Changing Battery causing "recording automatically stopped" messages? Weird.

Hi All,

Here is (possibly) another twist on the "my camera stops recording automatically" 'issue'. (I did search the forums on this but all the responses were the standard 'your card isn't good enough' responses - I have a different issue - see below).

I have been shooting a lot on my 550D (T2i) at BMX Racing events of late. I use Sandisk Ultra class 10 cards (rated at 30MB/s). I never have a problem with those cards in terms of buffering (you know, the old chestnut, "your card isn't fast enough").

However, when I see the 'battery low' warning showing up on the LCD, I turn the camera off, replace the battery, turn it back on, then suddenly I start having "the camera stopped recording automatically" problem. The buffer indicator shows up and I only get a few seconds of recording - despite having been absolutely fine up to that point.

If I then replace the SD card with a different one, the problem goes away. If I don't replace the card, no matter what battery I put in (the one I just took out, or a fresh one) I get the problem.

It seems that the only way for me to work around the problem is to replace BOTH the battery and the card at the same time. Weird.

Now, I have been running magic lantern firmware, but can consistently have this problem with or without it. So we can likely rule out that as the root cause (at least I think we can - nothing's ever certain).

I use the camera a lot during those shoots, it gets hours of use each time (up to 4-5 hours of actual shooting time). I know some of you might think over-heating, however, the unit runs for an hour or two without any issues, and the problem only occurs when I come to replace the battery. Once I replace the card and battery, it continues for hours more without issue.

One interesting side note, is that it's only started doing it in the last month or so, I did not have this problem initially, I could happily replace batteries without having to replace the card. The problem is now consistent every time I replace the battery.

Anyone else having this issue?

Thanks,

Cliff

klippe wrote in post #15268849
Hi All,

Here is (possibly) another twist on the "my camera stops recording automatically" 'issue'. (I did search the forums on this but all the responses were the standard 'your card isn't good enough' responses - I have a different issue - see below).

I have been shooting a lot on my 550D (T2i) at BMX Racing events of late. I use Sandisk Ultra class 10 cards (rated at 30MB/s). I never have a problem with those cards in terms of buffering (you know, the old chestnut, "your card isn't fast enough").

However, when I see the 'battery low' warning showing up on the LCD, I turn the camera off, replace the battery, turn it back on, then suddenly I start having "the camera stopped recording automatically" problem. The buffer indicator shows up and I only get a few seconds of recording - despite having been absolutely fine up to that point.

If I then replace the SD card with a different one, the problem goes away. If I don't replace the card, no matter what battery I put in (the one I just took out, or a fresh one) I get the problem.

It seems that the only way for me to work around the problem is to replace BOTH the battery and the card at the same time. Weird.

Now, I have been running magic lantern firmware, but can consistently have this problem with or without it. So we can likely rule out that as the root cause (at least I think we can - nothing's ever certain).

I use the camera a lot during those shoots, it gets hours of use each time (up to 4-5 hours of actual shooting time). I know some of you might think over-heating, however, the unit runs for an hour or two without any issues, and the problem only occurs when I come to replace the battery. Once I replace the card and battery, it continues for hours more without issue.

One interesting side note, is that it's only started doing it in the last month or so, I did not have this problem initially, I could happily replace batteries without having to replace the card. The problem is now consistent every time I replace the battery.

Anyone else having this issue?

Thanks,

Cliff

Don't know what resolution you're shooting at, but after 4-5 hrs shooting time, could the card simply be full?

Are you running the latest firmware on the camera and how are you formatting the card? It is important to format in the camera, not in a PC. Sometimes you can get away with a PC format but when you are having issues, do an in-camera low level format and then see if the problem continues. Not that in doing a low level format you'll lose everything so try to get any improtant images off first.

Hi John,

Yes, have tried both, although not a practical solution when I have been filming for two hours in the middle of a BMX track (to spend time copying everything off the card then format it and place it back in). I only ever format the cards 'in camera' and I always do a 'low level' format (as that is what everyone harps on about with the "recording stopped automatically" issue).

