Features

• 15.1 MP CMOS sensor
• Full HD (1080p) movies
• High ISO up to 12800 for low-light conditions
• 3.4fps with up to 170 JPEG burst
• 3.0” Clear View LCD with Live View mode
• 9-point AF system
• DIGIC 4
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• EF/EF-S and EX Speedlite compatibility

Tell the full story.

15.1 MP CMOS sensor
Ideal for those who want to create large, poster-size prints – or crop images to perfection without losing any of the detail necessary for printing – Canon’s 15.1MP CMOS sensor is outstanding in low light, and produces images with incredibly low noise.

Full HD movie recording
The EOS 500D combines exceptional still shooting with the ability to shoot Full HD (1080p) video. For occasions when larger amounts of footage need to be stored on a memory card, users can also choose to shoot at 720p or VGA resolution. An HDMI connection allows High Definition playback of footage and images on any HDTV.

High ISO for low light
When light levels fall, the EOS 500D offers an ISO range of up to 3200 – expandable to 12800 for those environments where using flash is undesirable.

3.4fps with up to 170 JPEG burst
The EOS 500D features shooting speeds of up to 3.4fps in continuous bursts of up to 170 large JPEG images (9 RAW).

3.0” Clear View LCD with Live View mode
Detailed checks on images and video are possible with a 3.0” ClearView LCD screen, which features an ultra-high 920,000 dots for increased clarity. Switch to Live View mode and use the real-time visual feed to shoot from awkward angles.

9-point AF system
A high-precision AF system employs 9 AF points AF Points are located throughout the frame to better accommodate off-centre subjects. For accurate focusing with fast aperture lenses, the central AF point features a high sensitivity cross-type sensor, suitable for lenses with an aperture of f/2.8 or faster.

DIGIC 4
Canon’s DIGIC 4 processor works with the CMOS sensor to deliver 14-bit image processing, for smooth gradations and natural looking colours. DIGIC 4 also powers advanced Noise Reduction when shooting at higher ISO speeds, plus split-second startup times and near-instant image review after shooting.

EOS Integrated Cleaning System
Canon’s built-in dust prevention system offers three ways of guarding images against the effects of dust: reduction of internal dust generation; an in-camera sensor cleaning mechanism; and the ability to map stubborn dust sports for removal with the included Digital Photo Professional software.

Full EF/EF-S and EX Speedlite compatibility
The EOS 500D is compatible with Canon’s full range of EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites. This allows the creation of a shooting system as unique as the photographer using it.

Product Specification

IMAGE SENSOR

Type       22.3 x 14.9mm CMOS

Effective Pixels       Approx. 15.1M

Total Pixels       Approx. 15.5M

Aspect Ratio       3:2

Low-Pass Filter       Built-in/Fixed with Self Cleaning Sensor Unit

Sensor Cleaning       EOS integrated cleaning system

Colour Filter Type       Primary Colour

IMAGE PROCESSOR

Type       DIGIC 4

LENS

Lens Mount       EF/EF-S

Focal Length       Equivalent to 1.6x the focal length of the lens

FOCUSING

Type       TTL-CT-SIR with a CMOS sensor

AF System/ Points       9 AF points (f/5.6 cross type at centre, extra sensitivity at f/2.8)

AF Working Range       EV -0.5 -18 (at 23°C & ISO100)

AF Modes       AI Focus One Shot AI Servo

AF Point Selection       Automatic selection, Manual selection

Selected AF Point Display       Superimposed in viewfinder and indicated on LCD monitor

Predictive AF       Yes, up to 10m ¹

AF Lock       Locked when shutter button is pressed half way in One Shot AF mode.

AF Assist Beam       Intermittent firing of built-in flash or emitted by optional dedicated Speedlite

Manual Focus       Selected on lens, default in Live View Mode

EXPOSURE CONTROL

Metering Modes       TTL full aperture metering with 35-zone SPC (1) Evaluative metering (linked to all AF points) (2) Partial metering at center (approx. 9% of viewfinder) (3) Spot metering (approx. 4% of viewfinder at center) (4) Center weighted average metering

Metering Range       EV 1-20 (at 23°C with 50mm f/1.4 lens ISO100)

AE Lock       Auto: In 1-shot AF mode with evaluative metering exposure is locked when focus is achieved. Manual: By AE lock button in creative zone modes.

