Lots of the comments here get at the reason, which is import taxes, but there's confusion about the impact of it on the high-end camera market. Most professional setups that use "still" cameras are running them into a video mixer (like Blackmagic ATEM) which connects to a computer. You can record directly onto disk and stream live at the same time using free software like OBS. The camera just sits with its shutter open but doesn't record anything, thus there's no time limit. The Sony A7 series is quite popular for this application. What I'm describing is kind of the tip of the iceberg in terms of video capture complexity.
Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
31–40 of 69 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is almost as stupid as: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_tax
>At that time, many people in Britain opposed income tax, on principle, because the disclosure of personal income represented an unacceptable governmental intrusion into private matters, and a potential threat to personal liberty. I didn't know the British used to be so cool.
Bricking up your windows to own the Liberals.
(You can still see this on old buildings, some were never restored to use as windows)
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#33Like most head scratchers, it’s EU taxes. The import taxes are higher on video cameras than still cameras, so they artificially limit the length of videos you can record to avoid being classified as a video camera. > Video camera recorders are subject to import duty of 4.9% or 14%, still image cameras are duty free. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2016-00127... (Update: included better link)
Finally. The first _good_ reason for Brexit.
And what's the current UK import duty on camcorders?
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#34Like most head scratchers, it’s EU taxes. The import taxes are higher on video cameras than still cameras, so they artificially limit the length of videos you can record to avoid being classified as a video camera. > Video camera recorders are subject to import duty of 4.9% or 14%, still image cameras are duty free. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2016-00127... (Update: included better link)
The American version is trucks that have extra seats added which are then removed once imported, ready to be used on the next truck to be imported.
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#35Like most head scratchers, it’s EU taxes. The import taxes are higher on video cameras than still cameras, so they artificially limit the length of videos you can record to avoid being classified as a video camera. > Video camera recorders are subject to import duty of 4.9% or 14%, still image cameras are duty free. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2016-00127... (Update: included better link)
That reminds me of how Converse Chuck Taylors have a small layer of fuzz on the bottom of the sole that wears away after a wearing it for a bit. Seemed totally bizarre, until you learn that it was so they can be classified as "slippers" which had a much smaller import tax than sneakers. It still astonishes me that a legal hack like that works . https://www.gearpatrol.com/style/shoes-boots/a715423/convers...
To be fair, I wear mine like slippers. Haven't tied 'em in months, let's say I'm lazy.
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#36Like most head scratchers, it’s EU taxes. The import taxes are higher on video cameras than still cameras, so they artificially limit the length of videos you can record to avoid being classified as a video camera. > Video camera recorders are subject to import duty of 4.9% or 14%, still image cameras are duty free. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2016-00127... (Update: included better link)
Seems like that tax has been scrapped though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B9GLrJoUA8 So like other commenters point out, at this point it’s more likely to be market segmentation. Sony and Canon, for example, make professional video cameras that are very similar to their photo cameras, but have extra video-centric features i.e. built-in ND filters, connectors for professional battery packs, XLR audio connectors etc. They want to give users extra reasons to buy these models (although Sony apparently removed the limit recently, so looks like they’re moving away from this strategy).
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#37The fact is when you are recording a good quality video you never go over a few minutes of recording. So usually it doesn't bother film makers too much. If you're recording a live opera it's a problem but then you usually have much higher quality gear without the limitations of a DSLR.
> The fact is when you are recording a good quality video you never go over a few minutes of recording I've made home sex tapes longer than 30 minutes, imagine stopping in the middle to start a new file on the camera! Or imagine someone filming the birth of their child and failing to capture it because the camera timed out at an inopportune moment.
> I've made home sex tapes longer than 30 minutes
No need to brag.
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#38Can't you still grab the HDMI signal without such limitation?
If the camera outputs clean HDMI, yes.
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#39It’s definitely not universal.
A few years back I had a Sony DSC-HX90V (basically their best compact camera), purchased in Australia, that was capped at 20 minutes. (I discovered this by losing most of an hour-long session. I don’t believe this limitation was documented, as I did read its manual and would expect to have remembered that.)
I understand the Sony α6000 generation (mirrorless; α6000, α6300, α6500) had a mixture of limitations: in many situations, around a 20 minute cap due to file system or file format limits, thermal limits that would often shut it down well before that, and a hard limit of “approximately 29 minutes” for unstated reasons I will not speculate on.
The α6100 generation (α6100, α6400, α6600) lacks all these limitations. I purchased one in India. Its battery allows it to record for around 80 minutes, and with power via Micro-USB I’ve recorded for 100 minutes in an ambient temperature of over 40°C on multiple occasions, and five hours once for a test.
Re: Ask HN: Why do cameras stop recording after 30 minutes?
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
That may explain why it is exactly 30 minutes, but, despite some counterexamples, that we don't see more product differentiation enabling the consumer to choose between a camera with the limit and an "upgraded" model (i.e. the same camera with the limit disabled) suggests that underlying that the manufacturer recognizes that the consumer would rather buy under-specced hardware that can't handle much more than 30 minu…
Price discrimination is probably another, there’s a huge price jump between home video and production video equipment.
Pretty much everything in the audio and video space has a big price gap between "pretty darn good these days" and "pro."