Magic Lantern 0.1.5 release
 

Release 0.1.5 of Magic Lantern is available from the wiki: Magic Lantern firmware download and Frequently asked questions.

New features:
* Config file (magiclantern.cfg) support
* Lens zoom and focus distance readouts
* Only re-writes the AK4646 registers when necessary to eliminate the 1 Hz clicks
* Power save disabling
* Preliminary HDMI support (overlays are not all in the right places)
* Auto-liveview can be disabled to support problematic cards
* Larger menu font
* Preliminary Sobel edge detection for "video peaking"

An instant "sticky" -- thanks Tramm,

I have been working with 0.1.5 now a bit, and you will find the new changes adding a lot of workability.

I love the larger menu script.... I can now take off the extra set of readers I had stacked on my nose.

A bit of a warning. Entering the menu to make changes has some bugs still, that Hudson is working on. You can get locked up, and have to shut down and reboot, especially if you make changes over and over. Use it sparingly.

You can avoid a lot of menu entry by setting your setting in the config file. Essentially, in addition to the firmware, Tramm provides a config file for you to make changes to. The firmware looks for it in the root of your CF card. You currently have change config settings on your computer, using a text editor like note pad. That config file will load the setup you think will fit your needs. Then if you have to change a parameter after the fact, do it in the menu system.

I find it truly amazing how far Trammel Hudson has taken this in just this first couple of week. And I can tell you he is hard at it.

As someone who just bought a 5DMkII, this is very exciting! I just have one trepidation; do we have an exit strategy for the ML firmware. Can I go back to the Canon firmware easily? Also, does installing the ML firmware instantly void the warranty? (probably yes, I'm sure)

Anyhoodle, thank you Tramm for the trailblazing work you are doing and the possibilities you are opening up! You must have a background in CS?

-Steve

Steve, ML runs from the CF card, once you take the card out then there's no trace of it left in the camera. You can exit ML easily by powering the camera down. Turning it back on won't reload ML -- you'll have to go to Menu > Settings 3 > Firmware Ver. > Update in order to load it again. So you could actually have ML sitting on the memory card and operate the camera normally without it if you choose.

Hmm, great! So there is no overwriting of the Canon firmware at all? Thanks Chris!

I've played around with ML a little bit tonight and had no problem bouncing back and forth between it and the Canon ver. 1.1.0 firmware.

Magic Lantern doesn't overwrite the Canon firmware; instead it runs alongside it. For more info see http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ

One thing that isn't clear in that FAQ is how to get into the ML setup menu. I found it by pressing the Picture Styles button... use
the joystick to navigate the menu items and the Set button to select. Picture Styles button again to exit the ML setup menu.

That's almost true. :) Remove the battery to completely remove the ML firmware from RAM. But the idea is right. Magic Lantern doesn't touch the flash memory where the Canon firmware is stored.

Audio gain wrong in first recording
 

I just did some testing and found that the first recording will have the wrong audio gain. It's an easy enough work around. Each time you launch the ML firmware, do a quick throw-away recording before you do any keeper takes. This is only required if you're recording audio, of course.

Have been following the progress on ML ever since I heard about it. Wonderful work done by Tramm. This may be asking too much but was just wondering if a fully functional ML will be round the corner soon? And will the ML be a firmware upgrade or as it is now, running off the Canon firmware?

As a hobbyist and a noob videographer, I am very interested in the ability of ML to disable the AGC so I can use an external preamp like Juicedlink which I understand the off switch is built into 0.1.4 ML firmware (Just don't like the sound quality recorded into the 5D2 with the stock mic). Can I just use this function (disabling AGC) alone leaving everything else as is in the Canon firmware without crashing? I am doubtful though as I am reading here, there are still a lot of bugs Tramm has to sort out for the other additional functions built into the ML. Thanks.

Alex

That was a rather large oversight in the FAQ. I've updated it and added it to the instructions on the download page.

Are you trying with the official 0.1.5 release or the -rc2 from yesterday? I think this has been fixed in the release and the first 1 second of audio will be bad on the first take, but it will be switched to the correct settings after that point.

I forgot to mention two new features:

# CMOS temperature readout (maybe; not certain of units)
# Semi-Transparent zebra stripes

I thought I would give the new ML a try. Everything works ok. So far no lock up. But what I notice is that the CF card and the area around the CF card compartment gets quite warm. I shut down and pulled the CF card out and it felt warm as well. I don't get this under normal use. Is this normal or something is up? I am using Sandisk Ultra II 1.0GB.

I'll do a clean test tonight. I downloaded the firmware minutes before doing the test, and it had the large font, so I'm pretty sure that I did things correctly.

