Magic Lantern for T2i/550D - Feature Set And User Manual

[Luke Gates]

Nobodys camera is being/getting damaged!!!

[Russ Ivey]

Alright, since Luke was to the point in his last reply, I went ahead and loaded ML on the camera. It's pretty cool, I have to say. I do have another question now that I've been playing around with it. I have been reading that the ML program isn't really loaded on the camera, but it's on the SD card. Is this really true, because you update the firmware in the camera with the magic lantern file, then you DELETE the ML file off of the card. Well, if it's deleted off of the card, isn't it loaded in the camera's firmware? I mean, ML wouldn't run if the file was removed from the SD card without having effectively changed something on the camera itself. I was just wondering about that.

Also, just to be sure I understand, if I ever want to remove ML I just format the SD card and that's it? I don't need to do another firmware update on the camera? Thanks everyone for your help on this. I just want to make sure I have covered all of my bases.

[Gianni Paolella]

Is the same thing I don't understand

[Gianni Paolella]

Dear , it's the same doubt I have, because I'm ready to install the ML but I did not understand,one if is only on the Card and not on the camera and second what I have to do if i want uninstaller the ML because I have to give the camera to the Canon assistance.
Finally with magic latern if I put one HDMI external monitor I don't understan if I have the signal or not and the same for the external mic.

[Steve Boutin]

There is a forum for that will answer all of these questions, and explain in detail via videos how to install, and uninstall Magic Lantern. Magic Lantern User Group on Vimeo What ever you do, don't delete ML from the card and put it back into the T2i. It will go into a loop, and then could ruin you camera.. TAKE OUT BATTERY IMMEDIATLY!! Card must be made unbootable first.

Something I discovered from sifting through all of the info there, which was more exciting to me than Magic Lantern itself, was that when you use the manual lenses (vintage ebay lenses etc.), to see what you are actually shooting (wysiwyg) just press the +-AV button, and move the wheel back, and forth, a couple times, and you're good to go! This might be a Canon firmware bug according to Alex the programmer for Magic Lantern.

Then again, maybe this is something everybody already knew except me :) wouldn't be the first time.

[James Donnelly]

Hi,

Been using ML without problems for a while now. Progress is very fast at the moment. Loving the peaking filter, and external monitor issues are being worked through.

So currently have zebras, cropmarks and peaking filters, and it seems we might be getting false colours and picture in picture focus assist overlay.

With all this, do people feel this slightly lessens the need to invest in top a quality field monitor?

Thoughts?

James

[Chris Barcellos]

I have been using Magic Lantern for the 5D since its inception, and was one of the early testers working with the Trammel's initial builds. More recently, I have been shadowing, and doing some testing of the builds as Alex and other out put them. I am also testing AJ Newman's fabulous build off the 5D side, which is providing great new features like magnified focus assist, and false colors, as well as a neat interface on the camera LCD.

Alex, and other on the 550D/T2i side, are currently working on the monitor issues. Essentially, the overlay for a lot of the features like zebras, do not output to a monitor. As a result, you get a confused and jumble monitor screen, and attempts are being made to see if that can be overcome. Trammel Hudson had taken a brief run at it on the 5D side in the past year, but was not successful, though, to be fair, he was probably not able to put a lot of time in it.

At this point, those of you that are concerned about safety, I can report I have not bricked a camera yet. But I am not saying it can't possibly happen, but thus far, I have been confident that the builds are relatively safe. But there seem to be some misunderstandings here that potential users need to understand

1. Magic Lantern rides piggy back on your current firmware. It is firmware version specific, so you need to be sure your camera has the current firmware version.

2. You install magic lantern using your media chip. It must remain on the chip to be called each time the camera starts up. The chip, has to be boot enabled to automatcally boot Magic Lantern when you start the camera. There are instructions for doing that. The card must have the various files on it that come in the package. These will reside in the root directory of your card. You should not mess with them, except that in successive updates, you can just overwrite them with newer version. In latest versions there is also a directory on the card called "cropmks" which contains the various cropmark choices. (Note, you can actually run some Magic Lantern builds by calling for a firmware update each time you start the camera, as long as the firmware is on the card. Because Trammel Hudson experienced what he believed was a limitation on the amount of firmware updates allowed on his 7D, the continual firmware updates on other cameras are not currently considered smart, so the autoboot methods were designed for that reason, as well as for convenience.)

3. If you don't want to run Magic Lantern for a particular project, use a chip that it is not installed on. I have two chips dedicated to Magic Lantern, and serveral not. I am using Class 10 chips for Magic Lantern to take advantage of the increased bit rates it is promising.

4. If your camera locks up, goes dark, or does seem to be working properly while using magic lantern, usually, shutting down, and removing the battery, then reinserting it, will work to get it going. If that doesn't work, then removing the card, and start the camera without a card in the slot to resolve the start failure. Use another card without Magic Lantern to confirm camera is operating properly.

5. You should remember this is all experimental. I am willing to risk by cameras to be able to employ the advanced features that are offered, and that risk is worth it to me. If you are satisfied to work within the limitations of the stock camera, do not mess with it.

[Russ Ivey]

Thank you very much Chris for that, in depth reply. It makes me feel a lot better about this and I look forward to working with it. I certainly hope they fix the issue where every time you turn the camera on, you have to readjust the settings in ML back to the way you had it before. That gets to be a pain in the neck.

[John Vincent]

Ditto - Thanks for that post Chris...

[Colin Rowe]

Originally Posted by Russ Ivey

I certainly hope they fix the issue where every time you turn the camera on, you have to readjust the settings in ML back to the way you had it before. That gets to be a pain in the neck.

