Nikon P500 vs Sony HX99

Let's take a closer look at the Nikon P500 and Sony HX99, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras by competitors Nikon and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the P500 (12MP) and HX99 (18MP) and the P500 (1/2.3") and HX99 (1/2.3-inch) have totally different sensor measurements.

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The P500 was brought out 8 years earlier than the HX99 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Nikon P500 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony HX99 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a thorough comparison, here is a short highlight of how the P500 scores against the HX99 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Nikon Coolpix P500 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX99. The entire galleries are viewable at Nikon P500 Gallery & Sony HX99 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you should consider its weight and dimensions. The Nikon P500 comes with outer measurements of 116mm x 84mm x 103mm (4.6" x 3.3" x 4.1") accompanied by a weight of 494 grams (1.09 lbs) whilst the Sony HX99 has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 242 grams (0.53 lbs).

Check out the Nikon P500 and Sony HX99 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you choose during that time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the P500 against the HX99.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the P500 and HX99 is 67 and 91 respectively.

Typically, it's tough to see the difference in sensor measurements simply by going through technical specs. The photograph below might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the P500 and HX99.

As you can tell, the two cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The P500 due to its larger sensor will make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Sony HX99 will provide more detail having its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will help you crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older P500 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.