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How to Stream Longer than 30 minutes with Canon M50 with autofocus, NO capture card!!

walstonbball
Contributor

Read a lot of forums and watched a lot of videos and I think I figured it out! 

 

I open EOS Utility, plug my M50 into my iMac with a micro USB (one made for data transfer, such as a phone cable), then open live view mode and move it into a different window by itself. 

 

Next, I open OBS and add a window capture and select the live view window. I crop it and I am good to go! 

 

Note: You have to make sure the M50 screen is out and flipped into selfie mode, this is what keeps the camera from freezing after 30 minutes. 

 

Now you have a streaming camera with continuous autofocus for longer than 30 minutes, oh and without a capture card! 

 

I hope this is able to help someone that ran into the same issues as me! 

38 REPLIES 38


@John_SD wrote:

@ebiggs1 wrote:

Use the proper tool for the job.  Not always a good idea to bandaide a tool to do what it wasn't designed to do.


Our self-described "filmmakers" and wannabe YouTube artistes can't really afford a proper video camera. Thus they are stuck with their overblown aspirations as they struggle to master the video capabilities of their T6, T5, or M50, often without bothering to download and use the full manual. I've frequently seen them get upset when offered real advice, so why bother?


Don't be so hard on them.  We all have to start somewhere, and for most of us it is usually on the wrong foot.  

 

I have no wish to discourage anyone from pursuing a dream.  The problem that creeps in that many people do not have an action plan on how to achieve their dreams.  They need to learn how to define a set of intermediate goals, to build a staircase to the top.  

 

So, don't be so hard on them.  They just need to be given better options, and pointed in a better direction.  

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."

@Ray-uk

 

It's similar but not exactly the same. If you shoot a 30 fps video @ 1/100s - your sensor is being scanned 30 times per second, exposing each pixel for 1/100s. It means the sensor will be idling ~70% of each second (while the ADC, CPU, etc will be working on transforming, encoding and storing your stream).

Shooting a long exposure makes the sensor work 100% of time. I.e. if you're shooting a 10 min long exposure - each photo site is "working" 10 min non stop. It's a huge difference.

10 min long exposure shots without proper cooling are extremely noisy (crazy noisy!). If you grab the first and last frames from a 10 min video (preferrably 4k / low compression) - you won't see much noise difference.

I see your theory and raise you another one: What causes all the heat is the *readout* of the sensor, not gathering light. The long exposure only does it when the shutter closes, while the video does it continuously.

 

Look, if it wasn't a problem, Canon would not have built a warning into the firmware! None of the still shooting modes have this warning.

"...  if you're shooting a 10 min long exposure - each photo site is "working" 10 min non stop."

 

I realize you were just trying to make a point but in reality a 10 minute long exposure would be and is extremely rare.  A 30 second exposure which most cameras can do from the factory is also rare albeit less rare. Unless a special situation most general photographers don't/won't do that long exposures.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

@ebiggs1 it's not rare in astrophotography. You can't live without the bulb mode if you're into serious astro.

Besides astro - any landscape work involving 10 or 15 stop ND filter to smooth out water or sky can easily take a few minutes.

 

@kvbarkley I didn't mention anywhere the sensor is overheating from gathering light. It's all about how much actual work is done in the sensor vs other camera components. The heat can build up in the sensor or anywhere else. The sensor heat is leading to extra noise. It won't kill though - any modern camera is equipped with a thermal protection mechanism. I'm not aware of any firmware warnings telling "do not shoot a video longer than 30 min or do not do an exposure longer than ... minutes. The 30 minutes video limit is only related to the EU tax. Even the video-centric Panasonic GH cameras have it. To overcome the limit all modern cameras offer a clean HDMI output so they can be used with an external recorder for any period of time.

I will only say that Canon has an overheating warning when shooting video, but not when shooting stills. hmmm. 

@kvbarkley Have you ever seen this warning? I don't exclude a possibility it will show up if you leave the camera under direct sunlight for an hour or two, and no matter if you do stills or video the camera will probably shut down anyway. It's not something we would call normal circumstances though.

 

@John_SD Quite a few multi-million dollar Hollywood movies were partially shot on the 5D series cameras. Iron Man, Mad Max FR, Capitain America, etc... Even the entire "House" season 6 finale. People behind those 5D cameras probably not as good filmakers as you, but I guess they could afford a proper video camera?


Quite a few multi-million dollar Hollywood movies were partially shot on the 5D series cameras. Iron Man, Mad Max FR, Capitain America, etc... Even the entire "House" season 6 finale. People behind those 5D cameras probably not as good filmakers as you, but I guess they could afford a proper video camera?

Professional movie makers do not stream video of 30 minutes or more they take multiple short clips and edit them together.

@Ray-uk You're quouting me out of context. It was a reply to someone who claimed only n00bs are using stills cameras for video. I already told you why there is 30 min limit. Don't take my word for it - just google "why cameras have 30 minutes recordig limit".

 

@kvbarkley What make you think that youtube bloggers, some of them making millions in annual revenue, are not professionals? Do you have any confirmed stats how many people actually burnt their cameras while shooting videos? Like zero probably?

Cameras are tools. If you buy a camera and don't do anything with it because the usage is shortening its life - you're probably doing it wrong. Remember, every click shortens the life of your shutter 😉 Also, I didn't "complain" anywhere about Canon quality.

Well this ole guy doesn't know as I never shoot video but I totally agree with this statement...

"Cameras are tools. If you buy a camera and don't do anything with it because the usage is shortening its life..."

 

Any "tool" looks good and works well if it stays in the tool cabinet or sits in a camera bag in our case.. The rubber hits the road with either how well it does what you need or how well you do what you need. 

 

I wish Canon would come out with an official statement one way or the other. Most or at least some cameras seem to have a overheating warning on the videos side but not one on the stills side. That does say something. I, personally, have encountered neither.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!
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