Slipping neatly into the company's digital SLR product line between the EOS 450D and the EOS 40D, the Canon EOS 500D, pushes the EOS 400D off the edge of the bed into discontinuity. In the same price range as models like the Nikon D5000 and the Olympus E-620, it's not quite a budget model, costing about £830 with a lens. It's more for the entry-level buyer who wants higher resolution and a better autofocus system.
In addition to the kit with the veteran f3.5-5.6 18-55mm IS lens, Canon is shipping a body-only version, available for around £750, for those who already have a lens or two lying around.
Design
Since the body is almost identical to that of the 450D -- and it weighs roughly the same at 544g -- the shooting experience is, unsurprisingly, similar. With the 450D, we complained that the plastic body felt slightly cheap and we weren't crazy about the grip, but we've become used to it for this class of camera in the year since that review. Overall, it's comfortable and feels solid enough.
The 500D keeps the same large, fixed 76mm (3-inch) LCD display. Almost all the buttons lie under your right hand, and each feels slightly different, so you can press them without looking. None requires two-handed operation -- when you push the button to change ISO, white balance, metering and so on, the menu persists while you navigate the options.
Features
While the modes on the dial remain mostly unchanged, there's now a dedicated movie selection. Having it on the dial makes jumping between stills and movies more awkward than necessary. The dedicated 'live view' button doubles as a record stop/start when in movie mode.
Canon has also added the 'creative auto' mode that debuted in its higher-end models, but which makes much more sense in this one. Creative auto is a semi-manual mode with capabilities you can view as an advanced auto mode or dumbed-down program mode, depending upon your viewpoint. All functions in creative auto are automated, with a few exceptions. Notably, it replaces shutter and aperture adjustment options with two sliding scales -- exposure (brighter/darker) and background (blurred/sharp) -- that implicitly adjust shutter speed and aperture. It's an interesting approach for beginners who'd like to take some chances.
The 500D also retains 'my menu', which lets you build a go-to list of the most frequently accessed menu settings -- in our case, for instance, format and metering settings. Canon has finally also adopted the ability to directly change most shooting settings via the information display on the LCD.
Our biggest peeves still remain: Canon's 'picture styles', custom contrast, sharpness saturation and colour tone unfortunately take precedence over the ability to save groups of custom exposure, white balance, metering, drive mode settings and so on. And we're beginning to hate the viewfinder. It offers the same 95 per cent coverage as its competitors, but at a lower magnification than some, and it uses the same horribly annoying, tiny focus points that don't actually tell you if it's in focus -- locked or not, it simply blinks. We had to turn on the indicator beep. There is a focus lock indicator in the viewfinder, but it's down on the bottom right where it's something of a strain on your peripheral vision.
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JacobHunt 17 March 2011
Good: Great pictures, HD video mode is very good, Fast focusing, Ability to set user presets, Very Reasonable price, Easy to use
Bad: Feels a little plasticy. But it is built well and I have had no issues.
Comment: I bought this camera about 2 weeks ago and it has exceeded all expectations. Being my first DSLR I tried to make sure I bought the best camera for my money. Initially I was going to buy the 450D on price but the extra few megapixels and better screen (which is stunning) swayed me. I'll try not to repeat any previous reviews but my observations are as follows;
In many respects this camera does all of the work for you. You could quite happily use the basic zone modes (auto modes) and take great photos or just use them whilst you get to grips with the complexity of manual modes.
The camera is also stunning aesthetically. It is slightly more rounded than previous models but as a consequence is also a touch smaller, especially the grip. For someone like myself who has large hands it is still not too much of a problem but if you feel like this may be a problem then a battery grip should rectify this.
In 2 weeks I probably charged this camera once and took almost a thousand photos.. great battery life considering the performance.
The buttons on the 500D are cleverly thought out except in the live view where the '*' button serves as the AF button and when filming the 'live view' button is stop/start recording.
The HD video mode is very good - I didn't consider this feature when buying but it is a very useful one to have just in case.
The only problems I have had are with memory cards. I was initially using a 2Gb one I already had but this was way too small but have recently bought a new 8Gb one which holds about 1,100 JPEG images. When you buy a card don't go for the cheapest go for the fastest (class 6). A standard SanDisk one will take about 15-20 continuous shots then will slow down or stop.
All in all a fantastic DSLR that I would recommend to anyone, especially if you take pictures of sporting events or landscapes as the Canon really seems to capture vivid colours and action well. This is by far and away the best camera in this price bracket too when compared to a D90 for example.
*** P.S. If you are looking for cheap Canon EOS 500D I suggest at: amazon.co.uk/dp/B0020MLKF0/?tag=reviews.cnet.co.uk-21
harrowhill1 23 September 2009
Good: the auto modes
Bad: nothing
Comment: I like the camera a lot, it has a lot of features that are user friendly. I would say that you can get this for less than amazon on crazy cameras.
But also that you can pay a lot more on several other sites for the same exact camera!
I like the auto modes, which are easy to use for entry level users
I like the feel of the camera, its not "plasticy".
Also get the case for the camera-worth it to protect your investment. People who don't know how to use the add on lens- READ the manual. It really does help you get a full understanding of the capability of the camera
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