I just spoke to a Canon helpdesk person here in New Zealand, she said "that should just not be happening". I was careful to explain all the steps I take etc when I have the problem occur. She even asked a tech who specialises in DSLRs here at Canon and he said he'd never heard of this problem in his three years on the job either. Yay for me!

So, in short, it appears as though my camera has a fault. I would be very interested to hear if anyone else has this problem.... I might be the only (lucky) one so far....

Thanks,

Cliff

rrblint wrote in post #15268911
Don't know what resolution you're shooting at, but after 4-5 hrs shooting time, could the card simply be full?

Hi. Good suggestion, but no, the cards aren't full. I am shooting with 32GB cards and typically by the time I have run the battery low it still has around 12 GB or so free. (I am shooting a lot of short clips, but the camera is on pretty much the whole time). I did wonder if it might be a heat thing too, but once I replace the battery and card together it runs fine again - I just can't put the first card I was using back in again.

Shooting in 1920x1080p at 25fps. Uses a lot of data for sure, but it's not a "card full" issue this time unfortunately.

Thanks for the suggestion though, appreciate that you guys are putting your thinking caps on for me here.

Cliff

Just to clarify what I mean by lots of short clips, you can view a clip here if you like - you don't have to watch the whole thing. These events generally take something like 5-6 hours of my time, and for around 60 percent of that time I am shooting. The rest of that time the camera is normally on, but idle (that's why I was thinking of the over-heating issue).

It may be that I am over-doing it for this little DSLR, I may be better to buy a 'handycam' style camera for this work, but I do like the 'creative control' I can get with a DSLR (sorry if that sounds pompous).

Here's a quick look if you want to see what I'm doing with the gear - http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=Mvw0hvMeM-w

Cliff

Very interesting and well done video...I don't know what could be causing your problem and I guess it must be a camera fault, but I think that before I gave up and sent it for repair I would try rebooting it and maybe reflashing the firmware...It may not help, but couldn't hurt either...Strange problem(I personally have never heard this one before) and I hope that you get it sorted soon.

rrblint wrote in post #15269753
Very interesting and well done video...I don't know what could be causing your problem and I guess it must be a camera fault, but I think that before I gave up and sent it for repair I would try rebooting it and maybe reflashing the firmware...It may not help, but couldn't hurt either...Strange problem(I personally have never heard this one before) and I hope that you get it sorted soon.

Thanks for the kind words regarding the video Mark. I did do a firmware flash this morning, so before I take it in I'll hammer it at the track again soon and see if it made a difference.

I did ask the support person at Canon if I should re-flash the firmware, her response was "actually, we'd rather do that because unless you know what you're doing, you can wreck your camera". I thought that was a little humourous.

At least when I told her the story, she had no "it's the card" or "you're doing it wrong" statements to say - seems I covered all the bases with what I was doing. I was sure as heck thorough with trying different things to solve the issue.

Thanks,

Cliff

There are limits to doing video which I wasn't aware you were doing from the initial statement of "I have been shooting a lot on my 550D (T2i)." There is the temperature limit but there is also a hard limit of 29 minutes some odd seconds that applies in EU countries and the USA due to legal reasons. Simply put the device is taxed differently than a dedicated video device.

What was the source of the memory card, or is it cards? Sandisk is one of the most counterfeited cards out there but they are usually purchased from web source as opposed to typical retailers.

Added details on the time limitations of video. This is my reply to another thread about a similar issue.

"There are real considerations beyond camera model that may steer you toward a dedicated video device.

There are also some things that you should be aware of concerning shooting video and these likly apply to any DSLR made by Canon. One major consideration is based on public law, not camera capability.

The manual for most Canon DSLR's mentions that video recording can shut down if the sensor overheats. From my understanding that typically only happens after 15-20 minutes but could be sooner if you are repeatedly recording videos, even in segments. Not that it likely has any bearing on your question, at least at present, but when you make your decision use a class 10 card if at all possible and keep in mind that there are a tremendous number of counterfeit cards in the on-line marketplace. They may be labeled 10 but could be something altogether different. Get your memory from a reputable source, read that not eBay!

