Decoding camera tech: Video resolution

They say you can have too much of a good thing. Clearly, whoever coined the phrase never tried to crop a 9:16 vertical social media clip from 16:9 widescreen footage.

When it comes to video resolution, the rules of moderation rarely apply. Once you’re in the edit, you can never have too many pixels – only too little storage and RAM. Both the Canon EOS R50 V and PowerShot V1 offer 4K UHD recording, for example, giving you four times as many pixels as Full HD (1080p) for a more detailed image. Canon's camera range also includes models capable of recording at resolutions higher than 4K, including the EOS R6 V, which lets you shoot video in up to 7K.

If you only output your YouTube videos and social media clips at 4K or Full HD, then it might seem unnecessary to shoot at a higher resolution. Wasteful, even. After all, higher res footage eats up storage and increases the time it takes to transfer and process videos.

What it does give you, however, is incredible flexibility when you’re editing your content. Being able to crop a 4K or Full HD frame from a 7K shot gives room to reframe in post without sacrificing quality. You can create tighter shots from a single camera position, or digitally zoom or pan across a wider view. It also makes it easier to apply digital image stabilisation to handheld footage.

Open Gate recording takes this to the next level. Available on the Canon EOS R6 V and other selected Canon cameras, Open Gate recording captures the sensor's full 3:2 area instead of cropping it to a preselected aspect ratio such as 16:9.

Not only does this give even more freedom to reframe shots, it lets you crop multiple aspect ratios from a single clip while making the most of the sensor's resolution. You can make a 16:9 widescreen crop and a 9:16 vertical crop from the same take, without compromising the cinematic look of your footage.

Being able to cover vertical and horizontal edits without having to change the orientation of the camera is a huge time-saver, especially when you're capturing unrepeatable events or shooting in locations that are too difficult or too expensive to return to.

It's a real advantage for Reels and Shorts, says filmmaker Daniel Ernst, whose cinematic documentary-style videos are often shot in wild and remote locations. "People want to view vertical content on social media, but I don't like to shoot vertical. So, it's great to have the option now to shoot horizontal and then just crop."

Daniel also takes advantage of Open Gate creatively in his output. "If you have a scene that's been shot with the camera locked off on a tripod, then you can add some movement to the mix in post," he says. "There's so much video information at the top and bottom that you can effectively tilt the camera up or down even though it's a stationary shot. You can zoom out more and move to the left or right, so that's a big benefit for my work."

That's a useful trick for solo creators: by adding subtle camera moves or cutting to a tighter or wider shot in post, a static shot becomes more dynamic. That additional image area is almost like having a second camera angle available long after a shoot has finished, making one locked-off shot work much harder for you.

As well as the creative opportunities that come from using 6K, 7K or even 8K video in a 4K workflow, recording at a higher resolution can also produce better-looking 4K than footage shot natively in 4K.

This is thanks to a process called oversampling, a feature that's built into many Canon cameras – including the EOS R6 V and EOS R50 V. The camera starts with a higher resolution image than the final recording, then uses that extra image data to produce the lower resolution final output. Think of it as shrinking a larger, more detailed image into a smaller one. The result is more clarity, with reduced noise and moiré.

To activate oversampling in Canon EOS R System cameras that support it, simply choose the Fine or HQ (High Quality) option listed under movie recording size (Movie Rec. Size).

One of the drawbacks of shooting video at higher resolution is that it places more pressure on a camera's processor, especially if you're shooting RAW. But the EOS R6 V and some professional Canon cameras are equipped with active cooling to help regulate heat generated during demanding tasks like recording 7K RAW Open Gate.

Storage and file management is another consideration when working with higher res content. With its dual card slots, the EOS R6 V can be set up to save your master high-res files to one card and lower res proxies to the other.

Editing with proxy files lets you to get to work much more quickly. Because they are much smaller, proxies are easier to upload and transfer between drives while keeping the original high-res footage stored safely until it's needed.

That doesn't mean you should always shoot at the highest possible resolution. If you're filming an all-day event or travelling with limited storage, then standard 4K is a practical choice that still delivers excellent image quality.

When Daniel Ernst used the EOS C50 in Patagonia – a camera with similar 7K Open Gate recording capabilities to the EOS R6 V – he reserved 7K for key shots. "Other than that, I shot everything in 4K," he says. "I had to keep an eye on storage. We were hiking and I had to carry all my equipment, including a tent, gas stove and food, so I didn't bring my laptop."

Ultimately, shooting at higher resolution isn't just about capturing more pixels. It's about giving yourself more creative options in the edit, whether that's reframing a shot, delivering multiple formats from a single take or maximising quality through oversampling. When you don’t need that flexibility, it's easy to switch to 4K for a lighter workflow.