Is there evidence to suggest that nutrients in vitamin capsules are not as readily absorbed as the same nutrients in whole foods?
The answer probably varies for different nutrients.  An informal article by ConsumerLab.com indicates that many vitamins are better absorbed from natural sources, but a few are actually more readily absorbed from supplements.

Looking at Vitamin C specifically, a 2013 review article by Carr and Vissers concluded as follows (emphasis mine):


  Overall, a majority of animal studies have shown differences in the comparative bioavailability of synthetic versus food-derived vitamin C, or vitamin C in the presence of isolated bioflavonoids, although the results varied depending on the animal model, study design and body compartments measured. In contrast, all steady state comparative bioavailability studies in humans have shown no differences between synthetic and natural vitamin C, regardless of the subject population, study design or intervention used. Some pharmacokinetic studies in humans have shown transient and small comparative differences between synthetic and natural vitamin C, although these differences are likely to have minimal physiological impact.


In other words, with vitamin C natural and synthetic sources appear to be equally bioavailable for humans.  The authors do note that "Although synthetic and food-derived vitamin C appear to be equally bioavailable in humans, ingesting vitamin C as part of a whole food is considered preferable because of the concomitant consumption of numerous other macro- and micronutrients and phytochemicals, which will confer additional health benefits."

References:


Carr, Anitra C.; Vissers, Margreet C. M. (2013). "Synthetic or food-derived vitamin C—Are they equally bioavailable?". Nutrients 11 (5). pp. 4284–4304. doi:10.3390/nu5114284. PMC 3847730.