Also, be aware there are some limitations on how much you can record, even with the best of memory cards. More than 12 minutes can be recorded but there are some limitations. When the file size reaches 4 GB on most Canon DSLR's, recording will automatically stop. That means that at 1920x1080 dpi and 1280x720 dpi the maximum recording time of a single movie clip is about 12 minutes. At 640x480 dpi it is about 24 minutes. Check the 5DMKII (or 5DMKIII) manual.

These numbers may vary slightly for the 5DII, but capacity of the card differs in recorded time; at 1920x1080 dpi or 1280x720 dpi you can stuff about 44 minutes total of video onto a 16 gig card. At 640x480 dpi or crop 640x480 dpi this goes up to 1 hour 32 minutes. However, from my 60D manual, "the maximum recording time of one movie clip is 29 min. 59 sec. Depending on the subject and the increase in the camera's internal temperature, the movie shooting might stop sooner than 29 min. 59 sec." The 29 min 59 second limit is for legal reasons. If the camera could exceed that time limit, then it is classed as a video device and the import duties would change. This is not just the Canon line, Pentax for instance states "Like competing DSLRs, the Pentax K-5 also monitors sensor temperature during recording, and will halt capture if the temperature rises beyond a certain threshold." A reputable source also states "This limitation is due to the different (European) import duty rates for still and video cameras." There is no reference made to differing duty rates of product entering the United States however. So there may really be two limitations, one, the 29 min 59 seconds limitation imposed legally, and a sensor temperature issue that might also be reached in some rare circumstance.

By the way, the shutdown due to temperature can be a real drawback so consider purchasing a true video device if you are capturing something critical. At a recent horse show I was recording almost continuously and my 60D stopped based on sensor temperature. I had to wait several minutes before I could restart, missing several horses in the competition."

John from PA wrote in post #15272655
There are limits to doing video which I wasn't aware you were doing from the initial statement of "I have been shooting a lot on my 550D (T2i)." There is the temperature limit but there is also a hard limit of 29 minutes some odd seconds that applies in EU countries and the USA due to legal reasons. Simply put the device is taxed differently than a dedicated video device.

What was the source of the memory card, or is it cards? Sandisk is one of the most counterfeited cards out there but they are usually purchased from web source as opposed to typical retailers.

Added details on the time limitations of video. This is my reply to another thread about a similar issue.

"There are real considerations beyond camera model that may steer you toward a dedicated video device.

There are also some things that you should be aware of concerning shooting video and these likly apply to any DSLR made by Canon. One major consideration is based on public law, not camera capability.

The manual for most Canon DSLR's mentions that video recording can shut down if the sensor overheats. From my understanding that typically only happens after 15-20 minutes but could be sooner if you are repeatedly recording videos, even in segments. Not that it likely has any bearing on your question, at least at present, but when you make your decision use a class 10 card if at all possible and keep in mind that there are a tremendous number of counterfeit cards in the on-line marketplace. They may be labeled 10 but could be something altogether different. Get your memory from a reputable source, read that not eBay!

Also, be aware there are some limitations on how much you can record, even with the best of memory cards. More than 12 minutes can be recorded but there are some limitations. When the file size reaches 4 GB on most Canon DSLR's, recording will automatically stop. That means that at 1920x1080 dpi and 1280x720 dpi the maximum recording time of a single movie clip is about 12 minutes. At 640x480 dpi it is about 24 minutes. Check the 5DMKII (or 5DMKIII) manual.

These numbers may vary slightly for the 5DII, but capacity of the card differs in recorded time; at 1920x1080 dpi or 1280x720 dpi you can stuff about 44 minutes total of video onto a 16 gig card. At 640x480 dpi or crop 640x480 dpi this goes up to 1 hour 32 minutes. However, from my 60D manual, "the maximum recording time of one movie clip is 29 min. 59 sec. Depending on the subject and the increase in the camera's internal temperature, the movie shooting might stop sooner than 29 min. 59 sec." The 29 min 59 second limit is for legal reasons. If the camera could exceed that time limit, then it is classed as a video device and the import duties would change. This is not just the Canon line, Pentax for instance states "Like competing DSLRs, the Pentax K-5 also monitors sensor temperature during recording, and will halt capture if the temperature rises beyond a certain threshold." A reputable source also states "This limitation is due to the different (European) import duty rates for still and video cameras." There is no reference made to differing duty rates of product entering the United States however. So there may really be two limitations, one, the 29 min 59 seconds limitation imposed legally, and a sensor temperature issue that might also be reached in some rare circumstance.

