Canon EOS 500D SLR camera test

Canon EOS 500D amateur SLR camera

Specifications

Sensor: CMOS with automatic dust removal system

Size: APC-C 22.3 × 14.9 mm

Resolution: 15.1 megapixel 4752×3168

Krop factor: 1.6

Recording format: RAW, JPEG

Sensitivity: ISO 100-3200 expandable to 12,800

Video shooting: 1920×1080 1080P, 16:9 20 frames./s 1280×720 720P 16:9 30fps./s 640×480 4:3 30fps./s

Viewfinder: pentaprism, focusing screen

Frame coverage: 95 percent

Display: color LCD TFT , 3 inches, about 920,000 dots

Speed of shooting: 3.4 fps./Up to 170 JPEG frames or up to 9 RAW frames per burst

Memory cards: SD, SDHC

Weight: 480g

Price: $940

Technological progress has finally given equal opportunities to all photographers to create technically perfect pictures regardless of the degree of passion or the thickness of the purse.

It used to be like this a few decades ago when they shot on film. The Canon A1, the Practica BX 20 and even the autofocus pioneer Minolta 7000 had pretty much the same picture quality if the same film was used, and only the photographer’s vision and the careful processing of the material defined whether the picture would be interesting or just a keepsake.

That changed with the advent of DSLRs. Entry level and semi-professional systems of a few years ago had noisier pixels and more frequent autofocus misses. Only the owners of the highest professional class cameras felt confident, they could be satisfied with the result of the first take.

In the last year the technique has become more advanced. Gone are the “children’s illnesses”, and now I can’t tell from a print whether it was an amateur or a very expensive professional camera.

Again and again the viewer is judged on the caught moment, the skill of preparation of the frame, the image of the optics… The camera has to provide the image quality, the exact exposure and the easiness of control.

The new Canon EOS 500D just belongs to such cameras. This is the third modification in the last year and a half for keen photographers with varying degrees of experience. The basis of the camera was a new sensor measuring 22.3 × 14.9 mm with 15.1 megapixels.

Exactly the same sensor by the number of pixels is in the older model of semi-professional class EOS 50D. Combined with the DIGIC 4 processor it produces a 14-bit signal, resulting in smoother transitions in highlights and shadows and greater image editing ability.

Considerably wider sensitivity range than the previous model, with the upper limit of 25,800 ISO. As with other models, there are six quality options for JPG recording and only one uncompressed image option – full RAW.

No sRAW downscaling, probably a marketing ploy because the sensor and processor capabilities allow it. The viewfinder is bright enough to show 95% of the real frame. The liquid crystal display is superb, like that of the older models.

Its large size and resolution of 920,000 pixels make it possible to check the focus point in Live View mode or evaluate the quality of an existing exposure with great accuracy. The menu system is standard for all cameras of the company and easily lets a pro work with the camera as a spare when you don’t want to risk heavier and more expensive equipment.

The focusing system is also standard for a line of models of mass and semi-professional segment of the manufacturer. It consists of 9 sensors, the central cross-shaped sensor provides a confident and accurate result, while the peripheral sensors have less sensitivity I try not to use them .

The continuous shooting speed remained almost unchanged at 3.4 frames per second, which is almost enough for general purpose photography. But the length of a continuous series of photos has greatly increased: you can take 9 full-fledged RAW-images, each weighing more than 20 megabytes, or a series of 170 JPEG.

Since the camera is designed for the keen amateur photographer, it traditionally lacks many purely professional features – such as connecting studio flashes through the PC-terminal, setting the numerical values of white balance in degrees Kelvin, connecting a WiFi module. But do many people need that??

The most noticeable feature: the camera can shoot Full HD movies. My friends video operators say that in order to get the same quality video signal, and even with the possibility of using interchangeable optics, it is necessary to buy a very expensive professional camcorder.

True, you will have to shoot like a real cinematographer: by script, in small segments, preferably with a tripod, with manual focus and zoom, and then the whole material must be mounted.

