What is best for connecting digital camera to laptop?

I have a p500 that has hdmi and usb. But it didn't come with hdmi cable, do i have to buy it ffrom nikon or any cable would do

You should be able to connect your camera with a usb cord, that's what I always do, or if you have an sd card most laptops have a special slot for that, if all you're doing is looking at your pictures.

No, the HDMI port is just so you can watch the photos on a HD TV screen. The USB cable is enough to connect the camera to your laptop and transfer your photos so you can watch them on the computer.

Don't connect the camera direct to the laptop - it uses up valuable battery energy to do that. Your best bet is to remove the memory card and use your laptop's card reader or you can purchase a separate card reader that connect with a usb cord. Check your laptop's sides and look for a slot where you can insert the memory card - all laptops in the past five years have had a slot. And printers do too, so you can use that option as well.