Still trying to bypass the Canon 7D in cam compression and get to the wonderful Nano options.

Has anyone tried taking the HDMI out of the 7D and going into an HDMI to HD-SDI converter to then input to the Nano (or XDR for that matter)?

The HDMI output from the 7D is supposedly not a full 1080 ... so I was wondering if the HD-SDI converter would up-convert the wierd 7D signal to something that the Nano would work with.

This has been discussed on other 7D boards ad nauseum - suffice to say NO it isn't possible without a firmware fix from Canon and that ain't happening any time soon.

In a nutshell, the HDMI output is cluttered with on screen data which would be recorded by the Nano Flash and render all footage useless.

Is not possible and I don't think will ever be.
Manufactures are not interesting in merging the SLR and Video markets.
They've already saw the demand of big captors for video and they have started to address this demand.
Sure that Canon will release something similar to the PANASONIC af-100 or the SONY-35mm.
Is not a matter of HDMI or SDI, is about the future of the industry.
rafael

Why should this be impossible? Screen data is not there from the beginning, it is an added layer to the picture. If someone hacks the software, he might disable this layer function. I think the 7d is powerful enough to suprise us with miracles once it has been hacked :)

It's not just removing the data (which is as little as the record light and the focus box), it's about the limited output on the monitor. The camera's processor is being taxed mightily to do what its doing now, and generating a real-time full 1080 output is not a "free" process, so it is dubious whether the camera is capable of it. We'll have to see.

HDMI to HD-SDI conversion doesn't affect the image quality or perform any magic bullets. It's simply a more robust and reliable way to monitor the image. If you were to pass the same signal into the Nano via HDMI and then via SDI converter into the SDI port on the Nano, the two clips should be all but identical.

OK, in almost direct contradiction to my earlier post I must confess that there is ONE way to output without the on screen data mess.

If you don't record on the 7D itself, you won't get a red dot in the upper right corner. If you turn on the face detection circuit you will not get the center white focus box, so now you can (theoretically) external record the images without graphic goo. The problem at this point is that the output is not a true 1920x1080 signal (I've read a few times what the actual dimensions are but can't recall them exactly right now) so it's unknown to me as I haven't tried to record a non-standard image size to a Nano Flash what would happen at this point.

Oh, one last thing, if any human body appears in your picture the face recognition red box appears over their faces to spoil the whole scenario yet again. Will work for shots of the Grand Canyon or other pure nature shots though.

Everyone is waiting for the gurus at Magic Lantern to firmware fix this, and waiting and waiting . . .

Why should this be impossible? Screen data is not there from the beginning, it is an added layer to the picture. If someone hacks the software, he might disable this layer function. I think the 7d is powerful enough to suprise us with miracles once it has been hacked :)
Sorry, I haven't say the word "impossible".
Probably is as easy as a Firmware update.
But they don't gonna release such update.
The manufactures don't gonna let you record a full quality signal out of the HDMI, because they also make professional video cameras; and they prefer you to expend 7K than 3K.
As you can see Canon have been very careful to protect the HDMI out.
rafael

Hi DSLR to Video Shooters:
Yup, I always find it nauseating to see a company like Canon (And I like Canon products) deliberately engineer a block to deliberately degrade the video signal of their DSLR's video output, so they can force you to go buy more products.! It's 11th century thinking all over again ! The higher the castle wall, the greater the invitation for someone to attack it. Something designed by a French military engineer called a *Tribuchet* took care of that limitation. The sooner some hacker does an end run around this limitation the better :-)

I have read somewhere that the limitation on the HDMI signal out has something to do with some countries' VAT (Value Added Tax). If the HDMI was full 1080 it would require a very high VAT monetary price rather than a Canon desire.

Not knowing the specifics I could certainly be wrong though.

And the genius at Magic Lattern appears to be a single individual working on firmware improvements appears to be a marvelous guy working on it as a hobby. I also remember reading somewhere that Canon even gave it's blessing to his firmware because it makes no permanent modification to the 5DMII. Magic Lantern's firmware must reload each time the camera is turned on and thus Canon approved.

I truly wished Magic Lantern would provide a firmware for more friendly video use of the 7D. There is a method of donation to his work.