I believe the 29.59 minutes may be standard def rather than HD.

With Sony "still cameras" that also record AVCHD, they have a limit of just under 30 minutes as cited. HOWEVER, the SLT/SLR's have heating issues, particularly with the Steady Shot on, reducing that time, sometimes significantly.

One has to take a little time to research the recording time limits with whatever "still" camera one buys. They have varying limitations, for whatever the reason. I think ultimately it's because these are STILL cameras, with a secondary video recording capability, and the manufacturers don't want to use up all the memory for a secondary feature!?

No. A camera liable to 4.9% EU camcorder duty if it is capable of recording video clips of more than 30 minutes duration at a resolution at or exceeding 800x600 pixels at 23 frames per second or more. Recording SD video can be of any duration without having any bearing on customs duty.

The "at 23 frames per second or more" would be the catch for standard definition..

I have a couple of questions if you folks do not mind.

Is there a re-cycle time once you reach the 12 minute limit to start shooting video again ?

Some speak of heat problems, was this a camera issue or a memory issue?

Would Amanda have any problems shooting video and then instantly switching to a still shot ?

My biggest fear in the 12 minute limit would be Murphy's law, I can just picture myself having to go from one portion of the event straight to another and having to stop. But then again the whole wedding thing gives me the willy's, not my cup of tea.

I'd say about 2-3 seconds loading time.

I'd say a camera issue. But since the latest firmware (on 7D atleast) I hardly had this problem anymore. My last overheating was on March 2010.

Switching to photo mode is only a button away. You can also take picture while recording although the video will have 1-2 seconds skip when the photo was taken.

It's inconvenient, but it doesn't stop you from getting things done. When I first started I did have my HDV sitting at the back as backup cam recording the event fully... just in case I missed out on anything

No, to be subject to the 4.9% camcorder duty all three conditions must be met 1) More than 30 minutes duration 2) 800x600 or greater resolution 3) >23fps

There is no "loading time", you can resume recording as fast as you can press the button.
550D with magic lantern has an "auto resume recording" option that leaves a 1sec gap (that;s what I've read, I haven't install ML yet)

Also the gap when taking a shot while recording is 1sec and then the camera resumes recording unless you hit the buffer with that shot (easy if you shoot RAW and not very fast cards)

Well, from your initial explanation you intimated that the 4GB file size limit was in relation to the use of the file system FAT32, and it is true that under FAT32 a file cannot be greater than 4GB.

From that I concluded that use of FAT32 was the cause.

You'll note that FAT32 isn't used on Macs or Linux by default, and therefore the file size recording limit would seem attributable to Operating Systems using FAT32 by default, hence my comment.

I thought the comment obvious, but provide the above to walk you through to the reasoning behind my comment.

It's also possible to do without magic lantern (which I refuse to load) if you are willing add a little hardware. I've built a small device that will record for 11m30s (to be safe on the compression not hitting 4GB), turn the record off, wait 1 second and turn it back on. So, I lose 1 second every 11:30. Just in case that's going to be at an inconvenient point in time I'm currently adding a wireless transmitter so I can see the time and remotely recycle it early (i.e. before vows or rings) to know I've got enough time without skipping.

Of course, I only need this on unattended cameras at the front of the church if I'm not allowed to stand there and operate the camera myself. Having used the DSLRs a lot recently, I'm currently contemplating selling all the 'video' cameras I still have. We didn't use them at all recently, and actually, we found the editing easier without them!

Dave I'd be curious as to how / what device you built?


James

Re: 12 min record?
 

The exact gap we have when recording a ceremony that we have to start and stop is 0.7 seconds. All audio is recorded seperatley so we have no gaps there. Even single cam the most novice of editors could work around that sort of gap.

Re: 12 min record?
 

Also in magic lantern, it looks like adjusting the qscale variable allows you to record for longer than 12 minutes, but I haven't really researched it any further.