How can I record long videos on my EOS 7D?

Question

I have a Canon EOS 7D and I can't seem to record videos longer than the FAT32 4GB limit. Is there a way to make the camera split the video and continue recording in a new file?

Answer 1

It's not possible with standard firmware, not ideal with Magic Lantern either. From the ML wikipage:

How do I record for more than 12 minutes?

• Lower the bitrate_ (CBR 0.4 will let you record continuously for 30 minutes).

• Use Movie restart_, but you will lose a few seconds when a new file is created.

• To record continuously for more than 30 minutes, you need to use a HDMI recorder. Enable the Clear Overlays feature to hide the focus box and the 16:9 bars, and make the half-shutter button sticky to prevent the camera from turning off LiveView after 30 minutes.

Technically, there's no 12 minute limit. There's a 30 minute limit and a 4 GB limit, whichever comes first. With default bitrate settings, the 4 GB limit is reached after around 12 minutes (more or less).

The limit isn't just the 4GB FAT32 filesize, it's also due to import taxes to the EU.