If I get the same behavior, I'll let you know exactly what I had in the config file and the order of events leading up to the test...

I think I am going to make the plunge!!

This project sounds exciting and thanks for your efforts.

One question:

Is there any hope/possibility of ever getting a clean full resolution signal sent live out of the HDMI port?

I am guessing you are talking about live capture, with a card. So far, what I have seen coming of the camera doesn't seem like a full resolution HD through the HDMI port during capture, whether or not it is in proper aspect ratio. Of course, so far I have only viewed on a 19inch Dynex from Best Buy, and haven't tried it direct to my better HD monitors.... I will give it a look tonight.

Right now the feed is not full resolution but just asking if the M.L. can address this or is Canon the only hope.

In general, Tramm can affect the control of the hardware and the overlays, but he can't change the processing of the video path. At least not yet.

It's possible that there is a bit that could be twiddled to stop the HDMI output from resizing to 480i, but that could be risky. My guess is that Canon downgrades the output to give the processing power to the h.264 encoder. Maybe they restricted the resolution to fight a heat problem.

In any case, Canon chose to downgrade the HDMI output during recording for a reason, and it's not just to keep people from recording uncompressed video from the sensor. We can do that by simply not pressing the record button. (To remove the focus box, enable face detection, or push it out of the way and record roughly 2:1 aspect video.)

This is same conclusion I came to, after just running some more testing just minutes ago.

I Magic Lantern, there is a fairly clean HD signal before hitting record, and if you clear the screen you may get what you are looking for. Though I am not sure what aspect ratio you will actually get.

If it can be done, Tramm will do it though.

My thoughts were towards not recording with the 5D but recording to a Nano Flash.

If it is possible to output a full resolution feed at all then this would be a great alternative.

This method would not need to have the 5D recording, so is there a chance this could work without another firmware update?

Sorry, I own the camera for stills but have not had the time to try any video with it.

Thanks

Tim:

Like everyone else, you will be doing firsts here, if you can get it going. All you will need:

1. I assume you have the Nano.

2. A mini HDMI to standard HDMI cable

3. A copy of latest Magic Lantern firmware, 0.1.5, and learn how to load it.


You could set camera up the way you want it in the config file. I would leave of zebras and crop. Crop doesn't quite mark right on HDMI out at this point anyway.

You have to set up Live View to videon and Still, and be sure to select the movie view over exposure simulation. Other wise you will have auto on.

If you need help with getting it going, PM me, and I will try to help.

Hello Chris,

Thanks for your interest.

I have a Nano on order. Don't know when I will get it, but it should be in a few weeks.

So I can not test this yet but I wanted to see if it was worth pursuing.

Sounds like it is.

Right now, is the HDMI video signal full resolution, uncompressed sent live out of the camera?

The M.L. update can turn the screen graphics off but the full video image does not get sent out? Is this correct?

I will be happy to forge new territory when the Nano arrives!

Tim,

The HDMI stuff is a bit off topic, but here goes:
* The HDMI output generally reflects the image on the LCD display.
* Playback from the card is 1080 widescreen
* When not recording or playing back, the output mirrors the LCD, which is 4x3, so you get a cropped pillar box display. That means that the output is not full width 1920. It scales down by throwing away lines and pixels, so the aliasing is really bad. It is uncompressed though, so you don't get block artifacts, but the aliasing kills it for me.
* The focus box blocks the image, but you can push it out of the way and get a clear 2:1 image or so. You can definitely get 2.35:1 unobstructed. I hear that if you turn face detection on, it removes the box.

Since this is a sticky for 0.1.5 firmware, any questions about current HDMI operation should be on another thread, rather than this one.

Tramm,

I've confirmed that the audio gain is incorrect on the first take. The gain is correct on the following takes. Also, the first second or so of all the takes gets a quick blast.

As mentioned earlier, when capturing audio, just do a quick dummy take after loading the firmware, then do your real takes. You can see when the audio settles down on the audio level monitor.

I believe based on code, but have not been able to verify, that the output is only 960x540. This may be incorrect with the HDMI output and I plan to run some extensive tests this weekend to determine the resolution.

Thanks.

Tramm, I sent you an e-mail to take the conversation off of this thread.

Installed it...worked a treat. VERY impressed!

Philip Bloom Blog Archive Magic Lantern 5dmkII firmware. Brings loads of great features to the camera

magiclantern.cfg
 

What is the value in the .cfg file to have Zebra's enabled? 0= not enabled does 1=enabled? Would be nice to have a FAQ on the settings values for the .cfg file or better yet #more descriptors for the possible values in the cfg file.

