 Canon 500D and kit lenses |
| Review Date: March 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. Hardy, Rothbury,Northumberland |
I am a retired professional photographer.
Despite the fact that I made my living with a camera I am still able to enjoy my photography.
The arrival of two new Grandchildren prompted me to update my photographic equipment and whilst I am not badly off in all honesty I didn't feel that I could justify the expense of professional cameras.
I have other interests and we have to eat.
I did a lot of reading and decided to invest in a Canon 500D together with 18-55mm and 55-250mm lenses .A 430 EX Speed light completed the outfit.This flash is a super bit of kit.
By the time I had bought a spare battery,memory cards,filters and lens hoods etc., the "entry level" outfit cost wasn't far short of a thousand pounds.
Let me say at the outset that I don't begrudge a penny spent because I am pleased with my new gear.
The camera is intuitive in use,especially if you have had experience with earlier EOS models and the menus are clear and easy to read aided by the large bright LCD screen.
I am impressed by the two lenses.I sometimes wonder whether some of the so called professional reviewers ever abandon their MTF charts and get out into the real world with their cameras.Despite criticism from certain sources I found the resolution of these two lenses to be excellent.
Like many people I am unlikely to print anything larger at A4 but I can assure you that the combination of the 500d body and either of these two lenses is capable of producing much larger quality prints.
I try to ensure that my images are as perfect as possible "in camera" ( the result of working with reversal film for years.) but the bundled software is user friendly and quite capable without being too sophisticated.
One of the big advantages of the 500D is its ability to take HD movies (I think) Only time will as far as I am concerned.The quality is not in doubt but the whole procedure is cumbersome to say the least.
I have one or two reservations however. I wonder why it was necessary to increase the sensor size to 15.1 MB. I have an EOS 300D(6MB) and equipped with reasonable glass the images it produces are not so very far behind those of 500D.
Whilst I am not suggesting that they fully match the quality of those taken with the 500D I have wondered whether the cost of the higher resolution camera was justifiable in my case.
Another slight moan.Canon have gone to great length to expand the ISO range of the 500D which is great when one has to be discreet and not use flash,but it is hard to be discreet when the shutter release is loud enough to wake the dead.The focusing "Beep" sound can be turned off.Why not the shutter release sound Mr.Canon.
Recommendations. It rather depends on what sort of camera you have at the moment. If you have an earlier Canon EOS it may be more sensible to invest in the best glass that you can afford.If however you are looking for your first DSLR the Canon 500D is worth considering.It is a SUPER package and I am delighted with mine.
I hope these ramblings may be of some help.
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Fantastic DSLR
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| Review Date: August 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mr. H. Heywood, London |
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. |
Excellent camera
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| Review Date: July 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Hammy, Surrey, England |
I have upgraded from a Canon 350D to this 500D. Why? a) More pixels so I can crop without worrying too much. b) Screen on the 350D is far too small for my eyesight. The 500 screen is marvellous even held high. c) Auto Sensor cleaning. d) better quality images. e) video is a bonus but not on my wish list but nice to have anyway and it works great. I also looked at the 50D but chose to instead spend the difference in price on buying a Speedlight 580EX ll which is really good.
I mainly use a Canon 18-200mm since I normally have a dog lead in one hand and a camera in the other and stopping to change lenses is not really an option.... and the lens is plenty good enough.
I have just taken photos at a private function, mainly indoors and the quality is great.
My only gripe with the 500D is that if you are like me and constantly switch the camera off and on you really need to be careful that in so doing you haven't moved the function wheel. I pretty much always have mine set to AV and I have been caught out a few times having knocked the wheel over to Manual.
All in all I am tickled pink with the 500D and can recommend it without hesitation. |
Good all round DSLR with HD Video
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| Review Date: January 24, 2010 |
| Reviewer: P. Douglas, UK |
When you read reviews like this, you're deciding between models and wondering which one to buy. It's therefore frustrating when so many reviews seem to be wildly contradictory. I guess the reason for this is because many (maybe most), are from people not being very subjective, and many from people who have no wide knowledge of the item type, so their comments have to be taken with "a pinch of salt" !
So I'll start by blowing my trumpet and say that I've been "doing" photography for nearly 50 years. Processing, film, SLRs the whole nine yards.
After dozens of 35mm and Medium format film cameras, I've had about a dozen digital, and a couple of "bridge" (fixed lens" SLRSs). This is my first interchangeable lens digital camera, now that they have come down to a reasonable price.
I've had the 500D for just over a month now, and I'm very pleased with it. I now have the versatility of my Pentax SLR system back, coupled with the convenience and economy, and now quality of digital rather than film. I can't review it in comparison to other digital SLRs, because I have no experience of them, but I'm certainly very pleased with it, with no negatives so far.
I bought it with the 28-55 "kit" (so called cheapo) lens, but find that excellent, especially with the image stabilisation as well.
"Old" photographers may not realise that they can easily and cheaply use most of the classic prime lenses (pentax, nikon, olympus etc), by buying a cheap adapter ring, which can also incorporate an electronic chip to retain the "auto focus" beep, which is very useful as DSLRs no longer have split and micro-prism focusing screens. Using say, an old Olympus 50mm f1.8, which can be bought SH as cheaply as around £20, the quality is as good as an "L" series professional Canon lens, albeit having to be focused and apertures set manually.
An all-round very versatile and high build quality DSLR which actually takes HD movies as well ! |
Great Camera
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| Review Date: February 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Paul, Sheffield, UK |
This is my first DSLR. I've had a variety of Canon Powershots over the years and been very happy with all of them. This camera is exceedingly good. The picture quality far exceeds the compacts I've owned (I've still got my Canon A650 - a great compact, but not in the same league as this). The clarity, especially when zooming in, is very apparent. Compared to my compacts, even the most recent one, there is very little noise or grain in normal light outdoors. It's very good at landscapes. It's possibly even better indoors and with portraits - possibly too good, as it picks up all your facial imperfections and skin blemishes! The clarity is THAT good. It takes time to get the best out of it - although it's auto modes are very good, you can squeeze even better out of it if you use the programmable modes. Not tried the HD video yet, so can't comment.
Although I can't compare this to other DSLRs (having previously never owned one), I would certainly recommend this camera to anyone. The build quality is very robust (yes, I've already dropped it, and the dog has knocked it off a chair) and despite all the features it offers, it's surprisingly easy to use. You even get a printed manual, which is unlike some other makes I could mention. If you want to move up from a compact to a DSLR, this is the camera to get (and no, I don't work for Canon). |
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