The standard camera battery LP-E5 provides a very high amount of still pictures but in video mode it only lasts half an hour, it also loses power very fast in Live View mode. There is a device to power the camera from the mains.

On the main switch selector there is a new position “video”, which is very convenient to use SD cards, it is possible to connect to a computer via USB 2.0 and a high-definition TV through a digital HDMI interface. In the menu you can choose between American and Ukrainian. At the time of writing, the camera was on official sale and cost about 30,000 Dollars.

Personal impressions

Though I got my new camera for a short time, I could use it for commercial reportage photography and compare it with top-notch professional camera and modern Canon EOS 50D, which has the same sensor and processor combination.

I was of course curious to know if there was any difference in image quality between the cameras of different classes when using the same optics in the same conditions, how would the autofocus of a more junior camera behave, how much does ergonomics limit a photographer’s possibilities. All the pictures were shot in RAW+JPG format, the RAW files were processed with the proprietary Digital Photo Professional v. 3.6.1 as only it at the moment of writing this article could correctly interpret the “raw” image of the new camera .

I must say at once that I could not find any difference in the final image between the 500D and the 50D, only the exposure metering of the 500D gave a slight overexposure of +0.3 steps, which may be attributed to the properties of a particular instance.

The traditional test for pinpoint accuracy was at an amateur rally-racing practice session. The cars were turning in different directions and I didn’t have a chance to focus on a certain spot in advance. So I chose the center point, switched on the tracking AF and burst shot. The aperture was opened fully to blur the background.

AF would pick up the car in motion about 30 meters before the turn, and would follow it with confidence. No focus errors were detected. Of course, operating a camera under such conditions takes some getting used to, because the ergonomics of reporter’s and amateur’s gear are very different. I have seen on more than one occasion how a person picking up a professional camera for the first time cannot understand the incredibly handy controls, where you can change all the settings without taking your eye off the viewfinder. That’s not possible with the EOS 500D, of course, but there is a way out.

You just need to imagine what the photographer will shoot and choose the necessary parameters beforehand or just trust the automatic scene mode or set the parameters in the “creative” CA mode . These settings are intuitively difficult to change, you need to carefully read the manual and illustrated color manual on the art of photography, which came with the camera.

For my second example of focusing precision, I took a moving subject in what is known as a sweep shot. The autofocus picks up the moving object, and the camera follows the subject even in exposure mode. The background is blurred to emphasize the motion effect. Again the autofocus did not let me down.

At the time of shooting, it was cloudy and I had to use the sensitivity of 800-1600 ISO, which would have given me a bad result some years ago. Nowadays, with the use of modern noise reduction systems, taking pictures at such high sensitivities is common, especially when one wants to freeze motion and convey emotion.

The color rendering of the camera and the precision of the automatic white balance adjustment did not require adjustments in the graphics editor, there was no clipping in the warm or cold tone, the lens from the delivery of EF 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 produced a good quality. For portraits taken in natural light, my goal was to “tear off” the model from the background, so I set the aperture to near-open.

The focusing by central point and then recomposition of the image was excellent as always, but in order to get the right color balance, the daylight had to be adjusted in the converter. The “Cloudy” setting caused the skin tones to become excessively yellow.

The camera can successfully work with both kit lenses and professional-quality glass where it unleashes its full potential thanks to its high-resolution sensor.

At the dance club, I used the flash opposite the wall of the subjects. High sensitivity allowed to save the light design of the hall, the lens with high aperture ratio and auto-focus system helped to accurately focus in a dark room. Surprisingly, colored light sources didn’t prevent the camera from accurately setting the color temperature of the photo in “Auto” mode.

And finally, the test for the ability to work at super high sensitivities in stationary conditions. Let’s try to figure out how to get better results in a dark room: with noise reduction or with the following processing in the converter.

