|
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works. |
Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 25 March 2009: Canon announces the new 15.1MP EOS 500D which offers photographers an outstanding combination of features. Following the launch of the first Canon EOS camera to shoot movies – the EOS 5D Mark II in September 2008 – Canon now brings Full High Definition (HD) video capability to consumers in a compact and lightweight DSLR.
The new EOS 500D features a 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor – ideal for large detailed prints or enormous cropping possibilities. For shooting in near-dark conditions, the EOS 500D offers a high ISO sensitivity up to 3200 which is expandable to 12800, giving photographers the power to shoot in the dimmest light conditions. Outstanding noise reduction is made possible by Canon’s DIGIC 4 processor.
The EOS 500D heralds a new way for photography enthusiasts to capture their world. It pairs outstanding still image capture with Full HD 1080P video recording. For longer video shoots, users can also choose lower shooting resolutions of 720P or VGA.*
Every detail revealed
Exacting image preview and review is provided by a 3.0†Clear View LCD screen.The same screen as used on the acclaimed 5D Mark II, it features a 920,000 dot count – for ultra-detailed image review, accurate focus checks, and clear access to the EOS menu system. As well as aiding shooting from awkward angles, Live View mode includes contrast based and Face Detection AF options. Ideal for newcomers to digital SLR photography, these allow compact-camera style auto focus, with a real-time image displayed on the LCD.
Fast processing, fast focusing
Canon’s DIGIC 4 processor drives continuous shooting speeds of up to 3.4 fps in bursts of up to 170 JPEGs**. Using Canon’s wide area AF system – which features 9 individual sensors, including a central cross type point with a high precision sensor for f/2.8 or faster lenses– makes capturing split-second action sequences possible.
DIGIC 4 works in conjunction with the CMOS sensor to deliver exceptional noise reduction and 14-bit image processing for smooth gradation of tones and natural-looking colours. In addition, DIGIC 4 enables the ultra-fast start-up times and near-instant image review after shooting that photographers demand.
Distinctive EOS quality
Despite its compact, lightweight body, the EOS 500D includes all the hallmarks of the EOS system. Every detail of the EOS 500D – from the large, bright viewfinder to the famously intuitive EOS menu system – is designed to provide users with a world-class shooting experience.
Image quality is protected by the EOS Integrated Cleaning System, which reduces, repels and removes unwanted dust from the sensor. Stubborn particles can be easily removed in post-production by using Dust Delete Data – which can be added to the image in-camera – and Canon’s included Digital Photo Professional software.
Digital Photo Professional software offers a comprehensive RAW editing package, with functions such as a quick check tool, a cropping tool, and a stamp tool – plus the ability to change brightness, White Balance and Picture Styles in RAW images. The software suite is included with EOS Utility and Picture Style editor for unrivalled versatility.
Compatibility with the full range of Canon’s EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites – including the exceptionally compact, powerful new Speedlite 270EX, which features a bounce and zoom head, plus fast recharging from just 2 AA sized
batteries – allows the creation of a shooting system as unique as the photographer using it.
“The EOS 500D pushes the boundaries of what photographers can demand from their cameras, combining exceptional images with full HD video,†said Rainer Fuehres, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “Photography enthusiasts can now capture their most significant moments in a manner that matches their creativity.â€Â
Any Canon photographer can register for the CANON iMAGE GATEWAY service, which allows access to the latest EOS information, useful updates and exclusive EOS content – plus tools that allow users to create their own video podcasts and store images online.
Features at a glance:
* 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
* Full HD movie recording with HDMI connection for viewing and playback on an HDTV
* ISO 100-3200 (expandable to 12800)
* 3.4 frames per second continuous shooting
* Max. 170 large JPEG images in a single burst
* 3.0†ClearView LCD with Live View mode
* 9-point wide area AF with cross type centre point
* High speed DIGIC 4 performance and superb image quality
* EOS Integrated Cleaning System
* Full compatibility with Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites, including new Speedlite 270EX, TS-E 17mm f/4L and TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
cr
WOOOO!
no articulating lcd~~
WTF? 20 FPS?! That has to be a typo, it just has to be. That is a totally unusable frame rate. It’s the difference between me buying this or not. And no mic jack? Come ON, seriously!
Wow. Canon just eliminated the need for a 50d.
I would now probably chose this Rebel over a 50d.
And the price of the XSi just went down $50 :)
Not bad. That will make me think about upgrading from my 400D. Nothing about its storage options – will I have to say goodbye to my CF cards?
