I still don't own an Canon 500D. I am asking 500D owners whether the continuous focusing is still working while I am connecting the 500D to a standlone DV recorder (e.g. sony) so that I do not have to worry focus in tele shots. I am OK if the recorded footage is just DV quality.

In video mode, the 500D does not have continuous autofocus. You have to refocus manually when necessary regardless of whether the camera is recording or you have it connected to an external recording device.

Thank you!