How to Shoot Great Video with your Canon 70D DSLR camera

Master the menu settings and manual controls to shoot great video with your Canon 70D

Settings

Switch to Video Mode.
Set the Mode Dial to M (Manual Exposure Mode).
Select Video System: PAL.
From the Menu, set Movie Recording Size to 1920×1080 25fps IPB.
Set Shutter Speed to 1/50 by turning the front dial. Don’t change this throughout the shoot.
Adjust the Aperture during the shoot for exposure setting by turning the rear dial.
Exposure can also be adjusted with ISO. Press the ISO button on top and turn the rear dial.
Turn off Auto Lighting Optimizer, Highlight Tone Priority, Digital Zoom, and Wifi.
Set Custom White Balance by taking a picture of a white object first.
Optionally, you can adjust further using White Balance Shift.
Set Sound Recording to Manual and adjust the Recording Level. Enable Attenuator.
Set Picture Style to Neutral or Standard.

Focusing

Select AF method: Tracking, Multi Zone or Single Zone. Leave Continuous AutoFocus enabled by default.

Full Manual. Switch lens to Manual Focus. Turn the Focus Ring on the lens to focus. Press the magnifier plus button to enlarge the image for precise focusing.
Semi-Auto. Switch lens to Auto Focus mode. Touch the subject on the screen to focus. Press the Servo AF button on the screen to lock the focus.
Full Auto. Switch lens to Auto Focus mode.

Recording VIdeos

Press the Start/Stop button to start or stop recording.

Playing Back Videos

Press the Playback button.
Turn the rear dial to select video.
Press SET to play.
Adjust volume by turning the front dial.
Press SET again to pause.

Accessories

Battery Pack LP-E6. Total movie shooting time is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.
SD Card. Recommended SanDisk Extreme 45MB/s Class 10 32GB SDHC card.
Lenses. Recommended Canon STM lenses for silent autofocus. Or the kit lens.

Total Video Recording Time and File Size Per Minute

Video Shooting Time Limit

The maximum recording time of one video clip is 29 minutes and 59 seconds. The recording will stop automatically when the limit is reached.

This happens to let the camera’s internal temperature cool down. It gets hot because a mechanism is holding the mirror up while the video is recording.

Shooting VIdeo on Full Auto

Sometimes it’s ok to shoot in full auto mode, especially for fast moving actions. Don’t be afraid to use full auto.

Turn on Lens Stabilizer.
Switch Lens to AF AutoFocus.
Turn camera on.
Switch to Movie mode.
Turn the mode dial to the green A for Auto mode.
Press the Menu button.
Scroll to the second last menu and set Video System to PAL.
Scroll to the fourth menu and set Movie rec size to 1920 25 IPB.
Set Sound Recording to On.
Scroll to the third menu and set AF method to Face Tracking.
Press the Menu button again.
Press the Start/Stop to start and stop recording.
If focus hunts or does not lock on, switch the lens to MF Manual Focus and adjust the focus ring.