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Nikon P500 vs Sony A37 Comparison

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Nikon P500

12 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Nikon P500
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Sony A37

16 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) CMOS Sensor

Sony A37
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Nikon P500 vs Sony A37 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Nikon P500, which was introduced in February 2011 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 12.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Sony A37, which was introduced in May 2012 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 16.0MP APS-C sensor. There is 15 months difference between P500 and A37 so we don't expect to see a huge technology difference between these two cameras but it would still give an advantage to younger A37, especially in sensor tech.

Comparing a DSLR camera to a Fixed Lens camera is not an easy task but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon P500 and Sony A37 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon P500 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-02-09
  • 12MP - 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 160 - 3200
  • 23-810 mm F3.4-5.7 Zoom Lens
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • Electronic viewfinder
  • 1 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 240fps High-Speed Video
  • 494g. 116 x 84 x 103 mm

Sony A37 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2012-05-16
  • 16MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 2.6" Tilting Screen
  • 1440k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 6 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 506g. 124 x 92 x 85 mm
  • Replaced Sony SLT-A35 Compare

Nikon P500 was replaced by Nikon Coolpix P510. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon Coolpix P510 vs Nikon Coolpix P500
Nikon Coolpix P510 vs Sony SLT-A37

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon P500 and Sony A37 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon Coolpix P500 over Sony SLT-A37
LCD Screen Size
3" vs 2.6" 0.4 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution
921k dots vs 230k dots 299% higher resolution screen
Weight
494 g vs 506 g 12 g lighter


Reasons to choose Sony SLT-A37 over Nikon Coolpix P500
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Max Sensor Resolution
16 MP vs 12 MP 33% more pixels
Max ISO
25.600 vs 3.200 700% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
15 vs 9 6 more focus points
Max Mech. Shutter
1/4000s vs 1/1500s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
6.0fps vs 1.0fps 5 fps faster
Battery Life
500 shots vs 220 shots 280 more frames with a single charge
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Flash Coverage
12.0m vs 8.0m 4m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
22.87µm2 vs 2.34µm2 877% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Strengths of Nikon Coolpix P500 and Sony SLT-A37
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs Sensor-shift Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Adjustable LCD Screen
Tilting vs Tilting Flexible shooting positions
Built-in Flash
Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
Viewfinder
Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Electronic) Better framing and control
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Common Weaknesses of Nikon Coolpix P500 and Sony SLT-A37
LCD Screen Size
3" vs 2.6" Small display
Environmental Sealing
No vs No not suitable for tough conditions
Nikon P500 vs Sony A37: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon P500 and Sony A37 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon P500 has external dimensions of 116 x 84 x 10 mm (4.57 x 3.31 x 4.06″) and weighs 494 g (1.09 lb / 17.43 oz) (including batteries). Sony A37 has external dimensions of 124 x 92 x 85 mm (4.88 x 3.62 x 3.35″) and weighs 506 g (1.12 lb / 17.85 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon P500 and Sony A37. Nikon P500 is 8mm narrower and 8mm shorter than Sony A37 but it is also 18mm thicker. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Nikon P500 has a built-in lens but Sony A37 doesn't. Once you put a lens on A37, its thickness will increase significantly.

Nikon P500 vs Sony A37 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Nikon P500 and Sony A37 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon P500 and Sony A37.

Nikon P500 vs Sony A37 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Nikon P500 and Sony A37 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon P500 and Sony A37.
Nikon P500 vs Sony A37 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Nikon P500 and Sony A37 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Nikon P500 is 12g lighter than the Sony A37 but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on A37, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Nikon Coolpix P500 nor Sony SLT-A37 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top Bridge Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top DSLR Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon P500's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Sony A37's 2.6" screen.

Both cameras feature Tilting screens where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels.
Nikon P500 vs Sony A37: Sensor Comparison

Nikon P500 has a 12.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Expeed C2 processor. On the other hand, Sony A37 has a 16.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .

Below you can see the P500 and A37 sensor size comparison.

Nikon P500 vs Sony A37 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon P500 and Sony A37 Cameras


As seen above, Sony A37 has a 13.1x Larger sensor area than Nikon P500. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Nikon P500 and Sony A37 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon P500 and Sony A37 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Nikon P500 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A37 for Portrait Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details

Nikon P500 for Street Photography

GOOD

Sony A37 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
23 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Medium sized Body
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details

Nikon P500 for Sports Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A37 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
810 mm Tele Lens
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
Slow Continuous Shooting: 1.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Slow Max shutter speed: 1/1500s
9 Focus Points
Poor Battery Life: 220 shots
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.70
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
3 Cross Type Focus sensors
15 Focus Points
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon P500 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A37 for Daily Photography

GOOD
35.2X Optical Zoom
Medium size Body
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
494g
Body Thickness 103mm
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Large Body
506g
Body Thickness 85mm
Read the details

Nikon P500 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sony A37 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
23 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon P500 vs Sony A37: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon P500 and Sony A37, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Nikon P500 and Sony A37 scores compare:

Nikon P500
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #50 out of 113 in SLR-like (bridge) cameras
Ranked #556 out of 1223 in all Cameras
Sony A37
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #22 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #189 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Sony A37 has a higher Overall Score than the Nikon P500 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Nikon P500
Nikon P500
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Sony A37
Sony A37
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Sony A37 vs Nikon P500 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Nikon Coolpix P500 Sony SLT-A37
Brand Nikon Sony
Announced 2011-02-09 2012-05-16
Body Type SLR-like (bridge) Compact SLR
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Size 1/2.3-inch APS-C
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 23.5 x 15.6 mm
Area 28.07mm2 366.60mm2
Megapixels 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
Max Resolution 4000 x 3000 4912 x 3264
Max Native Light sensitivity 3,200 ISO 25,600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 160 ISO 100 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 9 15
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens Focal Range 23-810 mm (36×) no lens
Max Aperture F3.4-5.7 no lens
Macro Focus Range 1cm no lens
Screen
Type Tilting Tilting
Size 3" 2.6"
Resolution 921k dots 230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution n/a 1,440k dots
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 100%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.73x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/1500s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 8.00 m 12.00 m
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 1.0 fps 6.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity None Eye-Fi Connected
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 494g 506g
Dimensions 116 x 84 x 103mm 124 x 92 x 85mm
Battery Life 220 shots 500 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 75
DxO Color Depth not tested 23.3
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 12.9
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 799
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