PHOTO QUALITY. This 21-megapixel SLR camera captured images with good quality. Pictures were sharp, which means you can see most details and subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were sharp. We judged this model excellent for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; excellent for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym. And very good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party. Photos taken in our low-light performance tests displayed very little image noise; subjects retained correct detail and color.
FLASH. This model has no flash.
LENS. This camera includes a 5x zoom lens, a bit more zoom than a standard 3x. The lens also has very wide-angle (24mm) capability that's very useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
IMAGE STABILIZATION. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. Shooting telephoto in well-lit scenes, this model did an excellent job of minimizing the effects of camera shake. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos. Overall, the shake reduction results from our tests were excellent.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Nikon D 500 w/ AF-S DX 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR powers up instantly. It has a very short interval between shots, which can be important when shooting fast-moving or unpredictable subjects.
VIDEO. The Nikon D 500 w/ AF-S DX 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR takes very good video. It also captures 4K-UHD video at 3840 x 2160 60p or 30i. As for sound, it captures excellent audio in stereo.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. Like all SLRs, it also includes a through-the-lens viewfinder, helpful when composing in bright light; this viewfinder has excellent quality. This SLR is much heavier than most in its class. Although this model has many features and controls, this SLR is bulky and heavy, which may not make it the best model if you travel a lot.
