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Camera and Format Data Rate Calculator

Camera and finishing-format data affect media, transfers, backups, and the final archive. Select a camera or format, then enter the expected recording volume or program runtime. For camera originals, use capture hours, not the length of the workday.

The calculator covers production cameras from ARRI, Sony, RED, Blackmagic Design, Canon, DJI, Nikon, Fujifilm, GoPro, and Apple. ProRes, DPX, TIFF, and EXR are separate format choices. Each supports common finishing and camera rasters or a custom resolution. Use Manual data rate when the exact combination is not listed.

Published rate
Source
Data rate
Per recorded minute
Per recorded hour
Recording time on selected media
Camera originals per day
OCM Total
OCM Total with Headroom
Three-copy storage footprint

Plan from the upper number

Variable-quality RAW and scene-dependent codecs do not have one fixed data rate. Plan from the upper number until a representative camera test establishes a safe working average. For compressed OpenEXR, replace the initial ratio with one measured from representative frames. The camera's own media-time estimate remains the final check before photography.

Use the estimate

  1. Select the exact camera mode or format, resolution, and frame rate.
  2. For camera originals, estimate how many hours each camera will record per day. For a finished sequence, enter the program runtime.
  3. Add each camera setting or program format separately.
  4. Use the headroom result to budget active storage and the three-copy result to plan protection.
  5. Test the complete offload and checksum process before photography or delivery.

A camera-mode result estimates picture-original media only. Production audio, stills, reports, editorial proxies, dailies, VFX plates, renders, project files, and deliverables require additional storage. A finishing-format result covers one image sequence or movie stream for the entered runtime.

How the figures are calculated

The calculator uses decimal storage units, the same convention commonly used by drive and camera media manufacturers:

MB/s = Mb/s ÷ 8
GB/min = MB/s × 60 ÷ 1,000
GB/hour = MB/s × 3,600 ÷ 1,000

Rates labeled Published rate, Published target rate, Published maximum rate, or Published minimum estimate come from manufacturer documentation. Derived rates use a published media capacity and record time. A Derived planning range scales a codec developer's published codec bounds to the selected raster and frame rate. Manufacturer planning estimate identifies a rate that can change with image content or camera implementation. ProRes rates are targets rather than byte-exact promises. Variable-quality Blackmagic RAW modes report the manufacturer's published range.

The GFX ETERNA 55 external ProRes RAW entries are planning ranges. Apple places ProRes RAW between ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 HQ, and ProRes RAW HQ between ProRes 422 HQ and ProRes 4444. The calculator scales those target-rate bounds to 8192 x 4320 at the selected frame rate.1

Frame-rate scaling is appropriate for formats whose data use rises with frames recorded. A mode with a fixed published bitrate does not scale. Camera firmware, licensed options, sensor crops, media, and thermal limits can restrict the combinations available. Coverage and sources were checked 30 August 2026.

The ProRes estimates scale Apple's published 1920 x 1080 target rates by pixel count and frame rate. DPX and uncompressed TIFF estimates calculate the pixel payload. Headers, line padding, metadata, and filesystem overhead add a small amount.2

OpenEXR defaults to 16-bit floating-point RGB. Compression changes with the image, channel count, tile or scanline structure, and encoder settings. Use the initial ratio only for planning, then replace it with a ratio measured from representative frames. The current compression choices are None, RLE, ZIPS, ZIP, PIZ, PXR24, B44, B44A, DWAA, DWAB, HTJ2K32, and HTJ2K256.2

OpenEXR method Initial ratio Basis
RLE 1.5:1 Midpoint of OpenEXR's 60–75% photographic-image guidance
ZIP 2:1 Near the conservative end of OpenEXR's 45–55% guidance
PIZ 2.2:1 Near the conservative end of OpenEXR's 35–55% guidance
B44 2.286:1 Fixed 32-byte to 14-byte HALF block mapping
ZIPS, PXR24, B44A, DWA, HTJ2K Editable estimate Replace with a measured result from the intended encoder and images

Coverage

  • ARRI: ALEXA 35, ALEXA 35 Xtreme, ALEXA Mini, ALEXA Mini LF, and ALEXA 265
  • Sony: VENICE, VENICE 2, BURANO, and FX6
  • RED: V-RAPTOR [X], V-RAPTOR XL [X], and KOMODO-X
  • Blackmagic Design: URSA Cine 17K 65, URSA Cine 12K LF, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K, and Cinema Camera 6K
  • Canon: EOS C400 and EOS C80
  • DJI: Ronin 4D 8K and 6K
  • Nikon: ZR
  • Fujifilm: GFX ETERNA 55
  • GoPro: HERO13 Black
  • Apple: iPhone HEVC and iPhone ProRes recording through Final Cut Camera
  • ProRes: ProRes 422 Proxy through ProRes 4444 XQ
  • DPX: packed 10-bit and 16-bit RGB
  • TIFF: uncompressed 8-bit RGB, 16-bit RGB, and 16-bit RGBA
  • EXR: 16-bit floating-point RGB OpenEXR with every current compression method

  1. ARRI, “Formats and Data Rate Calculator”, ALEXA Mini User Manual, SUP 6.1, and ALEXA Mini LF User Manual, SUP 6.0. Sony, X-OCN White Paper, “BURANO Digital Cinema Camera with 8K Sensor,”, and “FX6 Recording Formats.” RED Digital Cinema, “V-RAPTOR R3D Quality” and “KOMODO-X R3D Quality.” Blackmagic Design, “URSA Cine Technical Specifications” and “PYXIS Technical Specifications.” Canon, EOS C400 Full Specifications and EOS C80 Instruction Manual. DJI, DJI Ronin 4D User Manual. Nikon, ZR Reference Guide, pp. 236–38. Fujifilm, GFX ETERNA 55 Technical Guide: White Paper, pp. 6–7, 24–25. Atomos, “GFX ETERNA 55.” Apple, Apple ProRes RAW, pp. 6–7. GoPro, “HERO13 Black.” Apple, “Set the Video Format in Final Cut Camera.” ↩

  2. Apple, Apple ProRes, pp. 10, 19–21. SMPTE, ST 268-1:2014. RFC Editor, RFC 2302. OpenEXR Project, “Data Compression.” ↩↩