Canon Rebel T8i Video Settings: Frame Rate, Focus, Audio

For most beginners, the best Canon EOS Rebel T8i video setting is Full HD 1080p, because that is where the camera keeps its fast Dual Pixel autofocus and avoids the heavy 4K crop. Pick 24p, 30p or 60p, set your shutter speed to about double that number, tap the screen to focus, and plug in a microphone when voices matter.

This guide walks through each setting in plain words. If a term is new to you, that is normal. Every expert started by not knowing it.

Your quick starting setup

If you only want the short version, use this table. The rest of the article explains why each choice makes sense.

Setting	Start with	Why
Resolution	1080p (Full HD)	Keeps Dual Pixel autofocus and a wide view
Frame rate	24p or 30p for talking and everyday clips, 60p for action	60p allows up to a 2x slow-down
Shutter speed	About double the frame rate (1/50, 1/60 or 1/125)	Gives motion a natural amount of blur
Focus	Autofocus with face and eye detection, tap the screen to move focus	Touch focus is smooth and quick
Audio	External microphone in the mic jack, watch the meters	There is a mic jack but no headphone jack

Getting into video mode

On the T8i, the power switch also flips the camera into movie mode. You do not have to dig through a menu just to start filming.

Use the rear screen, not the eyepiece, for video. Cameralabs points out that on a DSLR like this one, the optical viewfinder can't be used for anything with video. The good news is that the screen is a fully articulating touchscreen, so you can flip it out and turn it to face you.

The camera also comes with a Guided menu that explains features in simple language, and you can switch to Canon's traditional menu when you want more precise control. Canon's own product manual has a full Movie Recording section if you want to check a menu name.

Resolution: why 1080p is the smart choice

Resolution is how much detail each frame holds. Think of it like the number of tiles in a mosaic: more tiles, finer picture. The T8i can record Full HD at up to 60 frames per second, or 4K UHD at up to 25 frames per second.

4K sounds like the obvious pick. Videomaker found the 4K detail excellent and a noticeable step up from Full HD, but added that it comes with a slew of caveats.

The three catches with 4K on the T8i

• It crops the picture. Cameralabs measured a crop of around 1.5 times in 4K. A crop is like trimming the edges of a photo with scissors: you see less of the scene, so your wide shot suddenly looks zoomed in. Digital Camera World called the 4K crop huge.
• It loses the good autofocus. Only contrast detection autofocus is available when shooting 4K. Videomaker called the loss of Dual Pixel AF in 4K one of the biggest drawbacks.
• It has only one frame rate. 4K is limited to 24p in the NTSC setting or 25p in the PAL setting. Digital Trends put it simply: the T8i gives you 4K/24p, and that's it.

Because of these limits, Digital Trends said that for most uses you are better off sticking with 1080p. Cameralabs said it is best to think of the camera as a 1080 camera only, unless you really understand the 4K limits and how to work around them. Digital Camera World called its 1080p video ideal for content creators and a great way to test the waters of vlogging.

When 4K can still work

4K is not useless. Cameralabs found it can work well for simple focus pulls despite the contrast autofocus, while moving subjects are where Dual Pixel AF shows a clear lead. So if your subject sits still, the camera is on a tripod, and you want the extra detail, a 4K test clip is a fine experiment. If it doesn't look right, that is useful information, not a failure.

Frame rate: how many pictures per second

Frame rate is how many still pictures the camera takes each second to make your video. It works like a flipbook: flip more pages per second and the movement looks smoother.

Videomaker counted six recording options, and found that choosing between them is quick because each one gets its own tile in the menu showing the resolution and frame rate.

Resolution	NTSC setting	PAL setting	Autofocus type	Crop
4K UHD	24p	25p	Contrast detection	Around 1.5x
Full HD 1080p	24p, 30p, 60p	25p, 50p	Dual Pixel AF	Uncropped, per Cameralabs

Digital Camera World noted a minor reduction in framing when you switch from stills to 1080p video, so expect a slightly tighter view than in photo mode.

NTSC or PAL

NTSC and PAL are two video standards, and the camera shows a different list of frame rates depending on which one you pick. Choose the one that matches the region where your videos will be watched, then leave it alone.

Which frame rate to pick

• 24p or 25p: a good everyday choice for talking clips and storytelling. Cameralabs welcomed 24p on this camera as a frame rate video creators ask for.
• 30p: a simple, smooth choice for vlogs and family video.
• 60p or 50p: smoother motion for kids, pets and sports, and the only way to slow things down later. The T8i has no frame rates higher than 60p, so the most you can slow footage is about 2x.

Pick one frame rate per project and stick with it. Clips that match are much easier to edit together.