To have your camera start with your desired settings each time you turn it on, open the ML menu, go to Debug>Save config and press set.
Do the above each time you change any setting in the ML menu, and you want those settings to open as default.

[Colin Rowe]

[QUOTE=Steve Boutin;1609636

Something I discovered from sifting through all of the info there, which was more exciting to me than Magic Lantern itself, was that when you use the manual lenses (vintage ebay lenses etc.), to see what you are actually shooting (wysiwyg) just press the +-AV button, and move the wheel back, and forth, a couple times, and you're good to go! This might be a Canon firmware bug according to Alex the programmer for Magic Lantern.

Then again, maybe this is something everybody already knew except me :) wouldn't be the first time.[/QUOTE]

Steve, I dont understand what you mean by this. You get the same view through the screen (wysiwyg) when using old manual focus lenses as you do using chipped, modern lenses. The only difference is you have to press the record button to get the view up on the screen. It has always been like this.
Cheers.

[Chris Barcellos]

As stated above, you can save config, and it will return the ame settings to you on start back up. Trick is that the config file that it writes to is on the chip you have in your camera at that time. If you want to use another card, you have to transfer that file to the new card to have it start up that way. Also, as the various new features have been added, some of the features with setting may not have been added to the save config write command, and those are bugs that should be reported for fixes.

[Russ Ivey]

Originally Posted by Colin Rowe

To have your camera start with your desired settings each time you turn it on, open the ML menu, go to Debug>Save config and press set.
Do the above each time you change any setting in the ML menu, and you want those settings to open as default.

Oh, outstanding Colin!!! Thank you so much for that!!

[Steve Boutin]

[QUOTE=Colin Rowe;1609998]Steve, I dont understand what you mean by this. You get the same view through the screen (wysiwyg) when using old manual focus lenses ....QUOTE]

It may not be the same on all 550-T2i Camera's. I had one of the first T2i's to come out. Anyway, when ever I would use, for example, a Nikon lens with a Nikon to Canon converter, I would always have to frame my shot with the aperture wide open then step it down to take the actual shot because LiveView was always much darker than the actual exposure. However, when in Movie mode, it worked fine..what I saw on the LCD was exactly how the picture would turn out. I didn't want to shoot still pics in Movie mode though.

The +/- AV button didn't do anything (for obvous reasons) on manual lenses. There was a discussion about this on the Magic Lantern site, and Alex replied that what you have to do to fix this is to jog the thumb wheel back, and forth a couple of times while pressing the +/-AV button, and said that he thinks it is a Canon firmware bug.
Anyway, I put on an old Super Takumar manual lens, put the camera in manual mode, and turned on LiveView, and the LCD was too dark to see anything as usual. So I did what Alex said to do, and instantly the LCD lit up like it was Christmas ,and it works perfectly now.. What I See Is What I Get.

The thread is here. About 3/4 of the way down on the page. http://groups.google.com/group/ml-de...cfb2f63e2ab13c

[Joel Peregrine]

Thanks Chris!

One issue I've been having - no matter what version of ML I install - right up to the most recent - I get no kelvin adjustment and no iso options. I've installed and reinstalled many times and those new features are never in the menu.

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

I have been using Magic Lantern for the 5D since its inception, and was one of the early testers working with the Trammel's initial builds. More recently, I have been shadowing, and doing some testing of the builds as Alex and other out put them. I am also testing AJ Newman's fabulous build off the 5D side, which is providing great new features like magnified focus assist, and false colors, as well as a neat interface on the camera LCD.

Alex, and other on the 550D/T2i side, are currently working on the monitor issues. Essentially, the overlay for a lot of the features like zebras, do not output to a monitor. As a result, you get a confused and jumble monitor screen, and attempts are being made to see if that can be overcome. Trammel Hudson had taken a brief run at it on the 5D side in the past year, but was not successful, though, to be fair, he was probably not able to put a lot of time in it.

At this point, those of you that are concerned about safety, I can report I have not bricked a camera yet. But I am not saying it can't possibly happen, but thus far, I have been confident that the builds are relatively safe. But there seem to be some misunderstandings here that potential users need to understand

1. Magic Lantern rides piggy back on your current firmware. It is firmware version specific, so you need to be sure your camera has the current firmware version.

2. You install magic lantern using your media chip. It must remain on the chip to be called each time the camera starts up. The chip, has to be boot enabled to automatcally boot Magic Lantern when you start the camera. There are instructions for doing that. The card must have the various files on it that come in the package. These will reside in the root directory of your card. You should not mess with them, except that in successive updates, you can just overwrite them with newer version. In latest versions there is also a directory on the card called "cropmks" which contains the various cropmark choices. (Note, you can actually run some Magic Lantern builds by calling for a firmware update each time you start the camera, as long as the firmware is on the card. Because Trammel Hudson experienced what he believed was a limitation on the amount of firmware updates allowed on his 7D, the continual firmware updates on other cameras are not currently considered smart, so the autoboot methods were designed for that reason, as well as for convenience.)

3. If you don't want to run Magic Lantern for a particular project, use a chip that it is not installed on. I have two chips dedicated to Magic Lantern, and serveral not. I am using Class 10 chips for Magic Lantern to take advantage of the increased bit rates it is promising.

4. If your camera locks up, goes dark, or does seem to be working properly while using magic lantern, usually, shutting down, and removing the battery, then reinserting it, will work to get it going. If that doesn't work, then removing the card, and start the camera without a card in the slot to resolve the start failure. Use another card without Magic Lantern to confirm camera is operating properly.

5. You should remember this is all experimental. I am willing to risk by cameras to be able to employ the advanced features that are offered, and that risk is worth it to me. If you are satisfied to work within the limitations of the stock camera, do not mess with it.