Tomorrow I will be recording video at a family member's birthday party with my A7c (probably using my Tamron 20-40mm f2.8 or my Tamron 28-75mm f2.8).
I have never shot video before, so I don't have a clue about what settings to use.
Please note the following:
1. This is not a paid gig, so no lectures on how I should hire a "pro" to shoot it.
2. I plan on using ONLY the equipment I have, so please don't suggest I purchase some other camera, lens, lighting equipment, microphones, photo editing software, etc. Again, it is for tomorrow, so there is absolutely no time whatsoever for me to order anything online, and there are no camera stores within 200 miles of my home.
3. I will be shooting stills with my Canon R6 and EF 16-35mm f4.0L. I have a Canon flash, so that's the main reason for me to use it for stills. I will probably mount my A7c on a tripod to shoot video.
4. I don't have any video editing software that I know of, so I would like to keep it as basic as possible. However, I would like to shoot it at the highest quality possible in case someday I can do some editing if I ever purchase video editing software.
5. This is only a birthday party, but it is important because the family member turns 80. The idea is to capture video to save for posterity.
Having shot only stills for the past 4 decades, I know absolutely nothing about video (which format to record in, do I have to press the video recording button continously, how do I know it's actually recording, what aperture do I use for indoor lighting, etc). Again, I'm not recording a Netflix documentary, just a birthday party. Thanks!
Sadly, the video recording session was almost a complete failure. My A7c kept randomly shutting off after 3 to 4 minutes of recording. I'm sure it was possibly some setting buried deep in its seemingly infinite menu system.
It was a shame because I missed out on key moments that will never be repeated. Next time I won't waste time trying to shoot a video with the Sony A7c, as apparently you need years of technical experience and a degree in cinematography to properly shoot a 30 minute video. I'll just use my cheap cellphone which will guarantee better results; and by better (before the video snobs roast me) is continuous, uninterrupted video capture without having to master a steep learning curve.
snegron7 wrote:
Update (not that anyone is interested or cares):
Sadly, the video recording session was almost a complete failure. My A7c kept randomly shutting off after 3 to 4 minutes of recording. I'm sure it was possibly some setting buried deep in its seemingly infinite menu system.
It was a shame because I missed out on key moments that will never be repeated. Next time I won't waste time trying to shoot a video with the Sony A7c, as apparently you need years of technical experience and a degree in cinematography to properly shoot a 30 minute video. I'll just use my cheap cellphone which will guarantee better results; and by better (before the video snobs roast me) is continuous, uninterrupted video capture without having to master a steep learning curve. ...Show more →
The camera shut off completely, not just stopped recording?
Could be the memory card. Sometimes the card could be too slow for a long stream of video data (that's why cards now have a separate "V" rating). The camera probably crashed instead of stopping recording.
Did you getting an overheating warning? Unless the auto shutdown is set to high temp, the A7C will shutdown once it gets warm. It could shut down relatively quick depending on usage and environment.