Exposure Compensation       +/-2 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments (can be combined with AEB).

AEB       +/- 2 EV, 1/2 or 1/3-stop increments

ISO Sensitivity*       AUTO(100-1600), 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 Expandable to 6400 + H (approx 12800) in 1-stop increments

SHUTTER

Type       Electronically-controlled focal-plane shutter

Speed       30-1/4000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop increments), Bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode)

WHITE BALANCE

Type       Auto white balance with the imaging sensor

Settings       AWB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, White Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom. White balance compensation: 1. Blue/Amber +/-9 2. Magenta/ Green +/-9.

Custom White Balance       Yes, 1 setting can be registered

WB Bracketing       +/-3 levels in single level increments 3 bracketed images per shutter release. Selectable Blue/Amber bias or Magenta/ Green bias.

VIEWFINDER

Type       Pentamirror

Coverage (Vertical/Horizontal)       Approx. 95%

Magnification       Approx. 0.87x ¹

Eyepoint       Approx. 19mm (from eyepiece lens centre)

Dioptre Correction       -3 to +1 (1/m) (dioptre)

Focusing Screen       Fixed

Mirror       Quick-return half mirror (Transmission: reflection ratio of 40:60, no mirror cut-off with EF600mm f/4 or shorter)

Viewfinder Information       AF information: AF points, focus confirmation light Exposure information: Shutter speed, aperture value, ISO speed (always displayed), AE lock, exposure level/compensation, spot metering circle, exposure warning, AEB Flash information: Flash ready, high-speed sync, FE lock, flash exposure compensation, red-eye reduction light Image information: White balance correction, SD card information, monochrome shooting, maximum burst (1 digit display), Highlight tone priority (D+)

Depth of Field Preview       Yes, with Depth of Field preview button.

Eyepiece Shutter       On strap

LCD MONITOR

Type       3.0" TFT, approx. 920K dots

Coverage       Approx. 100%

Viewing Angle (Horizontally/Vertically)       Approx 170°

Coating       Dual Anti-reflection, anti smudge

Brightness Adjustment       Adjustable to one of seven levels

Display Options       (1) Quick Control Screen (2) Camera settings

FLASH

Built-in Flash GN (ISO 100, meters)       13

Built-in Flash Coverage       up to 17mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 27mm)

Built-in Flash Recycle Time       Approx. 3 seconds

Modes       Auto, Manual Flash On/Off, Red-Eye Reduction

Red-Eye Reduction       Yes

X-Sync       1/200sec

Flash Exposure Compensation       +/- 2EV in 1/2 or 1/3 increments

Flash Exposure Bracketing       Yes, with compatible External Flash

Flash Exposure Lock       Yes

Second Curtain Synchronisation       Yes

HotShoe/ PC Terminal       Yes/-

External Flash Compatibility       E-TTL II with EX series Speedlites, wireless multi-flash support

External Flash Control       via camera menu screen

SHOOTING

Modes       Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, No Flash, Movie, Program AE , Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, A-DEP

Picture Styles       Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined (x3)

Colour Space       sRGB and Adobe RGB

Image Processing       Highlight Tone Priority Auto Lighting Optimizer (Basic and Creative modes) Long exposure noise reduction High ISO speed noise reduction Peripheral illumination correction

Drive Modes       Single, Continuous, Self timer (2s, 10s+remote, 10s + continuous shots 2-10)

Continuous Shooting       Max. Approx. 3.4fps. (speed maintained for up to 170 images (JPEG)¹, 9 images (RAW)) ²

LIVE VIEW MODE

Type       Electronic viewfinder with image sensor

Coverage       Approx. 100% (horizontally and vertically)

