Can I record 80mins with my 5DmkII?

B

Buddhist_Hippie_Chick

New member
Hi guys,

I have a 5D Mark II.
I haven't used it much for video yet but I would like to, I have something special I would like to try to do.

I would like to record the Buddhist Monk at my temple giving weekly Dhamma talks.

Currently they record him using some dinky little pocket camera that looks to be smaller than an old school iPod. :grin:

I know my camera can do soooo much better.. :D

I'm currently making audio recordings using my iPhone and a tiny plugin directional mic so I can listen again later in the week and to share with a friend that can't attend.
But he's very funny, tells lots of jokes and does a lot of visual things so if you don't see them, you're missing half the funny!
The problem with their recordings though are,
1. Low quality camera. Very low quality. And to top it off, the lighting is low. Low light + cheap camera makes for not good video.. :(
2. They are very slow to get the videos online, they have a very limited staff and limited skills at techie type things. It can be a year or more before a video they shoot makes it to online. I could have the videos online the next day.

The talk usually usually starts about 7pm, I usually get there quite early and start the audio recorder about 5 minutes before the monk begins to speak. He'll speak on average, about 1 hour but he often times goes over 5, 10 or sometimes 15 minutes past 8pm. So I figure if I plan ahead for 80 minutes then I should be able to cover it easily but I would still like to have an extra 5 minutes of wiggle room, just in case.

I would like to record in HD, 16:9 of course. It doesn't need to be a high bit rate because it's very low motion stuff, he doesn't move about much, the camera would be aimed at him in advance, started then left alone during the talk. To jump around to attend to the camera during the talk would be very disruptive. So it needs to be able to run unattended and do everything automatically once it's started up. After the talk is over shutting down is not an issue that I'm worried about.

I've read that the 5D Mark II has a 4gb file limit. Is there any way around this stupid limitation? I have two Lexar 16gb 400x Professional cards but changing cards in the middle of the talk is not an option. I can buy bigger and or faster cards if needed. Is there a way I can get a continuous 80 minutes of HD? Can I lower the recording parameters a little to beat the 4gb/12minute limit but still get a decent HD recording? Audio doesn't need to be super high quality because there is a lot of echo in the large room and the only way around that would be for me to buy a fancy, expensive wireless mic setup. I can't really do that anytime soon.

This is not for profit, it's just something I would like to volunteer to do as a thank you to the temple..

Thanks! :)
 
I think this is not the camera for that kind of shoot. I have a 5D mkII and 7D, both shoot only around 12min. The new Magic Lantern Unified has a setting that will allow the 5D to record again once it stopped unintentionally BUT I havent tried recording something long enough to observe this feature.

Also, as you will be recording something important, you might be aware that sometimes, depending on the situation, the 5d and 7d tends to stop due to buffer full, or heat.

Again, for what you plan to do, record a live event for long periods, this is not the camera for it.
 
Buddhist_Hippie_Chick said:
Hi guys,

I have a 5D Mark II.
I haven't used it much for video yet but I would like to, I have something special I would like to try to do.

I would like to record the Buddhist Monk at my temple giving weekly Dhamma talks.

Currently they record him using some dinky little pocket camera that looks to be smaller than an old school iPod. :grin:

I know my camera can do soooo much better.. :D

I'm currently making audio recordings using my iPhone and a tiny plugin directional mic so I can listen again later in the week and to share with a friend that can't attend.
But he's very funny, tells lots of jokes and does a lot of visual things so if you don't see them, you're missing half the funny!
The problem with their recordings though are,
1. Low quality camera. Very low quality. And to top it off, the lighting is low. Low light + cheap camera makes for not good video.. :(
2. They are very slow to get the videos online, they have a very limited staff and limited skills at techie type things. It can be a year or more before a video they shoot makes it to online. I could have the videos online the next day.

The talk usually usually starts about 7pm, I usually get there quite early and start the audio recorder about 5 minutes before the monk begins to speak. He'll speak on average, about 1 hour but he often times goes over 5, 10 or sometimes 15 minutes past 8pm. So I figure if I plan ahead for 80 minutes then I should be able to cover it easily but I would still like to have an extra 5 minutes of wiggle room, just in case.

I would like to record in HD, 16:9 of course. It doesn't need to be a high bit rate because it's very low motion stuff, he doesn't move about much, the camera would be aimed at him in advance, started then left alone during the talk. To jump around to attend to the camera during the talk would be very disruptive. So it needs to be able to run unattended and do everything automatically once it's started up. After the talk is over shutting down is not an issue that I'm worried about.

I've read that the 5D Mark II has a 4gb file limit. Is there any way around this stupid limitation? I have two Lexar 16gb 400x Professional cards but changing cards in the middle of the talk is not an option. I can buy bigger and or faster cards if needed. Is there a way I can get a continuous 80 minutes of HD? Can I lower the recording parameters a little to beat the 4gb/12minute limit but still get a decent HD recording? Audio doesn't need to be super high quality because there is a lot of echo in the large room and the only way around that would be for me to buy a fancy, expensive wireless mic setup. I can't really do that anytime soon.

This is not for profit, it's just something I would like to volunteer to do as a thank you to the temple..

Thanks! :)
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, you will not be able to record for more than 12-13 minutes...if you are lucky 15 minutes. Depending on the details around what you are shooting.
But lets skip all that and help you out here.
I've done many seminars and the best way around that would be to make sure to hit record once it stops recording. When you edit it (im hoping you will edit it), then you can throw some "B roll" around those gaps. B roll is pretty much getting other shots around the area that will supplement the main footage. Like for example, Shooting the Budha or flowers then blending back to the Budhist monk. As far as sound, you can use your iphone and get a free app, then just leave it next to the monk. But later on down the road supplement your 5D with a shotgun mic ...like from RODE...or get a cheap Zoom recorder or Tascam for under $100.
Also get about (2) 16GB cards or 1 32GB card. Transcend has a great price on class 10 Compact flash cards. If you can afford 1 more 16GB to be safe..then do it.
Good Luck!

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter too. hehe
www.twitter.com/big7media @big7media
 
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