General Features
Video Camcorder Features
Digital Still Camera Features
Battery Information
Inputs And Outputs
Included Software

General Features

Overview: The Canon VIXIA HF M500 Flash Memory camcorder shoots high definition video or digital photos that can be stored on optional SD, SDHC, or SDXC Memory Cards. You can store nearly 3 hours of HD video at the highest resolution on an inserted 32 GB memory card. SD cards rated at Speed Class 4, 6, or 10 are recommended.

Image Sensor: The HF M500 features a 1/3" Full HD CMOS Pro Image Sensor, the same image sensor found in Canon's professional camcorders. Compared to the sensor in Canon's 2011 VIXIA camcorders, this image sensor allows 20% higher light transmittance for improved low-light performance. This image sensor has 2.37 total megapixels, and 2.07 effective megapixels for video and photo recording.

3" Widescreen Touch Panel LCD: The HF M500 features a 3" TFT color widescreen LCD touch screen (230,000 dots) to make it easy to compose and review your shots. The bright screen lets you see exactly what your camcorder is recording, and what your widescreen TV will display later. You can rotate the LCD screen 270° allowing the subject to monitor the LCD screen. The LCD screen also features an adjustable brightness control. The LCD Screen's frame contains zoom, playback and menu controls for added convenience.

Recording Formats: The camcorder records movies in AVCHD (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264) for high-quality viewing on an HDTV or archiving, or in the MP4 format for easy sharing with mobile devices or cloud applications. Audio is recorded in Dolby Digital 2-channel, using the built-in microphone. The camcorder can record in Dolby Digital 5.1 channel if the optional SM-V1 Surround Microphone is used. Still photos are recorded at a fixed resolution of 1920 x 1080 in JPEG format.

DIGIC DV III: DIGIC DV III, Canon's advanced HD image processor, delivers enhanced image quality, true color production for both video and photos, and a sophisticated noise reduction system for exceptional low-light performance. Its high-speed engine powers a variety of Canon technologies, such as the Genuine Canon Face Detection and Advanced Auto Exposure system. DIGIC DV III allows continuous shooting of digital photos, faster processing to the memory, as well as lower power consumption for longer battery life.

Genuine Canon HD Video Lens: The HF M500 is equipped with a Genuine Canon 10x HD video lens with a focal length of 43.6-436mm (35mm equivalent). This high performance lens uses low-dispersion glass with a super spectra coating. The iris diaphragm, normally found only on professional-level camcorders, produces highly expressive video with sharply focused subjects with beautifully backgrounds.

Zoom Speed: The zoom speed can be set to variable or one of three fixed speeds. In the variable position, the zoom speed depends on how far you push the lever. The purpose of the three fixed zoom speeds is a smoother zoom transition, at your choice of speeds.

Intelligent IS (Image Stabilizer): The HF M500 features Intelligent IS for clear, sharply focused video, even in situations that typically cause camera shake. The Intelligent IS system analyzes the shooting situation and automatically switches to one of four stabilization methods:

• Dynamic IS: corrects minor movement and the shaking caused by walking while shooting
• Macro IS: for perfectly steady close-up shots
• Powered IS: for use when zooming, correcting shake that can occur in telephoto shots
• Tripod Mode IS: for use when the camcorder is stationary

x.v.Color: The camcorder can be set to x.v.Color to record video that uses a color space with an extended gamut to achieve deeper colors, closer to real life. Video recorded with x.v.Color can only be played back properly on HDTVs compatible with x.v.Color via an HDMI cable.

Video Snapshot: The camcorder's Video Snapshot mode lets you shoot a series of short video clips, then combines them with a pre-recorded music track or your own favorite music track, to create an entertaining movie. You can select the length of the video snapshot scenes: 2 sec, 4 sec or 8 sec.

Face Detection: The camcorder can automatically detect people's faces and use this information to adjust the focus and set the best exposure and color control settings for beautiful videos and photos. When there are a number of people in the picture, one person will be determined to be the main subject. You can also select the main subject manually.

Exposure Modes: The HF M500 features several exposure modes, each depending upon how much control you have over recording-related settings:

• Smart Auto: The Smart Auto setting automatically selects the best settings for the scene you want to shoot. You get spectacular recordings every time without worrying about the settings.
• Programmed AE: The camcorder automatically adjusts the aperture and shutter speed to obtain the optimal exposure for the subject.
• Shutter Priority: The shutter speed is manually set and the camcorder automatically adjusts the aperture to obtain the optimal exposure for the subject.
• Aperture Priority: The aperture is manually set and the camcorder automatically adjusts the shutter speed to obtain the optimal exposure for the subject.
• Cinema Mode: The Cinema Mode gives your recordings a cinematic look. You can select a 24fps progressive frame rate to enhance the effect.
• Special Scene Recording Modes: The camcorder features the following Preset Scene Recording Modes to match special conditions: Portrait, Sports, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Night, Low Light, Spotlight, Fireworks, Underwater, and Surface. (For Underwater and Surface, the WP-V4 Waterproof Case is required.)

White Balance: The camcorder's white balance system helps you accurately reproduce colors under different lighting conditions so that white objects will always look truly white in your recordings. You can choose from the following modes: Automatic, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Tungsten, and Custom WB.

Cinema-Look Filters: The HF M500 allows you to record with the following cinema-look filters: Cinema Standard, Vivid, Dream, Cool, Nostalgic, Sepia, Old Movies, Memory, and Dramatic B&W.

