Magic Lantern increases Canon EOS 5D Mark III dynamic range

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<p>Magic Lantern has long been a fan favourite to “unleash” the features of Canon cameras we wish they had. Lately this has included pushing what we can get out of the sensor.</p>
<p>As reported on Planet 5D:</p>
<p>“Tests have been done by ‘Marsu42’ of CanonRumors, which show numbers of up to 15 stops of DR when using this feature combined with the ‘dual_iso’ module that Magic Lantern already includes in their nightly builds.”</p>
<p>Marsu42 said:</p>
<p>This means that for example on 5d3, iso 800 with ML has more dynamic range than iso 100 with Canon :-> … and at high iso you’re getting 7% more dr which is nothing to sneeze at, esp. since it builds upon Canon‘s advantage vs. Nikon: d800@6400 = ~8.3 & 5d3@6400 = ~9.4 ev. According to sensorgen.info the 6d should add another 2/3 stop (once the code is adapted for it) making good ol’ Canon the superior sensor for low light high contrast shooting.</p>
<p>Since this is a new software update I’d recommend you proceed with caution, however, these are exciting results for both stills and video shooters!</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=19124">Our Forums</a> via <a href="http://blog.planet5d.com/2014/01/magic-lantern-increases-canon-eos-5d-mark-iii-sensor-dynamic-range-by-12-stop/">P5D</a></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>

 

[duydaniel]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

I have firmware 1.2.3
is it possible for me to run ML?

 

[crazyrunner33]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

I have firmware 1.2.3
is it possible for me to run ML?

It is not possible to run Magic Lantern on 1.2.3, you'll need to roll back.

 

[Ricku]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

This is only interesting if you shoot at higher ISO settings. :-\

 

[Rienzphotoz]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

This is only interesting if you shoot at higher ISO settings. :-\

So start shooting at high ISO and you too can get excited ;D

 

[Pinchers of Peril]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

This is only interesting if you like high dynamic range

 

[Jan]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

I wonder if only stupid dickheads are working at Canon, but I guess this is not the case. ;-)
So what might be the disadvantage when using the "high-DR mode"?

 

[preppyak]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

This is only interesting if you shoot at higher ISO settings. :-\

It's a big win for video shooters; you now pay even less of a penalty by shooting at high ISO, which means you need to spend less on lighting, etc.

And if the 5DIII can gain 14 stops of DR for stills shooting, well, it's hard to see it as anything other than the best option for full-frame in most circumstances.

 

[DanielW]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

Congratulations to our famous friend Marsu42!

 

[hgraf]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

Conspiracy theories abound, but I'm not one normally to believe them.

So with that said: what's the catch? Why doesn't Canon implement this natively in their firmware? There must be some technical reason Canon decided NOT to do this?

 

[Lichtgestalt]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

is this a multi-exposure (HDR like) hack like we have seen in the past?
two or more frames mixed together?

the article use a lot of buzzwords but... how does it work....

 

[infared]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

OK...I have a 5DMarkIII running Firmware Version 1.2.1. I have never used Magic Lantern. I did spend about $3400 on my camera body (yes, I was an early adopter, but was able to sell my 5DMarkII for $2000 so I guess it evened out), and I do not want do ruin it as it is an expensive piece of hardware in my life.
1. Is ML easy to install and use?
2. Can I switch back and forth between ML and My Canon OS?
3. Can anyone direct me to a site where someone has solid experience and simple information (for dummies) on how to set your 5DMarkIII up and use the software to its fullest.
4. Have users destroyed their camera when installing of using this software.

Seems like there are a lot of benefits....but if I do something to the camera and it is not repairable ....I might have to kill myself.

 

[Ricku]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

This is only interesting if you like high dynamic range

Which all photographers do.

Except those in denial, and those who shoot jpegs and don't like post processing very much. ;D

 

[Rienzphotoz]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

Congratulations to our famous friend Marsu42!

+1

 

[Don Haines]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

Congratulations to our famous friend Marsu42!

+1

+2

 

[crazyrunner33]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

OK...I have a 5DMarkIII running Firmware Version 1.2.1. I have never used Magic Lantern. I did spend about $3400 on my camera body (yes, I was an early adopter, but was able to sell my 5DMarkII for $2000 so I guess it evened out), and I do not want do ruin it as it is an expensive piece of hardware in my life.
1. Is ML easy to install and use?
2. Can I switch back and forth between ML and My Canon OS?
3. Can anyone direct me to a site where someone has solid experience and simple information (for dummies) on how to set your 5DMarkIII up and use the software to its fullest.
4. Have users destroyed their camera when installing of using this software.

Seems like there are a lot of benefits....but if I do something to the camera and it is not repairable ....I might have to kill myself.

