Yes, the Panasonic Lumix S5 (DC-S5) does have recording limits and this depends on what resolution and format you are using.
You may also end up with files being separated depending on file size.
This article will explain this and also describe another unexpected way your camera could turn off.
Table of Contents
How Long Does The Panasonic Lumix S5 Record Before Stopping?
When Recording In MP4
- 4K 10 bit – Recording stops at 30 minutes.
- 4k 8 bit – Unlimited continuous recording.
- FHD – Unlimited continuous recording.
When Recording In MOV
- 4K 10 bit – Recording stops at 30 minutes.
- 4K 8 Bit at 60fps or 50fps – Recording stops at 30 minutes.
- 4k 8 Bit at 24fps, 25fps or 30 fps – Unlimited continuous recording.
- FHD – Unlimited continuous recording.
File Size Limit
There is no file size limit for continuous recording on the Panasonic Lumix S5, but of course the camera will stop recording if you fill the capacity of the SD card.
Depending on the resolution you are recording in, the amount of time left for recording will vary.
This is because higher frame rate and higher resolution videos take up more memory per second.
Are Files Separated When They Reach 4GB In File Size?
For a lot of cameras, continuous recording stops when you reach 4GB in file size.
Luckily on the Panasonic Lumix S5 this does not happen.
However, there are differences in how files are separated out depending on the type of memory card you are using and the format that you are recording in.
Below are the different scenarios…
When Recording In MOV
All resolutions:
When using an SDHC memory card
- Files will be split up when the file size exceeds 4GB or the continuous recording time exceeds 30 minutes.
When using an SDXC memory card
- A new file is created if the file size exceeds 96GB or if the continuous recording time exceeds 3 hours and 4 minutes.
When Recording In Mp4
Full HDÂ (1080p)
- You can record continuously, but files will be split up in either 30 minute files or when the files exceed 4GB in file size.
4K
When using an SDHC memory card
- Files will be split up when the file size exceeds 4GB or the continuous recording time exceeds 30 minutes.
When using an SDXC memory card
- Files will be split up when they reach 3 hours and 4 minutes in length or if the file size exceeds 96GB.
My Panasonic Lumix S5 Automatically Turns Off Unexpectedly
Your camera may be going into sleep mode unexpectedly if you have certain power saving settings enabled.
To find and adjust your power saving settings you need to go to the ‘Setup’ menu which is the wrench icon.
Then go to your ‘Monitor / Display’ menu. This is the second sub menu in the setup (wrench) menu.
Here you will find ‘Power Save Mode’.
Under the ‘Power Save Mode’ settings you can adjust timings for when the camera goes to sleep, when the viewfinder turns off, or when the monitor turns off.
‘Power Save Mode’ settings can only work in certain settings and are actually not available in certain scenarios.
These are normally scenarios where you would not want these settings to be in effect anyways.
Below is a list of cases where the ‘Power Save Mode’ settings are not available on the Panasonic Lumix S5:
- When connecting to a PC or printer
- When recording or playing back videos
- During a slide show
- When recording with ‘6K/4K Pre-Burst’
- When recording in ‘Multi Exp.’
- When using ‘Time Lapse Shot’
- When using ‘Stop Motion Animation’ (when ‘auto shooting’ is set)
- When recording with Live View Composite
- When using the HDMI output for recording
Conclusion
I hope you found this post useful.
You should now know of the different recording limits on the Panasonic Lumix S5.
To summarise, the Panasonic Lumix S5 can record continuously with no limit on MOST resolutions and formats.
However, there is a 30 minute recording limit for the following formats:
- All 4K 10 bit formats
- 4k 8 bit at 60 or 50 fps when recording in MOV format
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