How to convert 70d video files to smaller size

Hi,
I am recording 70d video with highest quality which is taking 1gb space up for 1 minute of recording. But I do not want to back up these big files. Instead I would like to reduce them into smaller size without compromising quality(MP4/MP5). Can you please suggest me a workflow to reduce the size.

Thanks

What editor do you use?

I use dxo optics 9 and DPP for editing images. I haven't done any editing with videos so far.

Thanks

khwaja wrote in post #18158255
...I would like to reduce them into smaller size without compromising quality(MP4/MP5)...

Handbrake is clearly what you want! State of the art h.264/mp4 compression will make them small. For freeware, the workflow for batching is really quite good, and h.264/mp4 is the current sweet spot, with h.265 not yet widely accepted.

However, there is no way to reduce size without throwing information away - that's the nature of compression. Something like what Handbrake can do will reduce size dramatically, but depending on the footage there may be visible artifacts here and there. Noisy footage. High detail with movement across the screen, like a tree with leaves moving in the wind. Banding in what should be smooth gradients. Jerky hand-held footage.

I'm not trying to scare you away from what you have in mind; visually, your h.264 compressed footage should look *very* good out of Handbrake.

But, do keep an eye on quality - only you can decide what is an appropriate compromise. Clearly, for highest quality *without* compromise, a pro approach, you should look into archive of your camera originals onto more hard drives. And, not every editing system will like h.264/mp4 as source footage.

Unlike my practice with still RAW images, I eventually toss the original take of my video work some time after completing the final work. I can kid myself that I might want to go back to RAW for still images one day, but I know I'm not going to re-edit my video from the original take.

SailingAway wrote in post #18158587
Handbrake is clearly what you want! State of the art h.264/mp4 compression will make them small. For freeware, the workflow for batching is really quite good, and h.264/mp4 is the current sweet spot, with h.265 not yet widely accepted.

However, there is no way to reduce size without throwing information away - that's the nature of compression. Something like what Handbrake can do will reduce size dramatically, but depending on the footage there may be visible artifacts here and there. Noisy footage. High detail with movement across the screen, like a tree with leaves moving in the wind. Banding in what should be smooth gradients. Jerky hand-held footage.

I'm not trying to scare you away from what you have in mind; visually, your h.264 compressed footage should look *very* good out of Handbrake.

But, do keep an eye on quality - only you can decide what is an appropriate compromise. Clearly, for highest quality *without* compromise, a pro approach, you should look into archive of your camera originals onto more hard drives. And, not every editing system will like h.264/mp4 as source footage.

Thanks for the information. They are taking up so much space. I think I might be fine with MP4 format. I am worried about loosing hard drives if they are going to be too many. I will try handbrake software for conversion.
I think 70d also has mp4 format. Are we going to get better quality with 70d highest quality video converted with handbrake than direct mp4 from 70d.

Thanks

RDKirk wrote in post #18159540
Unlike my practice with still RAW images, I eventually toss the original take of my video work some time after completing the final work. I can kid myself that I might want to go back to RAW for still images one day, but I know I'm not going to re-edit my video from the original take.

I would like to keep file sizes manageable for maintaining with 2 hard drive back ups. Too big files with too many hard drives is going to be another headache.

khwaja wrote in post #18159859
...Are we going to get better quality with 70d highest quality video converted with handbrake than direct mp4 from 70d...

Not quite understanding this question. The quality will *not* improve as you use Handbrake; once you compress, some information is gone. But, a good conversion using Handbrake will be significantly smaller, and visually very close or the same as the original from the 70D.

SailingAway wrote in post #18159887
Not quite understanding this question. The quality will *not* improve as you use Handbrake; once you compress, some information is gone. But, a good conversion using Handbrake will be significantly smaller, and visually very close or the same as the original from the 70D.

There are options to save video file with smaller sizes inside 70d. I can use smaller file size option while recording directly inside camera. Or record with highest quality and use handbrake to reduce the size. I am assuming handbrake approach produces better quality.

Well, yes, but, higher quality on paper may not be higher quality that's perceivable to your eye.

So, I'd suggest you look at the lower quality settings on your cam. How much smaller? Are they perceivably worse than a Handbrake version?

Paper measures are fine for what they are, but only you can determine what quality is good enough for what you want. If a simple settings change on your camera gets to your goal of file sizes, and the quality is adequate, that's worth considering!