Camera Menus

The 500D's menus have had the same slight aesthetic reworking that we first saw on the 50D. So they look nice and fresh, but will still be instantly familiar to anyone who's used a Canon DSLR in the past few years. As is usual for Canon, there are simpler versions of the menu that are encountered when you switch away from the manual and semi-manual modes. In these simplified menus, the order of the options tends to be the same but the additional pages with more complex options have been hidden.

Full menu (P, Tv, Av, M, A-DEP)	Limited menu (Auto, Creative Auto, scene modes)

Shooting section (red)

Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Quality	• Large Fine  • Large Normal  • Medium Fine  • Medium Normal  • Small Fine  • Small Normal  • RAW + Large Fine  • RAW	- JPEG Large = 4752 x 3168 - JPEG Medium = 3456 x 2304 - JPEG Small = 2352 x 1568 - RAW = 4752 x 3268
Beep	• On  • Off	Enables auto focus confirmation beep. Also used for self timer.
Release shutter without card	• On  • Off	Allow shot to be taken without SD card inserted.
Review time	• Off  • 2 sec  • 4 sec  • 8 sec  • Hold
Peripheral illum. correct.	• Enable  • Disable	Corrects vignetting depending on the attached lens.
Red-eye on/off	• Off  • On	Enables the use of the AF / red-eye lamp just before a flash shot.
Flash control	• Flash firing Enable Disable  • Built-in flash function setting Flash mode E-TTL II Shutter sync 1st curtain 2nd curtain Flash exposure compensation +/- 2.0 EV E-TTL II Evaluative Average  • External flash function setting Only with flash connected  • External flash C.Fn setting Only with flash connected  • Clear external flash C.Fn setting Only with flash connected
Expo. comp./AEB	• +/-2 EV  • 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps (C.Fn 1)	Configures auto exposure bracketing.
Metering mode	• Evaluative metering  • Partial metering  • Spot metering  • Center-weighted average
Custom WB	• Set custom WB	Select image for custom WB.
WB Shift / BKT	• Shift: B9-A9, M9-G9  • Bracket: BA+/-3, MG+/-3	Configures WB shift and WB bracketing.
Color space	• sRGB  • Adobe RGB
Picture Style	• Standard  • Portrait  • Landscape  • Neutral  • Faithful  • Monochrome  • User Def. 1  • User Def. 2  • USer Def. 3
Dust Delete Data	• OK  • Cancel

Metering mode weights

The diagram below (provided by Canon) shows the area of the frame measured in different metering modes.

Movie section (red)

The movie menu is only accessible when the mode dial is turned to movie mode.

Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Grid display	• Off  • Grid 1  • Grid 2
Metering timer	• Off  • 2 sec  • 4 sec  • 8 sec  • Hold
Release shutter without card	• On  • Off
Review time	• 4 sec  • 16 sec  • 30 sec  • 1 min  • 10 min  • 30 min
Movie rec. size	• 1920x1080  • 1280x720  • 640x480
AF mode	• Live mode  • Live mode with Face Detection  • Quick mode
Sound recording	• On  • Off
Remote control	• Disable  • Enable

Picture Style

The picture styles are accessible via a direct button but, unlike the 50D, can only be edited and tweaked via the main menu. It's possible to configure up to three custom styles, though, either via the camera or the 'Picture Styles Utility' software that comes with the camera, and these can be selected from the direct access button.

Playback Section (Blue)

Option	Notes
Protect images	Protect mode, allows you to browse images either in a single image or thumbnail view and mark each image as protected (or un-protect). This simply sets the read-only flag on the CF card file system.
Rotate	Rotate mode, again, this can be performed in either single image or thumbnail index view. This option allows you to rotate an image on-screen by 90 or 270 degrees. It doesn't actually rotate the JPEG file, but marks its orientation.
Erase images	• Select and erase images  • All images in folder  • All images on card
Print order	Allows you to create a DPOF print order file, for use with compatible printers or photo finishers.  • Select images  • By folder Mark all in folder Clear all in folder  • All images  • Set up Print type Standard Index Both Date On Off File no. On Off
Transfer order	Allows you to create a transfer order file, for use with automatic image transfer software.  • Select images  • By folder Mark all in folder Clear all in folder   • All images Mark all on card Clear all on card
Histogram	• Brightness  • RGB
Slide show	Start an automated slideshow of images on the CF card, delay between each image is preset at four seconds.
Image jump	• 1 image  • 10 images  • 100 images  • Date  • Movies  • Stills

Setup Section (Yellow)

Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Auto power off	• 30 sec  • 1 min  • 2 min  • 4 min  • 8 min  • 15 min  • 30 min  • Off	Sets camera power off time, this is the amount of "idle time" before the camera powers itself off. In the power off state the camera can be woken by half or fully depressing the shutter release (or turning the power switch to Off and back to On).
File numbering	• Continuous  • Auto reset  • Manual reset	Controls the numbering method used for filenames.
Auto rotate	• On (play mode and EXIF)  • On (EXIF)  • Off	Chooses whether orientation information is recorded and if the camera should rotate in play mode.
Format	• OK  • Cancel	Format the CF card
LCD auto off	• Enable  • Disable
Screen color	• 1 (Black on White)  • 2 (White on Black)  • 3 (Cream on Burgundy)  • 4 (Green on Black)
LCD Brightness	• 1 to 7
Date/Time	• Set Date & Time  • Set Date format
Language	• English  • German  • French  • Dutch  • Danish  • Portuguese  • Finnish  • Italian  • Ukrainian  • Norwegian  • Swedish  • Spanish  • Greek  • Russian  • Polish  • Czech  • Hungarian  • Romanian  • Turkish  • Arabic  • Thai  • Simplified Chinese  • Traditional Chinese  • Korean  • Japanese	Select menu language.
Video system	• NTSC  • PAL	Select video system for video out connector.
Sensor cleaning	• Auto cleaning Enable Disable  • Clean now Cancel OK  • Clean manually Cancel OK	Defines the settings for the built-in cleaning system, by default the system is enabled and cleans at startup and shutdown (although can be interrupted). The 'clean manually' option locks the mirror and shutter up.
Live View function settings	• Live View shooting Enable Disable  • Grid display Off Grid 1 Grid 2  • Metering timer 4 sec 16 sec 30 sec 1 min 10 min 30 min  • Af mode Quick mode Live mode Live Face mode	Defines parameters for Live View.
Custom Functions (C.Fn)	Enters C.Fn menu
Clear settings	• Clear all camera settings  • Clear all Custom Func. (C.Fn)  • Delete copyright information  • Cancel
Firmware	Select to load new firmware from CF card	Also shows current version, on our camera; 2.9.1 41 (1a)