You might see online that the Canon EOS R50 doesn’t have a recording limit, but this isn’t true!
💡 The Canon EOS R50 doesn’t have the typical 30 minute recording limit as some older cameras…
BUT the EOS R50 does still have a 1 hour recording limit at standard frame rates and a 15 minutes recording limit at high frame rates.
Here’s a quick summary table showing the recording limits on the Canon EOS R50 depending on the frame rates used.
Frame Rate on EOS R50 | Recording limit |
---|---|
Standard rates 59.94 fps or less | 1 hour |
High frame rates 119.9 fps or 100 fps | 15 minutes |
Other things that can stop your recording early include:
- Battery running out – get a spare LP-E17 battery
- SD card running out or being too slow – get a 128GB UHS-I SD Card
- Overheating – let it cool off
If you want alternative cameras that have higher recording limits then opt for the Canon EOS R10 or the Canon EOS R7 (R10 is a better alternative for the R50).
I’ll go through all the above info in more detail in this post, but you can use the table of contents to skip to the bit that you want.
Table of Contents
What Are The Recording Limits on Canon EOS R50?
Standard frame rates up to 59.94 fps
The recording limit on the EOS R50 at standard frame rates of 59.94 fps or less is 1 hour.
Once the EOS R50 reaches 1 hour of continuous recording the recording will automatically stop.
At this point you’ll have to restart the recording by pressing the movie button if you want to continue.
High frame rates of 119.9 fps or 100 fps
The recording limit on the EOS R50 at high frame rates of 100 fps or 119.9 fps is 15 minutes.
Once the EOS R50 reaches 15 minutes of continuous recording at high frame rates, the recording will automatically stop.
If you want to keep recording you’re going to have to start another recording by pressing the movie button.
Other Reasons Your Canon EOS R50 Stops Recording
There are some other reasons that your EOS R50 could stop recording and they are to do with:
- Battery
- SD card
- Overheating
Battery
Of course if your battery is low on charge you could run out in the middle of recording so make sure you always have a spare and keep them fully charged.
In testing the Canon EOS R50 it varies depending on what frame rates you’re using and resolution.
But if you record at 4k 30fps (which is the highest resolution you can get on the EOS R50) you’ll probably get around 1 hour 15 minutes. This would include multiple sessions of recording, not all in one go.
The Canon EOS R50 uses an LP-E17 battery and you can pick up replacements online:
SD Card
If your SD card gets full your recording will stop automatically because there’s just no more space for you to record.
Another reason your camera could stop recording abruptly is that your SD card is too slow to process the footage.
The Canon EOS R50 supports the use of SD/SDHC/SDXC and you need one that is big enough and fast enough (I’ve linked one below).
This is the SD card I recommend for the Canon EOS R50:
Storage space
To give you an idea, this is how much footage you can get on a 32GB SD card at different resolutions.
- 4K at 23.94 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps – 35 minutes
- 1080p at 119.9 fps or 100 fps – 35 minutes
- 1080p at 59.94 fps or 50 fps – 1 hour 10 minutes
- 1080p at 29.97 fps, 23.98 fps, 25 fps – 2 hours 20 minutes
So you can see that you probably want more than 32GB per SD card if you want more than 1 hour of recording at high frame rates or at 4K.
Speed
To be able to use your EOS R50 at its limits you will need a SD card with a UHS speed class of 3 or higher. This means the SD card has write speeds of 30mb/s or higher.
To make sure you get an SD card that is both fast enough and large enough I would get 1 or 2 of the following SD card.
Overheating
If your EOS R50 gets too hot and overheats then your recording could stop automatically even before the recording limit because the camera will just shut down to cool off.
Here’s some stats to guide you based on me recording in a standard room at around 68 degrees fahrenheit (20 degrees celsius) :
At 1080p (Full HD) Resolution
At 1080p in any frame rate you shouldn’t really have any issues with overheating.
I reached the recording limit everytime without overheating on the Canon EOS R50.
At 4K Resolution
However at 4K resolutions the camera is working much harder and can overheat to the point that it will shut off before the recording limit is actually reached.
- At 4k 24 fps I got 42 minutes of continuous recording before the R50 overheated and shut off.
- At 4k 30 fps I got about 36 minutes of continuous recording before the R50 overheated and shut off.
Of course if you are recording somewhere where it’s a little colder by a few degrees, then the camera will probably last a bit longer.
So yeah, if you’re going to be recording in 4K resolution on the EOS R50 you will be lucky to reach the 1 hour recording limit.
Alternative Cameras to EOS R50 with Higher Recording Limits
If you want an alternative camera to the Canon EOS R50 with higher recording limits then consider either the Canon EOS R10 or the Canon EOS R7.
Both of these cameras use the same lens mount as the Canon EOS R50 and can use all the same lenses.
Canon EOS R10
The Canon EOS R10 has double the recording limits of the Canon EOS R50, so the EOS R10 can record for 2 hours at standard frame rates and 30 minutes at high frame rates.
It’s also pretty close in price but is actually a better camera in most aspects.
Alternative to Canon EOS R50
Overall the Canon EOS R10 is probably the best alternative to the Canon EOS R50 in 2023.
If you want to know more of the differences between the R50 and R10, then read this post that breaks down the differences between these two entry-level mirrorless cameras. (It’ll also tell you who the R50 is actually better for.)
Canon EOS R7
The Canon EOS R7 has even higher recording limits that should basically be fine for anyone.
You can record continuously on the EOS R7 for up to 6 hours at standard frame rates and up to 90 minutes at high frame rates. (Thats a pretty long time.)
If you really need a recording limit above 2 hours then the EOS R7 should do the trick.
It’s also a much better camera than the EOS R10 and EOS R50.
I mean as far as crop sensor Canon mirrorless cameras go, the Canon EOS R7 is the best APS-C camera in the line up.
Here’s a table summarizing the recording limits of the Canon EOS R50 vs R10 vs R7
Frame rates | EOS R50 | EOS R10 | EOS R7 |
---|---|---|---|
Standard 59.94 fps or less | 1 hour | 2 hours | 6 hours |
High frame rates 100 fps or 119.9 fps | 15 minutes | 30 minutes | 2 hours |
References:
- Canon EOS R50 recording limit: Canon EOS R50 Online manual
- Canon EOS R10 recording limit: Canon EOS R10 Online manual
- Canon EOS R7 recording limit: Canon EOS R7 Online manual
Related Reading:
Now you should know that the EOS R50 does have recording limits and there are multiple things that can stop it from recording continuously.
Did you know you can use the EOS R50 as a webcam without a capture card? This makes it a pretty good camera for streamers.
If you wanna see every APS-C mirrorless camera made by Canon then I’ve made a list you can check out:
If you’re choosing between getting an EOS R10 or EOS R50 the short answer is that for most people the R10 is better, but for a small group of people the R50 is better.
Find out more in my post comparing the two…