machia Loc: NJ

I have to shoot a video next week of a graduation at a Police Academy with my DSLR . It's a Canon 5ti . Its a 30fps camera and the duration of the video will be approximately 20-30 minutes . I've never shot video with it before , and while I've used it for still photography , I know I need a Class10 card upgrade for video work , but that's about it !
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help . The choices of cards seems bewildering . Price and brand differences too !

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Your camera manual will tell you. But, at 30 frames per second, any Class 10 SD card should work fine. I have several. Your camera manual may say a Class 4 is sufficient. If you don't have one, I would get a 32GB Class 10. They should be about $15 or less.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

32-64gb, class 10 is best recommended.

machia Loc: NJ

SDHC or SDXC ?
Thank you .

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Its primarily a difference in capacity and compatibility:

SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) max size is 32GB
SDXC (Secure Digital eXtreme Capacity) are 64GB and larger

Make sure your camera is compatible with the SDXC format before buying them or you will have wasted your money. Your T5i IS compatible with SDXC format according to your user manual.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

SDHC (SD high capacity) cards are available in 2-32GB. 64GB and over are SDXC (SD extended capacity). If you choose SDXC. Make sure your camera supports it (exFAT file system).

Edit: MT, you beat me to it while I was typing

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Be aware that DSLRs will only record for 29 minutes and 59 seconds because of tariff restrictions. However, if you are shooting high def, you're actually limited to approximately 12 minute clips. That limitation is a result of the maximum 4 gigabyte file size supported. Many newer Canon bodies automatically start a new file when the 4 gig maximum is reached, but I don't believe yours does. When a 4 gig file max is reached your camera will simply stop recording and you need to start the next clip. Shooting video successfully on a DSLR takes some practice and you need to spend time using it before the big day.

There are a number of possible settings regarding the format, shooting options and audio. If you wait to learn all this on the fly you will end up being disappointed. Make sure your battery is fully charged and make sure you have a spare. Make sure you have sufficient room on your class 10 video card. An empty 32 gig card will hold around around an hour and a half of hi def video. Learn how the audio works. Depending on the lens used you may not only see the results of poor autofocus, but you will hear it on your recording as well. Lens choice is important.

Finally, you will need computer software to stitch the clips together and format the video for final presentation. You may also need a DVD writer and blank DVDs depending on what you plan to do with the final product. As you can see there is a lot more to this than just pushing a button.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Good information. And an external microphone if audio is important...

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Added question: What are recs for stitching clips on an IMac?
I have used IMovie - very cumbersom.
Tia

machia Loc: NJ

Thank you . With all this to consider , I think I will take still shots that day . Not enough time to practice !

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Unbelievable! Politicians interfering with technology. Stupid!

Related story. If you have any interest in old English cars (all my teenage years) you know that their engines used to be tall and thin, with a small bore and a long stroke. Was this a decision made by the engineers to produce better engines? Of course not. Engines were taxed on the bores, so a smaller bore resulted in lower taxes. Politicians and technology don't play well together, not in 1950s England and not anywhere today. Stupid!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Ah, very good point. I use a Rode external mic for video with a camcorder - huge improvement. I have one similar to this, but from 2011.

https://www.amazon.com/Rode-VMGO-Lightweight-Microphone-Super-Cardio/dp/B00GQDORA4/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1480856471&sr=1-2&keywords=rode+videomic

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

T5i will restart making 4 GB files.

Robertski Loc: So California

In the category of info you can use: Buy the SDHC 32 GB max, since its FAT file system will be more compatible with other devices that may need to read the card later. This is an example... SanDisk Extreme PRO 32GB UHS-I/U3 SDHC, or this Silicon Power 32GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-3 Superior Pro for under $18.
You won't need the extra speed for HD video, but since you will be taking stills of fleeting events, you could shoot in burst mode to increase the chance of getting the best expressions and slices of time. The UHS-3 card should allow faster recovery times after filling the camera buffer. (My 4K camcorders won't even record 4K using a UHS-1 card (which is already Class 10)

In the category of TMI: I have a Canon 60D (similar to your T5i). The 11 minute video limit is a problem shooting lectures non-stop. Not seeing an audio VU meter while recording is also scary. If you're ever feeling wild & crazy, research and install Magic Lantern on your SD card which adds many useful features to the body like auto-start every time the video file stops and live audio VU meters. I was initially wanting the ability to do more than 3 exposures during bracketing like the $4,000 bodies (5D) which do 9. This research would be well after the graduation project.

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

If your video is constant roll you may encounter heat problems from your sensor. With all those billions of electrons flowing through it these dslr sensors tend to get over heated and the camera will eventually stop recording. If you can shoot in segments that should allow you to do your time without problems. Best of luck.