Canon EOS 500N: manual and user guide

An autofocus film SLR with a built-in flash. Its official PDF manual, then the essentials to get you started.

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Getting started

Batteries It runs on 2 DL123A or CR123A lithium batteries. Open the cover, insert them as shown on the lid, and close it. Don’t take them apart and never try to recharge them.
Battery level Nothing to charge: you replace the batteries. Turn the dial to a mode to see their level. Expect about 35 rolls of 24 exposures at 20 °C, with flash on half the shots. When not in use, set the dial to L.
Film Unlock the dial, open the back, drop in the cartridge, pull the leader to the orange mark, and close. The whole roll winds out before the first frame. DX-coded film sets its own ISO.
Switching on for the first time Mount the lens by lining up the red dots, turn until it clicks and set its switch to AF. Turning the dial away from L switches the camera on.
Your first photo Set the dial to Auto and aim with one of the 3 AF points. Press halfway: the green focus light comes on. Then press all the way. At the end of the roll, it rewinds by itself. Open the back when the film symbol blinks.

P: same settings as Auto mode, but you can shift the shutter speed and aperture pair, adjust the exposure or choose the AF point.
Tv: you set the shutter speed with the main dial, and it picks the aperture. A fast speed freezes motion. A slow one blurs it.
Av: you set the aperture, and it picks the shutter speed. Wide aperture, blurred background. Small aperture, everything sharp.
M: main dial for the shutter speed, aperture button held down for the aperture. The exposure indicator guides you.
A-DEP: it uses the 3 AF points to get both the nearest and the farthest subject sharp.

Film without a DX code: turn the dial to ISO, then use the main dial, from ISO 6 to 6400.
Infrared film can’t be used in this camera.
To rewind before the end of the roll, set the dial to the rewind position and hold the rewind button for 1 s.
Low batteries: exposure stays accurate as long as the shutter fires, but film advance and rewind may fail.
Even without film, the camera drains its batteries.

Type: 35 mm autofocus SLR, Canon EF mount
Autofocus: 3 AF points
Shutter: 30 s to 1/2000 s and bulb, flash sync at 1/90 s
Film: DX from ISO 25 to 5000, manual from ISO 6 to 6400, automatic loading and rewind
Frame rate: up to 1 frame per second in continuous mode
Built-in flash: guide number 12 at ISO 100, covers 28 mm
Viewfinder: 90% coverage, 0.7× magnification
Batteries: 2 DL123A or CR123A lithium, about 35 rolls of 24 exposures (20 °C, 50% flash use)
Weight: 370 g, body only without batteries