How long can a hacked 5D MKII record 24FPS 720P?

I

Imamacuser

Veteran
Has anyone tried using Magiclantern's FPS override and bit-rate adjustment to record in 720P @ 24FPS at a reduced bit-rate to increase record time on the 5D MKII? I'm thinking of situation like events where a longer record time is beneficial and intended delivery is the web or DVD and resolution isn't a concern.

I can't test anything because I don't have a 5D MKII, but I'll likely rent one for future projects if what I'm asking is possible. I know the 5D MKIII can record for 30 minutes, but I'm asking about the 5D MKII because, I know I can rent it locally.

I've tested the theory with satisfactory results on my hacked Nikon D7000, which can record 50 minutes in 720P @ 24FPS (don't remember what the bit-rate was).

I'm wondering if it would be stable or have too many bugs.

I'm also curious what bit-rates people have used and their corresponding max record time.

Thanks
 
Imamacuser said:
Has anyone tried using Magiclantern's FPS override and bit-rate adjustment to record in 720P @ 24FPS at a reduced bit-rate to increase record time on the 5D MKII? I'm thinking of situation like events where a longer record time is beneficial and intended delivery is the web or DVD and resolution isn't a concern.

I can't test anything because I don't have a 5D MKII, but I'll likely rent one for future projects if what I'm asking is possible. I know the 5D MKIII can record for 30 minutes, but I'm asking about the 5D MKII because, I know I can rent it locally.

I've tested the theory with satisfactory results on my hacked Nikon D7000, which can record 50 minutes in 720P @ 24FPS (don't remember what the bit-rate was).

I'm wondering if it would be stable or have too many bugs.

I'm also curious what bit-rates people have used and their corresponding max record time.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm almost sure that ML can override the 30 minutes... correct me if I'm wrong. The 30 minute rule is nothing but a question of economics as the camera would the be rated as a video camera and therefore subject to higher taxes.
But another thing to consider is that heat can introduce noise and if you run past those 30 minutes, you might risk damaging your image quality.
You did ask about 720p, but I haven't been recording too much in that, so I can't give you a definite answer.
 
I was specifically wondering about the 5D MK II (not MK III), which is limited to 4GB per MOV file. I'm basically wondering if FPS override and Bit-rate adjustment are stable hacks, and if combining those would result in any problems. I did't think about overheating, I kinda thought that was only an issue on low-end DSLRs.
 
The 4gb thing is merely a question of file structure. Format your cards in a cardreader with exFat instead of in camera, then you can have as large files as you wish :)
 
5D mkII does not take exfat even with ML.

Also, to the OP on shooting with 720p, I believe 720 resolution is only available with ML raw not h264. I could be wrong on this since I don't have my mkII anymore. But I also dont recommend tinkering with the bitrate settings in h264 as it showed visually no improvement and only very minimal in file size advantage.

When I last used ML the FPS override was stable. Note however that FPS override disables audio.

As for shooting more than 30 min, with h264, ML has autorestart rec feature, when 4gig is reached it auto starts recording to another file. HOWEVER there is a half second to a second gap per clip.

Using MLRAW, there is NO GAP. while another file is generated when 4gig is reached, upon converting the sequential MLraw file, the cut is seamless.

I havent been abreast with the latest versions but this was how it was when i last used it.
 
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Thanks guys. RAW is really tempting, but it would be over kill for my projects. I was asking about the 5D MKII because, I can rent it from local photographers. All the gear rental places in Iowa are still in the stone age; Chicago is the closest place to me with up to date gear rentals. Aside from shooting RAW, I guess my best bet might be to rent another Nikon from BorrowLenses or something.

Thanks again.
 
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