Does the Sony A7R IV Have a Recording Time Limit?

If you are sick of cameras having 30-minute recording limits for video then you are not alone. 

Luckily the Sony A7R IV (ILCE-7RM4) has ditched this annoying “feature”, so there is no 30-minute video recording time limit.

But this doesn’t mean you can just record continuously forever…

How Long Does The Sony A7R IV Record Before Stopping?

The maximum continuously recordable time on the Sony A7R IV is 13 hours.

To reach this upper limit of 13 hours of continuous recording time you will need the ‘Auto Power Off Temp.’ setting set to ‘High’.

The ‘Auto Power Off Temp.’ setting controls when the camera will turn off if it gets hot. 

When set to ‘Standard’ the threshold for how hot it can get is lower, so you can’t record as long.

Below are the approximate recording times when ‘Auto Power Off Temp.’ is set to ‘Standard’ (depending on different ambient temperatures.) 

Ambient temperature: 20°C (68°F)

• Continuous recording time for movies (HD): Approx. 60 minutes
• Continuous recording time for movies (4K): Approx. 60 minutes

Ambient temperature: 30°C (86°F)

• Continuous recording time for movies (HD): Approx. 60 minutes
• Continuous recording time for movies (4K): Approx. 30 minutes

Ambient temperature: 40°C (104°F)

• Continuous recording time for movies (HD): Approx. 60 minutes
• Continuous recording time for movies (4K): Approx. 10 minutes

When set to ‘High’, the threshold for how hot the camera can get is higher, so you can record for longer.

To increase the limits above you need to change the ‘Auto Power Off Temp.’ setting to high.

How To Maximise Continuous Recording Time On The Sony A7R IV

To change the ‘Auto Power Off Temp.’ to ‘High’ do the following:

1. Go to the ‘Setup’ menu (this is the yellow tab).
2. Go to ‘Auto Power Off Temp.’
3. Set this to ‘High’.

This will let the camera stay on for longer at higher temperatures.

Just be sure to try and use a tripod instead of recording handheld as the camera may get hot. 

Even though there is technically a limit of 13 hours, your SD card will pretty much always fill up before you get to this limit anyways. 

For example:
It takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to 2 hours of 4k footage (depending on what 4k setting you choose) to fill a 64GB SD card.

For a 128GB SD card it will be about double this time.

Note: The limits are based on ‘normal’ operating conditions. If the temperature of the camera gets too hot then the recording time may actually be lower than the limits stated above. 

Tips To Avoid Overheating On The Sony A7R IV 

As mentioned earlier the estimated recording time available is based on normal operating conditions.

If the camera gets too hot then this wouldn’t be classed as ‘normal’ operating conditions.

In general, the Sony A7SIII is a solid camera and it’s rare that it will overheat for most people’s usage, but I’ve included some tips below if you want to be extra careful.

Here are two tips to make sure your Sony A7R IV can stay cool:

1. To get the most out of your camera, try to turn it off when it is not being used so it can cool down between recordings.
   
   Not only will this let it cool down, but it will also save battery life.

2. You can also move the touch screen away from the camera body.
   
   This will allow more heat to dissipate from the camera and let it cool off faster.

These two tips will help you reduce the chance of your Sony A7R IV overheating.

Conclusion

You should now know that the absolute maximum continuous recording time on the Sony A7R IV is approximately 13 hours.

We hope you found this post useful.

Related Reading:

• Does the Sony A7S III Have a Recording Time Limit?