1) It is not difficult to install Magic Lantern if you can follow the instructions. A simple Google search will show you a lot of tutorials, or you can go to EOSHD.com and buy the 5D Mark III ML RAW guide which will show you how to install and use ML. ML is easy to use, it's simple, but there are a lot of features that give you plenty of room to play around or use as tools.

2) The Canon OS is always running, but you can have a clean boot without ML by holding "SET" while starting the camera.

3) EOSHD.com if you want to pay for it or search, there are a lot of tutorials out there.

4) I have not heard of anyone destroying or bricking their camera as a result of ML, but you can search on Google to see for yourself. It is possible to have issues with some of the builds, but nothing that will break the camera. I use the nightly builds and I always test a build for 2-3 days before taking it out on a paid shoot. I only had one instance where ML wouldn't boot and the camera hung up, but it was related to the memory card. I put a different card in and had to rely on H.264 for the day.

 

[Don Haines]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

This is only interesting if you shoot at higher ISO settings. :-\

This is only interesting if you like high dynamic range

Personally, I hate it when the specs of a camera are improved. I think we should go back to 320x200 resolution in 256 colours..... <SARCASM>

(and yes, I do realize that the two quotes were also sarcasm)

 

[gbchriste]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

OK...I have a 5DMarkIII running Firmware Version 1.2.1. I have never used Magic Lantern. I did spend about $3400 on my camera body (yes, I was an early adopter, but was able to sell my 5DMarkII for $2000 so I guess it evened out), and I do not want do ruin it as it is an expensive piece of hardware in my life.
1. Is ML easy to install and use?
2. Can I switch back and forth between ML and My Canon OS?
3. Can anyone direct me to a site where someone has solid experience and simple information (for dummies) on how to set your 5DMarkIII up and use the software to its fullest.
4. Have users destroyed their camera when installing of using this software.

Seems like there are a lot of benefits....but if I do something to the camera and it is not repairable ....I might have to kill myself.

Here's a quote directly from the ML web site:

Is it safe?

No. Magic Lantern was created by reverse engineering an undocumented system that controls hardware. Therefore, we can't be certain that it's 100% safe.

Magic Lantern does not replace Canon code (which is stored in ROM), but it does change the settings (which are saved to a non-volatile memory). If Magic Lantern would set incorrect values for certain settings, this may cause the camera not to boot (even without ML).


I'm sure there are a lot of people that successfully use ML and find the benefits worth whatever risks there may be. Personally, I would never load what amounts to 3rd party hack on to a $3000+ device, no matter how well regarded.

 

[cayenne]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

OK...I have a 5DMarkIII running Firmware Version 1.2.1. I have never used Magic Lantern. I did spend about $3400 on my camera body (yes, I was an early adopter, but was able to sell my 5DMarkII for $2000 so I guess it evened out), and I do not want do ruin it as it is an expensive piece of hardware in my life.
1. Is ML easy to install and use?
2. Can I switch back and forth between ML and My Canon OS?
3. Can anyone direct me to a site where someone has solid experience and simple information (for dummies) on how to set your 5DMarkIII up and use the software to its fullest.
4. Have users destroyed their camera when installing of using this software.

Seems like there are a lot of benefits....but if I do something to the camera and it is not repairable ....I might have to kill myself.

Be cautioned if you have a 5D3.

ML is still very alpha for the Canon 5D3.

1. If you install Magic Lantern on your 5D3, you will set a firmware bootflag on the camera, that is NOT removable. At this time, it is a permanent change to your camera
2. It seems associated with this flag, that the boot times and wake up times can be significantly increased on your camera, I'm hearing up to like 2-3 seconds I believe. This is a deal breaker for some folks. This does NOT seem to be something that you can reverse.

The problems I mentioned above, will remain on your 5D Mark III even if you remove the Magic Lantern software. So, please be advised.

That being said, I've been following ML forums and all things about them and I'm HUGELY impressed. I really, really hope they can overcome these 2x issues with the 5D3 so I can feel comfortable with using ML on my camera. I'm anxious to start shooting RAW video with my 5D3...and to explore all these other cool options with stills photography.

But at this time, since I have only one 5D3, I am holding off putting ML on my camera.

Caveat Emptor as they say.

HTH,

cayenne

 

[Midphase]

Re: Magic Lantern increases Canon 5D III dynamic range

1. Is ML easy to install and use?
2. Can I switch back and forth between ML and My Canon OS?
3. Can anyone direct me to a site where someone has solid experience and simple information (for dummies) on how to set your 5DMarkIII up and use the software to its fullest.
4. Have users destroyed their camera when installing of using this software.

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. http://www.magiclantern.fm
4. No