How much Record Time on a 32mb CF card?
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Justin Bissett
Active member
I'm guessing you mean 32gb, right? Anyway 1080p at 24fps on the 7d is roughly 6MB per second. On a 32gb card you really get like 30gb so you would get roughly 83 minutes on a 32gb card. Not sure what the difference is with the 5d but i'd figure it's about the same.
treehearts
New member
canon says 4GB for 12 min, which means you get approximately one and a half hour on a 32GB CF
Ch_infamous
New member
About to pull the trigger on a 7D and have been curious about the 12 minute chunk issue. How do you handle, say, a 30 minute interview? Just hit record every 12 minutes?
Barry_Green
Moderator
It has nothing to do with the way the cards are formatted. Other cameras use the same formatting and have no time restrictions. It is Canon's choice that they don't support spanned clips, and they also have restricted the total amount of recording time to comply with EU tax laws; even if you gave it unlimited recording capability, the Canons still shut off at 29:59 to avoid going over the 30-minute limit allowed by the EU tax system.
Tracey Lee
Well-known member
Barry, will a large card like 32gb cause problems when almost full? I just wonder if the amount of stuff already on the card will slow down writing time at all.
Sure it does...It really has a lot to do with the way the card is formatted. They chose not to bypass that problem with spanning I agree, and that sucks, but to say the formatting 4gb fat32 limit isn't somewhat part of this problem is a bit misleading.
Barry_Green
Moderator
How is it misleading? You can record for a continuous 32GB on FAT32 cards on any AVCCAM or AVCHD product. The file size is a factor in how the programming would have to work, but it isn't in any way an actual limitation. It's very easily overcome, as witnessed by every AVCHD camera on the market.
JFreshInEffect!
Active member
I have a few 32 gig cards but have never recorded fully on them. I worry about there reliability. Any issues on a "full" card?
Duke M.
Veteran
The limitation isn't on recording time its on file size. FAT32 was a compromise so that it would work on a mac and a PC both. FAT32 will only allow a 4gig file. Yes there are ways around it but it won't work on both and they weren't willing to skip either the mac or pc markets.
The length of time it will record depends on the frame rate and the complexity of the image since it is a variable data rate.
In really general terms you can record for 12 minutes at 30fps and 12 minutes 40 seconds at 24fps. After that just press the record button again each time. As with all drives the smart move is to never get it absolutely full. There can be hidden files, bad sectors, a bunch of issues. Leave a little room. That being said I have accidentally recorded to full capacity without losing anything. Other people have reported issues when doing this.
The length of time it will record depends on the frame rate and the complexity of the image since it is a variable data rate.
In really general terms you can record for 12 minutes at 30fps and 12 minutes 40 seconds at 24fps. After that just press the record button again each time. As with all drives the smart move is to never get it absolutely full. There can be hidden files, bad sectors, a bunch of issues. Leave a little room. That being said I have accidentally recorded to full capacity without losing anything. Other people have reported issues when doing this.
mastermind
Well-known member
Wow...looks like i haven't been on the boards for a while. Last time i checked it was a 5minute record time max. Is there a firmware update i need to download for this? Or is it 5mins at 1080 and 12 at 720?
kmoreau893
Active member
The 7D has always been able to record 4GB clips, which is about 12-15 minutes of time. All flash-based camcorders have a 4GB limit, but most camcorders will just create a new file once the 4GB limit is reached. Then either their software on your computer or in you NLE (Final cut pro, vegas, etc) will butt the clips together to make one continuous, seamless clip.
The FAT32 is not the reason that the 7D cannot record more than 4GB clips, it is a design decision on Canon's part. Perhaps they thought the unit would overheat if there wasn't a limit, perhaps they didn't want to eat into their camcorder sales, who knows. There is software in the works, that works on the 5D Mk II and may eventually be made to work on the 7D, called Magic Lantern, by Tram Hudson that will hopefully allow for spanned clips.
This makes the 7D difficult to use in an interview, for example, as you need to remember to stop and start the 7D before the limit is reached, at appropriate times. If anybody has hints about how they adapt to this problem, please post!
The FAT32 is not the reason that the 7D cannot record more than 4GB clips, it is a design decision on Canon's part. Perhaps they thought the unit would overheat if there wasn't a limit, perhaps they didn't want to eat into their camcorder sales, who knows. There is software in the works, that works on the 5D Mk II and may eventually be made to work on the 7D, called Magic Lantern, by Tram Hudson that will hopefully allow for spanned clips.
This makes the 7D difficult to use in an interview, for example, as you need to remember to stop and start the 7D before the limit is reached, at appropriate times. If anybody has hints about how they adapt to this problem, please post!