# Zebra levels
# Zebra draw = 0 off 1= on
# Zebra.level = 61440 default more transparent = ?????
zebra.level = 61440
zebra.draw = 0



Default .cfg file below:


# Zebra levels
zebra.level = 61440
zebra.draw = 0

# Edge detection (too slow for real use)
edge.draw = 0

# Crop marks for 2.35:1
crop.draw = 1

# Audio data
# mgain is according to this table:
# 0 == +0 dB
# 1 == +20 dB
# 2 == +26 dB
# 3 == +32 dB
# 4 == +10 dB
# 5 == +17 dB
# 6 == +23 dB
# 7 == +29 dB
audio.mgain = 4
# dgain is in dB.
audio.dgain = 12 # dB
# mic-power is boolean. Turn it on if you are using an electret mic
audio.mic-power = 0

# Enable liveview automatically?
# Turn this off if your card has trouble booting or
# with HDMI output connected at boot time. You will need
# to hit the Live-View button in a few seconds after booting
enable-liveview = 1

# Disable the powersave so that the LiveView never shuts off?
# WARNING -- this can cause problems with your sensor!
# DO NOT LEAVE THE CAMERA ON CONTINUOUSLY.
disable-powersave = 1

Correct. 1 is enabled and 0 disabled for all binary values.

very basic question
 

I am completely new to video, being a still photographer who bought the 5D II as an upgrade to the original 5D. But I have fallen in love with the video footage and started using it for family videos (i.e complete amateur here). Because of the camera noises recorded on the internal mic, I bought the Rode Videomic external mic, but it gives me a lot of extra background noise (between a hum and a hiss) which I understand is caused by the automatic gain control, right? I know nothing about sound editing, I would just like to get noise-free or less-noise sound with my videos. So my question is, if I use the Magic Lantern software and don't adjust any settings, will that be likely to get rid of some of this noise? In other words, I understand it turns off the automatic gain at the default settings, right?

You want Magic Lantern and an active preamp with gain - or an external recorder...
5. Canon 5D Mark II Audio Exposed - Noise on Vimeo

but
 

Hi Jon, thanks for your response. And yes, I know that is ideally what I want, but I want a lot of things I can't afford! If I do more video I may eventually be able to buy more equipment, but right now that is not in the cards. So what I am asking is if Magic Lantern will be of any use to me, with my limited budget and the equipment I now have and can afford, which is this one external mic.

Bob,

Magic Lantern will benefit you even if you are just using the Rode Videomic directly into the camera. You can still set the audio levels manually and avoid excessive noise. The levels you record may be on the low side but will be cleaner than you are getting now. Set the camera to an analogue gain of around 17 and then do the rest digitally.

Dan

great
 

Thanks very much Dan, that's what I was hoping to hear.

And thanks so much to Tramm, Jon, Chris, and everyone else who has worked on this great addition to the camera.

im also curious how the results of a mic plugged directly into the camera are.. is it possible to get a cleanish signal?? is the main disadvantage a lack of dynamic range? or just a low signal to noise ratio?

cheers

Just tried the Magic Lantern for the first time and once I got the settings on screen I couldn't scroll down to alter any values, OR get rid of them once they were on there. Then the liveview disappeared until I hit the autofocus button. The cinemascope lines were also flickering which I don't think is normal

Tried a few times and switched off the cam and took out the battery each time.

Shame, I was looking forward to having a play with it.

Avey

Wayne. These issues are on list of fixes. The best way to set your camera up is use the config file, changing setting before hand on your CF card, using a text editor. This avoids menu, that some are having trouble with.

As far as using Menu, while I haven't confirmed it, I think I have trouble sometimes because I turn my on switch on to the second level, which I think is a lock position for some selections. Try turning on to the first level of "on" to see if that makes a difference.

Menu scrolling is done with the toggle switch. Up and down to go to the menu selecttion. Depress it or the set button to select.

I can usually clear the menu screen by hitting the Menu button a couple of times, or alternating between it and the Picture style. Info button will also help clear some time.
Tramm reports that using the magnify button will clear it eventually.

Multiple use of the menu will be an issue too. Tramm believes it may be a memory leak.

Don't let these issues dissuade you. You are in for a treat with the benefits...

Remeber we are Beta testers, and we can expect to run into these issues in the early development.

Again, I heartily recommend setting up by config file, if the menu issues put you off.

Cheers Chris! Helpful as ever mate.

I'll have another play later today

Avey

Anyone having success with the latest ML firmware and after market battery? It's not working for me..

When the firmware reboots the camera, the battery prompt message comes up.. I would say "OK" and go to the live view screen. However, the top quick dial will not work.. Nor would the picture style button enable the ML menu.. I'm using Phottix batteries..