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Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II

Portability
67
Imaging
36
Features
44
Overall
39
Nikon Coolpix P500 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II front
Portability
58
Imaging
52
Features
77
Overall
62

Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II Key Specs

Nikon P500
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 160 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 23-810mm (F3.4-5.7) lens
  • 494g - 116 x 84 x 103mm
  • Introduced February 2011
  • Refreshed by Nikon P510
Sony RX10 II
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Increase to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Announced June 2015
  • Replaced the Sony RX10
  • Successor is Sony RX10 III
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Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II Overview

Its time to take a deeper look at the Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by competitors Nikon and Sony. There is a substantial difference among the sensor resolutions of the P500 (12MP) and RX10 II (20MP) and the P500 (1/2.3") and RX10 II (1") use different sensor sizes.

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The P500 was released 5 years prior to the RX10 II and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras come with the identical body type (SLR-like (bridge)).

Before we go straight into a complete comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the P500 scores versus the RX10 II in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Nikon P500 over the Sony RX10 II

 P500 RX10 II 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 II over the Nikon P500

 RX10 II P500 
AnnouncedJune 2015February 2011Fresher by 52 months
Display resolution1229k921kSharper display (+308k dot)

Common features in the Nikon P500 and Sony RX10 II

 P500 RX10 II 
Manual focus Very precise focusing
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display dimension3"3"Identical display dimensions
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch friendly display No Touch friendly display

Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II Physical Comparison

In case you're aiming to carry your camera, you're going to have to factor its weight and size. The Nikon P500 enjoys external measurements of 116mm x 84mm x 103mm (4.6" x 3.3" x 4.1") along with a weight of 494 grams (1.09 lbs) while the Sony RX10 II has specifications of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") accompanied by a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Take a look at the Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are using at that time. Underneath is the front view proportions comparison of the P500 vs the RX10 II.

Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the P500 and RX10 II is 67 and 58 respectively.

Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II top view buttons comparison

Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it's hard to picture the gap in sensor sizing only by checking out a spec sheet. The graphic below should provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the P500 and RX10 II.

As you can see, both cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The P500 due to its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony RX10 II will produce extra detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images much more aggressively. The older P500 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.

Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II sensor size comparison

Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and ViewFinder

Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Nikon P500 Portrait photography highlights
Sony RX10 II Portrait photography highlights
34
you can focus manually
offers face detection focusing
cannot use external flash
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
71
you can focus manually
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
includes face detection autofocus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Nikon P500 Street photography info
Sony RX10 II Street photography info
50
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
heavier than others (494g)
72
screen tilts
image stabilization (Optical)
nice sensor size (1")
saves RAW files
environment proof
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Nikon P500
Sports photography with Sony RX10 II
36
excellent zoom range (23-810mm 35.2 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers tracking autofocus
low fps (1.0 fps)
low megapixels (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
bad battery (220 per charge)
does not have phase detect AF
68
silent mode (1/32,000s)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
nice sensor size (1")
includes tracking autofocus
environment proof
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Nikon P500 Travel photography highlights
Sony RX10 II Travel photography highlights
47
flash built-in
rather wide (23mm)
great zoom (810mm)
lack of Time Lapse function
bad battery (220 shots)
heavier than others (494g)
low megapixels (12MP)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
slow maximum aperture (f3.4)
56
environment proof
decent megapixels (20MP)
flash built-in
rather wide (24mm)
lack of Time Lapse recording
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Nikon P500 Landscape photography advice
Sony RX10 II Landscape photography advice
39
you can focus manually
rather wide (23mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.4)
low megapixels (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
bad battery (220 per charge)
lack of Time Lapse function
62
you can focus manually
rather wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
saves RAW files
environment proof
cannot swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
lack of Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Nikon P500 Vlogging factors
Sony RX10 II Vlogging factors
27
rather wide (23mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers face detection focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
slow maximum aperture (f3.4)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
lack of external mic support
heavier than others (494g)
31
rather wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detection autofocus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
has external mic port
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
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Nikon P500 vs Sony RX10 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Nikon P500 and Sony RX10 II
 Nikon Coolpix P500Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
General Information
Company Nikon Sony
Model Nikon Coolpix P500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Large Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2011-02-09 2015-06-10
Body design SLR-like (bridge) SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Powered by Expeed C2 Bionz X
Sensor type BSI-CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4000 x 3000 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 3200 12800
Highest boosted ISO - 25600
Min native ISO 160 125
RAW data
Min boosted ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 9 25
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 23-810mm (35.2x) 24-200mm (8.3x)
Maximal aperture f/3.4-5.7 f/2.8
Macro focus range 1cm 3cm
Focal length multiplier 5.8 2.7
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 921 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen technology TFT-LCD with Anti-reflection coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 8 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/1500 secs 1/2000 secs
Maximum silent shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 1.0 frames/s 14.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 8.00 m 10.20 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow-sync Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30fps), 1280 x 720p (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps) 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 494g (1.09 lb) 813g (1.79 lb)
Dimensions 116 x 84 x 103mm (4.6" x 3.3" x 4.1") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 70
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.0
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.6
DXO Low light score not tested 531
Other
Battery life 220 images 400 images
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model EN-EL5 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (10 or 2 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Launch cost $399 $998