Among the more notable shooting features is a one-touch Panorama mode (similar to Sony's Sweep Panorama) that sweeps as wide as 360 degrees. Advanced Night Landscape and Advanced Night Portrait modes combine multiple shots to help alleviate blur and image noise. Long exposure noise reduction, exposure bracketing, Active D-Lighting (to boost highlights and details in the dark areas of some scenes), and image effects are also part of the P500's relatively extensive shooting options.

Autofocus is responsive at lesser focal lengths, but it searches a bit at full telephoto. A tripod is almost a necessity when you're zooming in, unless the ambient light is bright enough to bump the shutter speed up to at least 1/800 of a second (shutter speed should always be at least as fast as the focal length).

The camera's ISO ranges from 160 to 3200, with the best results coming in at 400 or lower. ISO 800 images aren't bad, though, and smaller prints are possible even at higher light-sensitivity settings.

The P500 is a little slow on startup, but otherwise speed is one of the P500's main strengths. It has no noticeable shutter lag, and it offers quick shot-to-shot times.

Continuous shooting at full resolution can reach speeds of a very respectable 8 frames per second, but only for 5 shots. Other burst options include 120 fps, which captures 50 images at about 1/125 second at 1280 by 960 resolution. The third option is a capture rate of 25 images in about 1/60 second at 1600 by 1200 pixels.