After reading canons website, I no know this camera is unusable. They haven’t learned from http://www.5dfix.com
Guess I’ll have to buy RED…
Judging by the size of the memory card door I would guess SD. Way too small for CF.
SD cards is that the way they are going with all DSLRs?
DPReview lists “Auto Lighting Optimizer (Basic and Creative modes)” as one of the new image processing features. Finally something to approach some of the advantages of HDR perhaps? I’ve seen a similar-sounding feature on the Nikon D40 and it works quite well.
Anyone know more about this?
yay for no silly screen.
“Unusable”? It’s perfectly usable, perhaps you meant to say “unsuitable for me”. Good luck with your Red, how much more will you pay for it?
BAH! It’s an XSI with NEUTERED HD video. Not impressed. NEXT! WTF is wrong with Canon? Where’s the articlating LCD? 20FPS!!!??? Love the new flash, though. My current flash (380EX) is bigger than my camera!
wow, I at least expected Stereo mics built in like their SX1. A mic input would have been good too, but at least give us built in Stereo sound!
Whats the point having great movies if they sound crap?
Not impressed really…. Canon could have blown everyone away with a great little camera here. But instead they give us a normal update with bolted on features.
It wouldn’t have been hard to listen to the critiques of the 5D-2 and implement them even limit it to 720p if they are worried about chopping into the 5D market.
I would mainly shoot in 720p and I think most people would be happy shooting 720p. But at least give us some good sound options.
Does anyone know if they have given the user any control over aperture during movie mode?
Wow good specs for a Canon. I am surprised Canon is actually serious about Nikon for once! Screw the 50D get the new Rebel!!!!!!!
Found it!
(http://www.photographybay.com/2009/01/18/canon-rebel-t1i-500d/)
“Canon’s Auto Lighting Optimizer technology helps ensure that the subject of each picture is clearly visible by analyzing image brightness and automatically adjusting dark areas in images so they appear brighter. This is ideal when shooting high-contrast situations that include harsh shadow areas, such as landscape images where the foreground is brightly lit and the background detail blanketed in dark shadow. In a scene such as this, the EOS Rebel T1i camera’s Auto Lighting Optimizer technology maintains exposure of the highlight areas while lightening shadow areas for a more enjoyable and evenly illuminated image. The EOS Rebel T1i also supports Peripheral Illumination Correction for up to 40 Canon EF and EF-S lenses.”
Hmm… no mention of aperture control here, but it’s not mutually exclusive:
(http://www.photographybay.com/2009/01/18/canon-rebel-t1i-500d/)
“The camera allows skilled photographers and enthusiasts to adjust image sharpness, contrast, color saturation and white balance, and have those settings apply to the movie image as well.”
It’s probably SD. The 450D/XSi uses SD, and physically it looks almost exactly like the new model.
Yes! Sounds like there is autofocus during video recording:
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001XURPQS)
“all Live View AF features can be used in shooting video”
20fps? this is ridiculous!!! 30fps and 20fps, canon surprises us every month with a new dumb thing, we WANT 24P!!!
An 18 minute 720p video is 4GB ?!?! That pretty much makes the video useless. Couldn’t they have used a better form of compression?
(http://www.photographybay.com/2009/01/18/canon-rebel-t1i-500d/)
“Like the EOS 5D Mark II model, the EOS Rebel T1i camera will record video up to 4GB per clip equaling approximately 12 minutes of Full HD video, 18 minutes of 720p HD video, or 24 minutes of SD video depending on the level of detail in the scene.i Video clips are recorded in .MOV format using an MPEG-4 video compression and sound is recorded using linear PCMii without compression.”
HOLD THE PHONE!!!
I just found this on the Canon Australia website: http://www.canon.com.au/eos/range/eos500d/techspecs.aspx
————-
Eternal Interface:
Hi-Speed USB/HDMI mini/Audio/Video OUT/PC terminal/Remote control/External microphone input
————
MICROPHONE INPUT!!!! That changes things for me… if it turns out they have given more exposure controls in movie mode I may be tempted.
I hope the Australia site is accurate.
It also states that it uses CF cards…. I thought it used SD…..?
yeah, but a lot of peole would prefer the motordrive and build quality of a 50D over a rebel, especially if they don’t plan on video.
I would say the next XS well be mirrorless and will compete with the Panasonic G1. But most likely like the Samsung 1.5/1.6 crop factor not 2.0. And use all EF lenses with a small G1 body. Where is the next 7D/60D???? I am still waiting…… 50D was not what I was hoping for.
First off: thumbs up for CR for piecing the features of the new Rebel together so precisely.
