Canon 500D: Is it near us?

There was no Canon EOS 500D at Las Vegas PMA Fair. Not even the shadow of the premature announcement of an SLR camera. So, people’s spirits start fuming and you can find the most varied vapors transformed into near certain suppositions about its arrival (nobody has a doubt about the nearness of the launch of the successor to the Canon EOS 450D). Here is a small summary:

  • Against all logic (but based upon a very short and rather imprecise Danish post), many are trying to believe that the announcement of the Canon EOS 500D will be done on 25 March.
  • The control interface could be improved with a jog wheel but nobody seems to be able to confirm such a thing.
  • The arrival of the Olympus E-620 seems to have given substance to the rumour of a tilt-and-swivel LCD screen. It would have an excellent (marketing) justification in the success of the Sony Alpha 300/350.
  • It has often been repeated in the recent months that Canon will use this camera to present a new flash (or bounce flash). It would be surprising on an entry-level camera…
  • Face detection could be added to direct the Autofocus operation (Nice idea, this).

So, we’re left with some time to wait before we can be sure.