# digital camera recording times...hard to believe **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864 "2015-06-18T16:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864/1 "2015-06-18T16:46:11Z")
Just got a Canon S120. Playing with the video. I’m concerned with how much time I have before the battery runs down. The manual tells me this about movie recording time: ``` Approx. 30 minutes ("Time under default camera settings, when normal operations are performed, such as shooting, pausing, turning the camera on and off, and zooming"); ``` Approx. 1 hour of continuous shooting “Time available when shooting the maximum movie length (until recording stops automatically) repeatedly.” Why should I get more time shooting continuously than I would if I turn it off or pause periocically? Also, does shooting in HD use more battery? Yes, I know it uses a lot more memory, but what about 60p vs 30p for example. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864/2 "2015-06-18T17:47:12Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Why should I get more time shooting continuously than I would if I turn it off or pause periocically? . Turning the camera off probably parks the autofocus lens and maybe closes a cover over the front lens. Zooming (assuming optical zoom) runs a motor that moves lens elements - this is quite a significant drain on power. When it’s first turned on, it will consume a little more power booting up or resuming than it would if it was just recording. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864/3 "2015-06-18T18:17:30Z")
The manual also has the following information: > [@](#): > > Recording will automatically stop when the flip file size reaches 4GB, or when the recording time reaches approximately 29 and minutes 59 seconds when shooting in FHD 60P, FHD 30P, or HD 30P, or approximately 1 hour when shooting in VGA 30P. The file size is a file system constraint, and IIRC the time constraints are due to import duties imposed by the EU on digital cameras that record video. If they allow recording longer clips they are taxed at a higher rate when imported. If you break the clip up you won’t be hitting this barrier. In short, I don’t think the problem is battery life. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864/4 "2015-06-18T18:29:03Z")
Looking at the section of the manual you quoted, I think it’s just badly formatted or translated. It doesn’t make much sense as written. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864/5 "2015-06-18T21:40:00Z")
[quote=“Telemark, post:3, topic:722864”] The manual also has the following information…/QUOTE] Where? This manual is impossible. The paper version is 213 misleading and poorly written pages long - for a “point and shoot” camera!!! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864/6 "2015-06-18T22:17:55Z")
Did you buy a spare battery, or two? (And charger?) It’s been my experience to always have one battery in the camera and one/two fully charged batteries ready. Same for spare SD cards. As for the manual, you are experiencing the typical manual that has no bearing on user reality. The manual was probably written by a techie where English is not their primary language. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864/7 "2015-06-19T00:37:58Z")
As **Telemark** has mentioned, this is not a battery issue, it’s a bureaucratic one made between the WTO and ITA. Video cameras are taxed at a higher rate, and DSLRs were limited to this arbitrary 29 minutes 59 seconds so they would fall under a lower duty. The 59 minute 59 seconds video recording time limit is allowed for lower VGA resolution, (as opposed to HD or FHD). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-camera-recording-times-hard-to-believe/722864/8 "2015-06-19T01:04:42Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > Video cameras are taxed at a higher rate, and DSLRs were limited to this arbitrary 29 minutes 59 seconds so they would fall under a lower duty. Not just DSLRs, pretty much all digital cameras. **CC** , page 206: [http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/5/0300012365/01/pss120-cu-en.pdf](http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/5/0300012365/01/pss120-cu-en.pdf)