A series of shots at sensitivities from 100 to 12,800 ISO showed that hardware noise reduction, when set to maximum, was good at eliminating high-sensitivity artifacts, but small details suffered greatly.

To save them you need to turn off noise reduction or set the degree of its effect to “Standard” or “Weak”, and then use the possibilities of graphic editors. The main thing is to expose the frame correctly, and then you can count on getting a good picture.

Conclusions

In general, as well as previous products of the world-known company, EOS 500D model makes an impression of the balanced product. Main

The difference from previous models is the ability to take high quality video and the same number of pixels as in the older model.

The camera is perfect for a wide variety of applications, from hobbyist to serious application, anywhere you don’t need the speed and responsiveness of a reporter’s camera.

Presence in company’s assortment practically every lens makes it possible to create on basis of novelty a light and reliable photo system for amateur photographer, scientist, for small photo studio or editorial office of regional edition which is especially important now, when price/quality ratio is very important . The sensor is capable of printing in exhibition size and its resolution potential will be inexhaustible for a long time to come.

The editorial team would like to thank Canon for providing the camera for testing.

Tests in pictures

Photo 1. Traditional test on accuracy of focusing was shot at practice rounds of amateur rally-raiders. The autofocus picked up the moving car about 30 meters before the turn, and was accurately accompanied by it. Canon EF 70-200 mm f/2 lens.8L IS USM, ISO 800, 1/1600 s, f/4.5

Photo 2. My second example of in-focus precision was to shoot a moving object using the so called ‘sweep’ technique. A moving object is picked up by autofocus and the camera follows the subject even in exposure mode. The background is blurred, emphasizing the effect of the movement. Canon EF 70-200 mm f/2 lens.8L IS USM, ISO 100, 1/160 s, f/5

Photo 3. Great color reproduction and sufficient contrast on a cloudy day. White Balance in Auto mode. Canon EF 70-200 mm f/2 lens.8L IS USM, ISO 800, 1/800 s, f/5.6

Photo 4. The camera can successfully operate not only with the “kit” lenses but also with professional class glasses where it unleashes its full potential due to the high resolution of the sensor. Canon EF 15mm f/2 lens.8 Fisheye, ISO 200, 1/100th of a second, f/8

Photo 5. Perfectly accurate focus with the center point. Mutually intersecting spokes in the center of the frame failed to disturb the autofocus. The lens is a Canon EF 70-200 mm f/2.8L IS USM, ISO 200, 1/250 s, f/4

Photo 6. The color reproduction of the camera and the precision of the auto white balance adjustment did not require adjustments in the graphical editor, no clipping to warm or cold tones, the EF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 gave a good quality. ISO 200, 1/250 s, f/5

Photo 7. Shot at minimum sensitivity, as expected, complete lack of noise and great detail. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2 lens.8L IS USM, ISO 100, 1/250 s, f/5

Photo 8. When taking a portrait in natural light, my goal was to get the model out of the background, so I set the aperture to near-open. The focusing by central point and then recomposition was perfect as usual, but I had to adjust the daylight value in the converter to get the right color balance. The “Cloudy” setting caused the skin tones to become excessively yellow. Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM, ISO 400, 1/160 s, f/3.5

Photo 9. At the dance club, I used the flash on the wall opposite the subjects. The high sensitivity helped keep the light in the room, and the fast lens and auto-focus helped me get a sharp focus in the darkroom. Surprisingly enough, the colored light sources did not stop the camera from matching the color temperature of the photo with “Auto” mode. Canon EF 28 mm f/1 lens.8 USM, ISO 1600, 1/60 s, f/3.5

Photo 10. Even with a point light source almost in the center of the frame, the high quality optics help maintain image contrast. Canon EF 24-70 mm f/2.8L USM, ISO 1600, 1/60 s, f/4.0

Photo 11. A series of shots at 100 to 12,800 ISO showed that hardware noise reduction, when set to maximum, was good at eliminating high-sensitivity artifacts.

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