For me having a 450D at the moment, the pros and cons of the feature list boil down to:
+ higher natively supported ISO range — let’s just hope that ISO performance also improved. If the new 1600 performed like the 450D’s 800, I would be a happy camper. As it is probably the same sensor as that of the 50D, we probably will not gain a full stop of improved ISO performance. From comparisons I made between 450D and 50D (inter alia with the noise images from dpreview) I’d say that the 50D has at best the same per-pixel noise as the 450D, if not a bit worse. So not much hope here.
++ new LCD — great!
++ same battery and battery grip as the 500D — so I can keep my batteries and can happily buy a third one for my 450D right now
+/- no articulating screen: I am fine with that. The extra space the mechanism would have needed would have probably meant a smaller screen or a realignment of the controls.
+/- Higher Res: give’s us even larger RAWs to archive, and I would place a bet that this will also give us even shorter RAW bursts…
+/- video mode: full HD appears severely crippled due to the stupid frame rate, and even more so because it does not have a microphone input. So it is not more than a toy feature for the most part. After all, any halfway recent P&S will be on par video-wise. Too bad.
+/- same burst rate: A bit faster would have been nice. The Digic IV can push ~3fps with 21 MP, so ~4fps with 15MP should be doable. Maybe a marketing decision or a limitation of the Rebels mirror mechanism
– No new AF: AF seems to be the same, at least feature wise. Maybe they did improve its precision, that would be enough for me, I don’t need more AF points.
Not really expected:
– more AF points
– second dial (something to separate the men from the boys… ;-))
– faster FPS
High hopes
I hope that first reviews will reveal..
… a faster contrast-detect AF, but some say that the current one can’t be made much faster due to the limitations of the EF lens protocol. I hope they are wrong.
…better AF
… miracle high ISO performance
My personal conclusion:
I guess I will buy one as soon as they are available at a REASONABLE price, as it simply does not have any must-have features (video in this implementation is none).
But I will definitely NOT consider buying the 50D anymore, as most of the advantages (well, those relevant for me…) it had over the 450D are now in the new Rebel (hi-res screen, higher ISO), and the 500D even has some additional advantages for 450D owners (same memory cards, batteries, and grip).
I would, however, consider buying a hypothetical 50D Mk II/60D instead if it had…
– SD cards (perhaps in addition to the CF slot)
– video with 24fps in full HD and microphone input
– no higher res sensor
– came out no later than fall this year
– was reasonably priced
due to its higher burst rate, longer bursts, and more solid construction (although I find the 450D to be just fine).
So if Canon does a good job, they can still get more money out of me. :-)
Yawn!! I really was hoping for a articulating LCD even though I don’t have any plans to purchase this camera. It would’ve given me something to look forward to when they announce the 60D or whatever they choose to call it. I was also hoping for an upgrade focus system.
I’ll hold onto my cash a little longer and hope that Nikon doesn’t beat them to the punch.
Marketing departement wanted to have “1080p video”, but Digic4 is not powerful enough.
nothing. nada. no feature to be pleased about.
Even the new naming is a joke. ahah.
Only a confirmation : the video is firmware-based, and it could certainly be enabled in the 50D with a firmware upgrade.
yeah…W…T…F?! f*ckin b*tards…I knew they were gonna cripple it, I knew it..but 20fps?
I can see the board room meeting:
Boss: okay guys, we need a way to cripple the new 500d. Any suggestions?
Steve: how ’bout giving it a low res screen?
Boss: no, no, no. We’ve got a ton of unused 920k screens that’s rotting in our basement. Anyone else?
Bob: Well, it’s gonna have video, why not invent a new framerate? Like 18.9 or 20?
Boss: Your a genious!
It’s price in Europe is higher than a 50D…higher than a D90 too…
I used Auto-Lighting-Optimiser for a while on my 5dmkii when doing RAW+JPEG, but for some reason in dark pictures, it chronically underexposed the RAW, whilst the camera used the ‘ALO’ to brighten everything up on the JPEG so it appeared bright enough but noisy as anything.
Not turned it on since.
If you look at the quality of the video you wouldn’t complain so much. Just spend an extra $30 or so getting bigger cards…
Gee, if you don’t like the camera, you aren’t required to buy it. I’m sure they have other models, with higher price tags, that are a better fit for you.
