The Canon EOS 500D doesn't quite have to be the everyman camera that its predecessors were. The introduction of the 1000D in June 2008 means the Canon 500D no longer has to appeal to everybody who doesn't want to stretch to buying into the 50D class.

As a result, the 450D was able to bulk up its feature set to include a selection of features that price-conscious shoppers don't necessarily realize they want, such as a larger viewfinder and spot metering. The result was probably the most complete Rebel we'd seen.

For the Canon EOS 500D, Canon has essentially crossed the image sensor of the Canon EOS 50D with the HD video shooting of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, then slashed the price.

For your money, the Canon EOS 500D packs a 15.1 megapixel sensor plus Canon’s DIGIC 4 processor, will shoot up to 170 pics at 3.4fps, H.264 HD video at 720p or 1080p (Although the latter is only at 20 frames per second), and has ISO sensitivity up to 3200, which can be ramped all the way up to 6400 or 12800 should you so desire.

Keeping in tune with the user friendly beginner’s DSLR theme, the Canon EOS 500D comes with a Live View mode on the three inch LCD panel, and a Face Detection AF option. The Canon EOS 500D ships with just the body, or with two different lens kits, an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and an 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, and just so no one’s confused, the Canon EOS 500D is calling itself the Canon EOS Rebel T1i over in the US.

Canon EOS 500D Key Features
High Quality Images

    * 15.1 mega CMOS sensor
    * DiG!C 4 Image Processor
    * ISO 100-3200 (H1:6400, H2:12800)
    * Noise Reduction for high ISO speeds
    * Record High Definition movies