This is a wonderful camera. I am an experienced photographer (old school even with film developing and printing) and I have found this to be fantastic. The optics are great, it is perfectly balanced, easy grip, fingers fall right onto the controls. It uses AA batteries, so if you run out of power they are found everywhere. The only fault I have is one that is apparent in all digital point/shoot cameras now, there is no viewfinder. Bridge cameras for high end users used to have a viewfinder as there are lightening situation where the screen is not visible, but I think bridge cameras cut into DSLR sales and viewfinders and high end bridge cameras were eliminated. The 40X optical zoom is terrific and to be able to go from that to almost zero for macro is wonderful. A great camera.

I first liked this because of the plum color, sad but true. Then I read the reviews and all were mostly good. The one that got me the most was being able to take pictures of the moon. I was like no way. Way. I'm not a photographer by any means, just wanted a good camera for vacation and sports etc. This is above and beyond what I need and I love it. Got a great pic of my son's intense face from across the field, zoomed in on animals in the tops of trees or at the zoo. very impressed. It's made some fun Instagram pics lol

This camera is great. It's more than what I expected.

I haven't bought a camera for like 8 years, and I had been wanting a light weight compact that has smart features that help the novice ( me ) with photography. I love photography and needed simple to understand, but something that would be clear pictures from a distance and close up and especially night photos. This camera also has WiFi and blutooth capability so I can send photos anytime I want to share. Very easy to opperate. Much more so then my last Nikon. Great purchase.

I am so glad I dropped my other camera in the ocean. Not really cause it was a good camera but this camera is even better. I need a Point and Shoot to tag along with my D5100 and this B500 takes great pics. I love the Bird watchers scene setting. It works great! I do a lot of wild bird photos mostly of eagles and other raptors. The pictures are clear and crisp, and even from a distance they come out great! Any birder looking to shoot pictures as a hobby should definitely check this camera out! Nikon is great I love their cameras.

I've been using Nikon cameras for over 30+ years, everything from film SLR's to DSLR's to compact Point & Shoots, and I've never been disappointed. I picked up this Coolpix B500 to make videos with, as I wanted something a little more compact than my full frame D5 DSLR & under $300 & this fits the bill perfectly. Great Nikkor lens with 40x optical/up to 4x digital/80x total zoom, records 1080p Full HD movie clips up to 30 fps with stereo sound, full range of shooting modes, with burst shooting mode that captures up to 7.4 fps in continuous shooting mode. Plus a plethora of other goodies. It'll make novice photogs look great & good photogs look like pros!

I'm vertically challenged so having a tilting display allows me to view pictures to insure they are in focus and centered before shooting. I can now take pictures above my head and see what I'm taking before the click. Pictures are clear and the telephoto lens is awesome!

I bought this camera to take vacation pics and pics of kids at sporting events. I used it first at Wrestlemania and I was sitting about 50-60 yards from the ring. I was surprised at how good the pictures came out from that distance. Then used it again from the new dugout section at Wrigley Field. In low natural light again the pics cane out great.