Great for newbies and amatuer backyard hacks and the like. Even for me, would make a nice machine…I shoot a 30D now (but even at the new specs of the 50D/500D, i’ll wait a few more months and get the 5D II) and can’t see why they didn’t put a jog wheel on the back, the G9 and G10 have one…I wouldn’t think it that hard to incorperate it on the XXXd or the XXXXd series. Or would this make too much sense and eat into the XXd line sales??? Hmmmm…..
its priced 899 with 18-55 IS stock lens
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=111
400 less than the 50D with no lens
WORD
what were you expecting? Mid Format?
So this is the “new hotness”? The “best” reported from Canon back earlier this month? Methinks that someone at Canon has been gargling too heavily on the hyperbole juice.
So this is the “new hotness”? The “best” reported from Canon back earlier this month? Methinks that someone at Canon has been gargling too heavily on the hyperbole juice.
let us know how that goes. I guess we’ll hear from you around 2012.
I hope 1080p@24fps or 25fps will be possibe after a firmwareupdate… If so, I’ll buy it.
Oops, just noticed that the XSi also has ALO and it’s on by default. I guess it’s very subtle because I never realized it.
I think it is the best you can get for 799 (body), video at 20fps, is it really that bad? if not go to 720p and get it…
i think it is a really cool camera, but everyone sees the new release and still expects a 1D in a rebel body for 800 bucks…
I say its a good camera, stop whinning!
Digiv 4 is powerful enough, the Digic 4 is also in the 5DMKII ;)
You just described how these “optimizer” things work. It underexposes to capture dark detail, than adjusts everything up accordingly. Since RAW is, well, raw, you get the underexposed shot in RAW. I believe the manual even describes this.
People want Canon to be back in the lead not lagging behind, like they seem to be.
There things they can do to make the entry camera really good which will give hope for the Mid-Range x0D. Personally I would’ve love to see the T1i controls revamped to be more like the G10. The G10 was a pleasure to try out and I couldn’t believe how intuitive it was to use. I didn’t have to go digging through menus it was great. I almost came out the shop a few hundred lighter.
I don’t think people expected a 1D in a Rebel body but they did expect some solid upgrades or updates. Video is nice but a gimmick to certain extent, i.e. if Nikon hadn’t added it, it would’ve not been seen for a few more years.
I will end by saying it most likely is a good camera but a good camera with some very old problems that never got any changes.
Any clues as to what will be the real launch price at places like Amazon and B&H? Hopefully lower than list price?
For now, Pros want Compact Flash. CF has higher capacity, higher speed, less cost per GB, and can be removed / inserted while wearing gloves.
I suppose that when production levels drop enough, it will go away, its amazing that it has been around for so long.
This means that you can only use the slow autofocus while recording video, same as the 5D2. Its best left off, since it takes 2-3 sec to focus.
I suspect that they are unable to pull data off the sensor fast enough to get 1080p at 30fps. Don’t expect a firmware update, it is almost certainly a hardware issue. The 1080p/20 fps is probably useful for capturing images at a extremely fast rate, and then grabbing the lower resolution stills that do look pretty good on a monitor or small print.
Using 720P is the best way to go. more recording time, easy to edit, and save to DVD.
1080P@30fps is not something that probably should not be there in a consumer level camera. Most PC’s won’t handle it at all, software is starting to hit the market that will work fairly well with high end pc’s.
You can use a newer mac much more easily, but they cost more than a high end pc. They play 1080P, but there are lots of issues in editing and saving back to 1080P, Quicktime compresses the blacks so that darker detail just disappears. This is OK on a TV screen, but horrible on a monitor and very obvious when compared to a different codec.
Hey, I wasn’t “whining” about the 500D as an update to the xxxD line, it’s as good as a Rebel’s likely to get. Who says anyone’s expecting a 1D in a Rebel body for 800 bucks? It would be nice to have a 1D4 in a 1D body for however many bucks. Now, that would be ‘best’.
In Europe several shops have initially priced it at around
1000 euro, which is more or less the same as the D90 with a 18-105 or a D50 body, BUT…
the price is 1400 Euro in a kit with the 18-200. Which is around 50eur more expensive than a 50D with 18-200 and a few bucks more expensive than a D90 with 18-200 (which currently is being offered with a free battery grip in some countries). This is also the expected RP of the GH1…
IT SHOULD HAVE HAD A JOG WHEEL, HOW STUPID OF CANON TO HAVE LEFT IT OUT,
I greatly enjoy jog wheels as well.
However, as a former rebel user I can tell you that the 4 way pad on the back where the jog wheel should be is used to quickly access some very important camera functions, so I can accept them sticking with this design, especially since they menu has been simplified by putting it on different pages.
canon t1i is good modify from canon xsi
i like