By the way, the shutdown due to temperature can be a real drawback so consider purchasing a true video device if you are capturing something critical. At a recent horse show I was recording almost continuously and my 60D stopped based on sensor temperature. I had to wait several minutes before I could restart, missing several horses in the competition."

Hi John, the cards were purchased through a well known chain store here in NZ called "PBTech" - I walked in a bought them. I'm as certain as I can be that they are not counterfeit.

Also, the cards all function perfectly fine _until_ I change the battery, then the problems start (it happens with all the cards by the way - which ever one is in the camera when the battery is changed develops the problem).

The video clips themselves (that I take) are normally 20-30 seconds in duration. But I'll take hundreds in a day. I don't ever shoot any one clip for more than say a few minutes at most. (Not because I am worried about the camera - but due to the nature of the sport I am shooting) The longest I have shot with this camera in one single shot was about 9 mins (a sunset that I then sped up like a timelapse) . It handled it fine, and I shot more clips after that without problem. I think I can safely rule out time limitations or file size limitations when I am only shooting 20-30 second long clips.

Fairly certain this is not an overheating issue as the camera continues to run for hours more after I change the card and battery together (until I come to change the battery again).We're only talking 20 seconds to do the battery and card change, so it's not a big amount of time for it to cool. I'm not shooting in desert conditions either, I'm in New Zealand and we rarely have the sort of heat conditions you'd expect in certain parts of the USA (for instance).

I think (for me) it was pretty telling to hear the canon representative say "that should just not be happening", she didn't question that cards I was using or the batteries (Sandisk cards and Genuine Canon batteries purchased through a camera store - not online). I was very succinct in my explanation of the problem - and it was very reassuring to not have the representative say "it's your cards" (let's face it, that's the normal response from most people, whether right or wrong).

Funny thing is that once I open the battery compartment door, the card that is in the camera will no longer work. If I place another (identical) card in there, it works fine.

Once all the info is moved off the cards and I go and shoot another day, they all work fine again until I come to change the battery once again.

In short, I ONLY have this problem after I have changed the battery. I am always very careful to ensure that the camera is not still buffering footage or anything before I turn it off to replace the battery. Once I have replaced the card and battery, I can then shoot until that battery runs low, then when I change that one, I have the same problem again (so I just end up changing cards and batteries together). At no other times do I ever see the buffer indicator come up on screen - I only ever see it straight after I have changed the battery.

I'm leaning towards a software glitch at this stage - Canon did ask me to drop the unit into them for repairs, they're really interested to see the problem occur as they have never come across it before. I only hope it is as repeatable for them as it is for me.

Cliff

I'd really love to hear from anyone else who's having an issue like this one. Seems I am flying alone on this one so far....

Before you run off to Canon for a repair and possible charge, I would personally flash the firmware. Some strange things have been fixed by that relatively simple operation. It also isn't difficult, just be absolutely certain that you have a fully charged battery and the card is recognized. I would not do this if the action of removing the card and reinstalling it currently creates issues because that more or less is how you flash the firmware (as I recall). Check the firmware site instructions.

Probably the easiest thing to prolong your battery life would be to put a grip on the camera. By using 2 batteries at a time you're likely to outlast the card. Then you could just replace the batteries and card together. It's not a cure but maybe as a workaround. I've never use my dslrs for video so far, but having got a 650D for the wife recently it's something I'm going to try more often in the future.

I too have just started having this problem after changing battery on my 650D. I've tried the same things mentioned above (with exception of a firmware update) but no joy. I'm doing studio video and the camera began stopping after I replaced the battery. Anyone managed to fix this problem, because I am getting random drops at 5-7minutes.

Cheers,
JS

klippe wrote in post #15272883
I'd really love to hear from anyone else who's having an issue like this one. Seems I am flying alone on this one so far....

Are you guys sure the camera had finished accessing your card before you pulled the battery?