Digital Effects: When shooting videos, you can select a fade or wipe to begin and end a scene. The fader can be activated only one time, or every time you start/stop recording.

Self-Timer: This feature allows the camcorder to start recording after a 10-second countdown. When using the wireless remote control, the delay is two seconds.

Video Camcorder Features

Recording Modes: The camcorder offers five video recording modes for AVCHD (MXP, FXP, XP+, SP and LP), and two for MP4 movies (9 Mbps and 4 Mbps). You can capture the following video recording times using these modes:

Pre-Recording: When Pre-Recording is activated, the camcorder starts recording video continuously into a temporary 3-second memory. When you press the Start/Stop button, the scene recorded will have started 3 seconds before you started shooting. This is especially useful when it is difficult to predict when to start recording.

Audio Settings: The HF M500 lets you select from six Audio Scene Settings, including a Custom Setting that lets you adjust the audio settings to your liking. You can choose from Standard, Music, Speech, Forest and Birds, Noise Suppression, and Custom. In addition, you can adjust the audio equalizer by choosing from the following settings: Normal, Boost LF Range, Low Cut Filter, Boost MF Range, and Boost HF+LF Range.

Wind Screen: The camcorder automatically reduces the background sound of wind when recording outdoors when Wind Screen is turned to "Automatic."

Mini Advanced Shoe: The top-mounted Mini Advanced Shoe lets you attach to the camcorder a range of optional accessories to expand its functionality. You use the Mini Advanced Shoe to attached the optional SM-V1 Surround Microphone, DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone, VL-5 Video Light, or the VFL-2 Video Flash Light.

Microphone: The HF M500 has a built-in stereo electret condenser microphone. You can change the directionality of the built-in microphone to have more control over how sound is recorded. You can choose from Monaural, Normal (stereo), Wide, or Zoom. In addition, there is a 3.5mm stereo minijack for adding an optional microphone.

Built-in Speaker: The camcorder has a built-in speaker so you can review the soundtrack as well as the picture when you're using the LCD screen to playback a recording. The built-in speaker is monaural.

Playback Functions: The camera uses the following special playback modes: Fast Playback (5x, 15x, or 60x) in either direction, Slow Playback (1/8x or 1/4x) in either direction, and Frame-by-Frame Playback. During these playback modes there is no sound.

Video Snapshots/Photos From Recorded Movies: You can record video snapshot scenes and still photos from a recorded movie. The size of the captured photos will be 1920 x 1080.

Story Creator:  Story Creator is a helpful function that offers suggestions for typical scenes in a number of situations. With Story Creator, creating interesting video stories is as easy as selecting one of the story themes, such as Travel, Party, or Kids & Pets, and following the suggested categories to record video. During playback, you can select your story from the gallery to play back the scenes you recorded as a single, compelling video story.

Digital Still Camera Features

Still Image Recording: The HF M500 flash memory camcorder is also a high performance digital camera capable of capturing stunning photos onto an optional SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card. Photos are recorded at 1920 x 1080 only. The number of still images that can be recorded on a 1 GB SD memory card is approximately 670.

Viewing Still Images: There are 3 ways to view still images: Single image, Slide show (one after the other automatically in order of recording), or Index screen showing 6 images or 15 images at once.

Battery Information

Lithium-Ion Battery Pack: The Canon HF M500 comes supplied with a rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery Pack (BP-718). The optional BP-727 battery is also available. The camcorder also comes supplied with an AC power adapter and charger (CA-110). The battery recording and playback times are as follows:

Auto Power Off: After 5 minutes without any operation when powered by the battery, the camcorder automatically powers off. Approximately 30 seconds before the camcorder automatically turns itself off, a warning message appears in the display.

Inputs And Outputs

HDMI Output: The HF M500 features a mini-HDMI (Type C) terminal that offers a high-quality digital connection that combines audio and video in a single convenient cable. The HDMI port is compatible with HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control), allowing you in many cases to control the camcorder with the remote control of the connected TV. It is also compatible with x.v.color. A 59" HDMI cable is included.

AV Output: The camcorder features an AV output to playback audio and video on your television using the supplied STV-250N composite video/stereo audio RCA cable. You can select between a 4:3 aspect ratio or a 16:9 aspect ratio for the video out based on your television's aspect ratio. The AV Output also doubles as a headphone output (selectable in the menu). The built-in speaker will be muted when headphones or the AV cable are plugged in.

USB 2.0 Connection: The camcorder features a USB 2.0 High Speed terminal for fast transfer of photos and videos.

Microphone Input: In addition to the camcorder's built-in microphone, the HF M500 features a 3.5mm microphone input for connecting an external microphone, such as the Canon WM-V1 Wireless Microphone.

Included Software

Included Software: The Canon HF M500 camcorder comes supplied with two CD-ROM application discs: PIXELA Transfer Utility Ver.2.0, and the VIXIA Disc with ImageBrowser EX, Music Data, and Image Mix Data programs:

• Transfer Utility: Transfer Utility offers basic options for saving AVCHD movies on the computer, uploading movies to the web, transferring previously saved movies back to the camcorder's memory card, and transferring music files to a memory card. Transfer Utility is only compatible with Windows Operating Systems.
• ImageBrowser EX: ImageBrowser EX lets you save MP4 movies and photos to your computer and easily organize them. Compatible with Windows 7 (SP1), Vista (SP2), and XP (SP3), as well as Mac OS X v10.6.
• Music Data: Music files that can be used as background music during playback.
• Image Mix Data: Image files that can be used with the image mix function.