Canon 500D vs Sony A500
70 Imaging
53 Features
59 Overall
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63 Imaging
51 Features
52 Overall
51
Canon 500D vs Sony A500 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 15MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 3200 (Bump to 12800)
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Canon EF/EF-S Mount
- 520g - 129 x 98 x 62mm
- Introduced June 2009
- Alternate Name is EOS Rebel T1i / EOS Kiss X3
- Replaced the Canon 450D
- Successor is Canon 550D
(Full Review)
- 12MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 200 - 12800
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- No Video
- Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
- 630g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
- Released August 2009
- Renewed by Sony A560

Canon 500D vs Sony A500 Overview
The following is a extensive comparison of the Canon 500D and Sony A500, both Entry-Level DSLR cameras by competitors Canon and Sony. There is a huge difference among the resolutions of the 500D (15MP) and A500 (12MP) but they feature the exact same sensor measurements (APS-C).

The 500D was released 2 months before the A500 so they are of a similar generation. The two cameras come with the identical body type (Compact SLR).
Before diving straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the 500D matches up versus the A500 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Canon 500D vs Sony A500 Gallery
The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Canon EOS 500D and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The complete galleries are available at Canon 500D Gallery and Sony A500 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Canon 500D over the Sony A500
500D | A500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Display resolution | 920k | ![]() | 230k | Crisper display (+690k dot) |
Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Canon 500D
A500 | 500D | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Display type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting display |
Common features in the Canon 500D and Sony A500
500D | A500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | June 2009 | ![]() | August 2009 | Same generation |
Manual focus | ![]() | Very precise focusing | ||
Display dimension | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Identical display measurements |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither has selfie screen | ||
Touch display | ![]() | Neither has Touch display |
Canon 500D vs Sony A500 Physical Comparison
If you're planning to travel with your camera frequently, you'll need to think about its weight and proportions. The Canon 500D has exterior measurements of 129mm x 98mm x 62mm (5.1" x 3.9" x 2.4") accompanied by a weight of 520 grams (1.15 lbs) and the Sony A500 has measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).
Check the Canon 500D and Sony A500 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at the time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the 500D against the A500.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the 500D and A500 is 70 and 63 respectively.

Canon 500D vs Sony A500 Sensor Comparison
Usually, its difficult to imagine the difference in sensor dimensions just by seeing technical specs. The picture below will provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the 500D and A500.
As you can tell, both of those cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements but different resolution. You should expect to see the Canon 500D to produce greater detail as a result of its extra 3MP. Greater resolution will enable you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively.

Canon 500D vs Sony A500 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Canon 500D vs Sony A500 Specifications
Canon EOS 500D | Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Manufacturer | Canon | Sony |
Model | Canon EOS 500D | Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 |
Also called as | EOS Rebel T1i / EOS Kiss X3 | - |
Category | Entry-Level DSLR | Entry-Level DSLR |
Introduced | 2009-06-08 | 2009-08-27 |
Physical type | Compact SLR | Compact SLR |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor | Digic 4 | Bionz |
Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
Sensor size | APS-C | APS-C |
Sensor measurements | 22.3 x 14.9mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
Sensor surface area | 332.3mm² | 366.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 15 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Peak resolution | 4752 x 3168 | 4272 x 2848 |
Highest native ISO | 3200 | 12800 |
Highest enhanced ISO | 12800 | - |
Min native ISO | 100 | 200 |
RAW pictures | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
AF continuous | ||
Single AF | ||
Tracking AF | ||
AF selectice | ||
Center weighted AF | ||
Multi area AF | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detect AF | ||
Contract detect AF | ||
Phase detect AF | ||
Number of focus points | 9 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mounting type | Canon EF/EF-S | Sony/Minolta Alpha |
Available lenses | 326 | 143 |
Crop factor | 1.6 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Fixed Type | Tilting |
Display diagonal | 3" | 3" |
Display resolution | 920 thousand dots | 230 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch display | ||
Display tech | TFT color LCD | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentamirror) | Optical (pentamirror) |
Viewfinder coverage | 95% | 95% |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.55x | 0.53x |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 30s | 30s |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/4000s |
Continuous shutter rate | 3.0 frames per sec | 5.0 frames per sec |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Set WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash range | 13.00 m | 12.00 m |
Flash options | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Fastest flash synchronize | 1/200s | 1/160s |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 1920 x 1080 (20 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | - |
Highest video resolution | 1920x1080 | None |
Video format | H.264 | - |
Microphone port | ||
Headphone port | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | Eye-Fi Connected | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 520 grams (1.15 lbs) | 630 grams (1.39 lbs) |
Dimensions | 129 x 98 x 62mm (5.1" x 3.9" x 2.4") | 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall score | 63 | 64 |
DXO Color Depth score | 21.7 | 21.8 |
DXO Dynamic range score | 11.5 | 11.6 |
DXO Low light score | 663 | 772 |
Other | ||
Battery life | 440 images | 520 images |
Battery type | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery model | LP-E5 | NP-FM500H |
Self timer | Yes (2 sec or 10 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Type of storage | SD/SDHC | SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
Card slots | 1 | 1 |
Cost at release | $650 | $638 |