the Nikon P900 feeling more robust thanks to its larger, bridge-style construction. Neither is designed for rugged or adverse environments without additional protection.

Image Samples and Overall Day-to-Day Performance

To get a grounded sense of comparative output, I ran these cameras side by side in typical outdoor environments: urban street shoots, woodland wildlife, and scenic landscapes.

Canon SX500 IS front Canon SX500 IS screen back Nikon P900 front Nikon P900 screen back

Image quality is aligned with previous observations. The Canon SX500 IS produces clean, natural tones in daylight - especially skin tones in portrait-like scenarios - but struggles when shadows deepen or light dims. Its bokeh is limited by a mid-range aperture and a smaller sensor, yielding less creamy background separation.

The Nikon P900, despite sensor similarity, feels more adaptable with higher ISO utility and better image stabilization. Landscapes exhibit more dynamic range retention and sharper fine details, while telephoto wildlife shots more often hit accurate focus and hold better subject separation even at full zoom.

Scoring the Cameras: Summary Ratings and Genre Performance

To make sense of complex evaluations, here’s a visual summary of their relative strengths.

Delving further into specific photography types:

• Portraiture: Canon wins with natural color and skin tones but limited depth of field. Nikon’s better ISO handling is a plus.
• Landscape: Nikon’s dynamic range and resolution edge the Canon.
• Wildlife: Nikon dominates with speed, reach, and autofocus.
• Sports: Nikon only; Canon’s 1 fps is painfully slow.
• Street: Canon shines for stealth and portability.
• Macro: Both fair, but Canon’s closer focus distance is a slight advantage.
• Night/Astro: Nikon’s high ISO and longer exposures perform better.
• Video: Nikon’s 1080/60p outpaces Canon’s 720p.
• Travel: Canon for light carry; Nikon for versatility.
• Professional: Neither truly fits professional workflow needs (no RAW, limited manual controls), but Nikon offers better manual control.

Who Should Buy Which Camera?

So, after walking through the thoroughfare of specs, experience, and shooting scenarios, here’s my distilled advice:

• If portability, casual daylight shooting, and budget (~$300) are your priorities, and you want a lightweight, straightforward zoom companion - the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS remains a decent pick, especially for occasional travel and street photography hobbies.

• If you crave extreme zoom reach, better image quality, more responsive autofocus, and superior video features, and are willing to carry a more substantial camera for serious nature, wildlife, or hobbyist telephoto work - the Nikon Coolpix P900 stands tall as the smarter choice, even at almost double the price (~$600). Its extended zoom is a game changer that you can’t replicate easily without multiple lenses or heavier gear.

Neither of these cameras is aimed at professionals demanding RAW capture or weather sealing - they’re creative tools targeting dedicated enthusiasts in the superzoom niche.

Closing Thoughts: Contextualizing Legacy and Practicality

For those reading this review years after these models’ release dates - 2012 for Canon and 2015 for Nikon - the camera market has evolved substantially. Nonetheless, these two cameras offer valuable lessons on the trade-offs inherent in affordable superzooms.

The Canon SX500 IS illustrates how compactness and simplicity come at a cost to speed and image quality, while the Nikon P900 demonstrates what bulk and power can achieve in the constrained sensor format.

Both cameras remind us that technology is a balancing act: no one-size-fits-all solution exists. It’s about aligning your photographic style, subjects, and willingness to carry gear with the right tool.

Here’s hoping this deep-dive has armed you with clear expectations and insights so you can confidently pick the superzoom camera that best matches your shooting ambitions and budget realities. Happy shooting!