Frame Rate       30 fps

Focusing       Manual Focus (Magnify the image 5x or 10x at any point on screen) Autofocus: Quick mode, Live mode

Metering       Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor Active metering time can be changed

Display Options       Grid overlay, Histogram

FILE TYPE

Still Image Type       JPEG: Fine, Normal (Exif 2.21 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system (2.0), RAW: RAW (14bit, Canon original RAW 2nd edition), Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant

RAW+JPEG Simultaneous Recording       Yes (RAW + Large JPEG only)

Image Size       JPEG: (L) 4752x3168, (M) 3088x2056, (S) 2256x1504 RAW: (RAW) 4752x3168

Movie Type       MOV (Video: H.264, Sound: Linear PCM)

Movie Size       HD (16:9)1920 x 1080P -20fps, 1280x720P -30fps, SD(4:3) 640 x 480 -30fps

Movie Length       Max duration 29m 59sec, Max file size 4GB

File Numbering       (1) Consecutive numbering (2) Auto reset (3) Manual reset

OTHER FEATURES

Custom Functions       13 Custom Functions with 39 settings

Metadata Tag       User copyright information

Intelligent Orientation Sensor       Yes

Playback Zoom       1.5x - 10x

Display Formats       (1) Single image with information (2 levels) (2) Single image (3) 4 image index (4) 9 image index (5) Jump Display

Slide Show       Autoplay: All images, repeat

Histogram       Brightness: Yes RGB: Yes

Highlight Alert       Yes (Shooting information display only)

Image Erase/Protection       Erase: Single image, Checkmarked images, Unprotected images Protection: Erase protection of one image at a time

Data Verification       Original image verification data can be appended to the image (OSK-E3 required for verification)

Menu Categories       (1) Shooting menu (x2) (2) Playback menu (3) Setup menu (x3) (4) My Menu

Menu Languages       25 Languages English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese

Firmware Update       Update possible by the user.

INTERFACE

Computer       Hi-Speed USB

Other       Video output (PAL/ NTSC) (integrated with USB terminal), HDMI Type C

DIRECT PRINT

Canon Printers       Canon SELPHY Printers, Bubble Jet Printers with the direct print function and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge

PictBridge       Yes

STORAGE

Type       SD card, SDHC card

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM

PC & Macintosh       Windows / XP (SP2/SP3) / Vista (excl. Starter Edition) OS X v10.4-10.5

SOFTWARE

Browsing & Printing       ZoomBrowser EX / ImageBrowser

Image Processing       Digital Photo Professional

Other       PhotoStitch, EOS Utility (inc. Remote Capture, Original Data Security Tools*), Picture Style Editor * Requires optional accessory

POWER SOURCE

Batteries       1 x Rechargeable Li-ion Battery LP-E5

Battery Life       Approx. 400 (at 23°C, AE 50%, FE 50%) ¹ Approx. 380 (at 0°C, AE 50%, FE 50%)

Battery Indicator       4 levels

Power Saving       Power turns off after 30sec or 1, 2, 4, 8 or 15mins.

Power Supply & Battery Chargers       AC Adapter Kit ACK-E5, Battery charger LC-E5E, Car Battery charger CBC-E5

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Body Materials       Stainless Steel/Plastic

Operating Environment       0 – 40 °C, 85% or less humidity

Dimensions (WxHxD)       128.8 x 97.5 x 61.9 mm

Weight (Body Only)       Approx. 480g

ACCESSORIES

Viewfinder       Eyecup Ef, E-series Dioptric Adjustment Lens with Rubber Frame Ef, Eyepiece Extender EP-EX15II, Angle Finder C

Case       Semi-Hard Case EH19-L

Lenses       All EF and EF-S lenses

Flash       Canon Speedlites (220EX, 270EX, 380EX, 420EX, 430EX, 430EX II, 550EX, 580EX, 580EX II, Macro-Ring-Lite MR-14EX, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2)

Battery Grip       BG-E5

Remote Controller/ Switch       Remote Switch RS-60E3, Remote Controller RC-1/RC-5

Other       Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3