Aesthetics, little or no change, the case is the same as the P500. The 510 has a GPS to geotag photos, a function that is not really necessary and which, if it is permanently activated, will help drain the battery faster.
Its brightness range has improved compared to P500 and down to F3 (against previously F3.4) which will be especially significant for portraits, obtaining beautiful "blurring" of the background.
The responsiveness of the autofocus is excellent at less than 400 mm, but it will not be too surprised that he suffers from a certain torpor beyond.
The resolution of the sensor from 12 to 16 MPXL MPXL. We may question the usefulness of this increase, which does nothing more than the 12 MPXL of P500, especially for family use and prints that usually rarely exceed the 13 x 18. 12 MPXL of P500 were already clearly sufficient to A3. Only will love those in need of 6m x 4m prints or enlargements strong image area, which is not the majority of users, you will agree.
The sensitivity remains the same (ISO 3200) with a mode H1 6400 Iso little exploitable in practice. Full HD video is still there, and the 3-inch swivel screen too. The iFrame mode directly compatible with the iPad and iMovie will delight fans of the Apple brand.
Burst mode is slightly less efficient on the P510 as its big brother: 7 im / s instead of 8 on the P500, always limited to 5 consecutive shots. But again, for amateur use, the difference is minimal.
Only notable withdrawal: the switch to choose directly between high speed and high definition video video has disappeared, and one wonders why!
The P510 still lacks a recording NEF (Nikon to Raw), which is rather disappointing for those who want a little touch up their photos in post-production.
Image quality side it is always excellent at short and medium focal lengths, but necessarily from just under 200 mm. Chromatic aberrations are relatively controlled. The image sharpness is not as good however, especially above 150 mm and large apertures evidence (in my opinion) that the megapixel race was not a good idea in this case. On this particular test, the 510 is undeniably below the P500.
Getting started is fast and intuitive, and satisfy allergic to manual 5 cm thick or those who do not want to embark on the adventure of reflex.
Finally, the P510 does not actually brings innovation compared to P500. Its new sensor 16 MPXL is more demanding with the optical formula chosen, and increased its zoom from 800 to 1000 mm more of an announcement effect than a real utility. It is nevertheless still a great product.
The declination in two colors of this model follows the mode currently in force, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but we legitimately ask the question whether the 60 difference between P510 and P500 justify a change unnecessary resolution, power hungry GPS and a trendy look but futile. Given the fierce competition between the manufacturers, we expected excellence from the yellow mark ... it was just the "very good".
Have fun!
