Longest memory and battery for 5D2?
 

What type of memory will work in this camera for the longest HD video record time? 32GB? What brand/type? What batteries last the longest that fit this camera?

Alex

I just tested a Transcend 32 GB 133x for $80 for over an hour and a half recording time and it worked flawlessly. It took me 30 minutes to read the card, much slower than my 300X 8GB Lexars.

Two Canon batteries with the 'grip' would be the longest-lasting official solution. Personally, I'm going to try an aftermarket solution: a Hutech DC converter (EOS211) and deep cycle marine batteries.

Thanx for the info. If a 32GB stick records 1 1/2 hours of HD video, what time can I get on different battery setups that you mention? What time does the stock battery give in this situation and then the double battery grip? Can I get one battery that will cover 1 1/2 hours?

Alex

Our approach is to use 4GB Extreme IV cards. With the current rebate, you can buy three and get them for $20 apiece. Our data flow will have us writing each card to a data DVD for our long term archive.

My goal is to shoot as long a possible without having to stop an interview or miss some action. Mostly docs. The large sensor and low light quality in a small package has my interest. Especially if a 32GB card is only $80.

You do realize that you will need to stop interviews every 12 minutes due to the 4Gig file limitation? Yes, it will be less intrusive than switching cards but the 5DII is not a long form camera.

It will not stitch consecutive 4gb files on a 32GB memory card without stopping the recording? If so, that is a big bummer and limits the camera even more. I now may pass on buying this camera since it gets up to possibly $4k or more.

I don't know. There is probably a reviewer somewhere that has measured the longevity of the battery.

No, Canon only sells one battery for the 5d2.

No, it will not. Just another in a long line of bugs that Canon could fix easily in a firmware update. If the XH-A1s is any guide, they will wait one year and release the firmware upgrade in the form of the 5d2 "s" for $2700.

So what actually happens when using a 32gb card? it stops recording at 4gb/12 minutes and then what? Reset all the tricked settings and start recording again for another seven cycles of this routine?

Yep.

It stops recording and removes the AE lock, so you have to start over from the beginning with trying to trick the camera into the desired settings and hitting the AE button at *just* the right time, then start recording again.

I did a 3-camera live event video recording recently and went through those gyrations every 12 minutes for about two hours.

When I get a chance to try out my Hutech EOS211 DC coupler and deep cycle marine battery, I will try to remember to post back here with the times.

Weird, so the camera actually stops once it hits the 4gb limit?
I thought it was the same problem like their AVCHD cam, where you are missing 2 frames from the creation of the first clip and the second clip, but the cam itself it still recording?
If it stops recording, thats useless for live events...

>>Canon Vixia HG10 2GB File Limit Headache - The Digital Video Information Network

I read from canon that you can get ~4hr with the battery grip of record time.

Yes.

I wish. It would have been nice.