File format, bit rate and memory cards

The T8i records video as .MP4 in either Standard IPB or Light IPB, in 4:2:0 8-bit color, with a bit rate of up to 120 Mbps. Bit rate is like the width of a garden hose: a wider hose carries more water, and a higher bit rate carries more picture information. Start with Standard IPB, and try Light IPB if your card is filling up faster than you would like.

The camera writes to SD, SDHC or SDXC UHS-I cards. The-Digital-Picture recommends buying plenty of capacity and multiple cards, and rotating them so you keep a backup set until your files are safely stored.

Shutter speed for video

Shutter speed is how long a little door stays open to let light in for each frame. For photos, a fast door freezes motion. For video, you usually want a little bit of natural blur so movement flows smoothly from frame to frame.

A simple starting point is to set your shutter speed to about double your frame rate:

Frame rate	Shutter speed to start with
24p or 25p	1/50
30p	1/60
50p or 60p	1/125

If your shutter is much faster than this, moving things can look jumpy and stuttery. If it is much slower, they can look smeared. Neither is a disaster. Each one teaches you what the shutter is doing, and you may even use those looks on purpose later.

Fixing brightness without touching the shutter

Once your shutter is set, control brightness with the other two settings. Aperture is like the pupil of your eye: a small f-number means a wide-open pupil and more light, and a big f-number means a smaller pupil and less light. ISO is like turning up the brightness on your phone screen: it helps in the dark, but too much adds grainy speckles.

The T8i has both a top dial and a rear dial, so you can control shutter speed and aperture separately. Its fastest shutter speed is 1/4000. On a very sunny day, you may find the picture is still too bright at 1/50 even with a low ISO and a big f-number. A neutral density filter, which works like sunglasses for your lens, is the usual answer there.

The T8i also has a histogram. Think of it as a hill: if the hill is piled up hard against the right edge, parts of your picture are too bright to recover.

Focus: let Dual Pixel AF do the work

Dual Pixel AF is the T8i's strongest video feature, and it works in 1080p. Digital Camera World found it accurate, able to detect and track subjects with ease, and able to pull focus when you tap the screen without the forward-and-back judder of contrast AF. Digital Trends wrote that it makes shooting sharp videos a breeze.

Touch focus

Videomaker found Touch Focus works during both photo and video recording, and that a quick tap on the screen makes the camera smoothly grab focus on your subject. Cameralabs also used the touchscreen to confidently pull focus in 1080p. To move attention from one person to another during a clip, just tap the new person.

Face and eye detection

In live view, the autofocus uses 143 points that cover a broad area of the frame, with eye AF included. Videomaker found Eye AF kept tracking a person's eyes even when they were backlit or had glare on their glasses. The camera prioritizes the nearest eye, and you can switch between the left and right eye with the rear control dial.

For talking-to-camera videos, turn on face and eye detection and let the camera follow you. If focus wanders, it is often because something closer to the lens grabbed its attention. Move that object or step a little closer, and try again.

Manual focus with focus peaking

The T8i adds manual focus peaking, which the earlier T7i did not have. Focus peaking is like a highlighter pen that colors the sharp edges on your screen. Turn the focus ring until the color sits on your subject. It is handy in 4K, where the autofocus is weaker.

Keeping shots steady

The sensor is not stabilized inside the body. For handheld video, the T8i offers 5-Axis Movie Digital IS to reduce jittery shake. A lens with IS helps too; the T8i is sold in a kit with the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Lens. Holding the camera close to your body and walking slowly will also smooth things out.

Audio: microphone jack, no headphone jack

Good sound makes video feel more professional than almost any picture setting. The T8i has a microphone jack, so you can add an upgraded microphone for vlogs and other close-range audio. It does not have a headphone jack.

What it does have is audio meters on screen while you film, so you can check that your levels stay in an acceptable range. Think of the meters like a cup of water: you want it comfortably full, not empty and not spilling over the top.

• Keep the microphone close to the person speaking.
• Watch the meters while they talk at their normal volume.
• Record a short test clip and play it back before the real take.

If your first clip sounds hollow or crackly, that is a clue, not a mistake. Move the mic closer or lower the level and listen again.

A simple practice plan

Try three short clips on one afternoon. First, record yourself talking in 1080p at 24p or 30p with the shutter at about double the frame rate, face detection on and a microphone plugged in. Second, film something moving at 60p and slow it down in your editor. Third, try a 4K clip of something still on a tripod and compare how it looks and how wide the frame is.

Watching those three clips side by side teaches you more than any spec sheet. If you are also learning photo settings on a Canon, the beginner Canon settings guide covers the basics, and the Rebel T7 video settings guide is a good comparison if you are stepping up from that camera.