Hi, and thanks for any help in advance.
I have had AJ 5.0 on my 5D Mark II for several years. It was fantastic for many reasons, primarily for the expanded audio capability, lower bit-rate for longer shoots that could handle the drop in quality, and for focus peak which made it possible for me to shoot without an external monitor. OK, I should also mention the intervalometer and that I really look forward to using the expanded bracketing on the new version for HDR. Way cool. Anyway...
Yesterday I fired up the camera to prep for a shoot and could not get focus peaking to work! I went through all the menus and found nothing wrong (yeah, that I knew of and we know how that can go). So, thinking that I might have a corrupt file somewhere on a card, I tried another card. Same issue. Firmware? Heck, re-install everything, right.
I grabbed the latest nightly build - which now shows up on the Canon as 2.1.2-ml-Nightly.2. - formatted a CF card in the camera, reset all the camera settings, loaded the three ML files (one being a folder) onto the card that also had the DCIM and Misc folders from the formatting, and popped it into the camera. Updated firmware, restarted, and there was a very pretty newer version of ML.
But I still have no Focus Peaking.
Global Draw - all modes
Zebras - RGB, over 95%
Focus Peak - On, 1.0, R
What am I missing?
One other minor issue - no help files.
With thanks,
Rich
Help files are not included/supported in nightly builds. Online help here: https://builds.magiclantern.fm/#/features
Don't know what you're missing, though. You should get some red "spirits" if focus is hit. Try focussing your computer screen.
I tried focusing on several things including my computer screen and even higher contrast subjects, was at it for a good while last evening trying to get it working. Nothing. And yes, while the Help files on camera are handy, the online is sufficient as I am usually at computer when learning anything new. Thanks for the help, Walter. Anyone else? Are there settings other than Global Draw and Focus Peak that affect the operation of Focus Peak?
Have you tested Focus Peak in both modes? Photo mode (liveview) and movie mode.
Yes, both "live view" and "all modes". Also with variations in the other settings of Filter Bias, Image Buffer, Threshold and Color. It seems odd that the issue began before I installed the new build and that it continues. I am wondering if there is something else blocking the action. As I had firmware 2.1.2 already installed perhaps it didn't re-install? I can say that the new install of the nightly build which was through the "Update" process and did have the included 2.1.2 firmware on it, went very quickly. Perhaps there is something funky with my 2.1.2 firmware that didn't get updated because the versions were the same? Is there anything in the Canon firmware that could block the focus peak action, or in ML for that matter?
ML does not include, update, or modify any Canon firmware. ML does a checksum (verification) of the Canon firmware on boot. It will not boot if it doesn't match the expected value (the ML installer also won't install if the checksum doesn't match). So the probability that there is anything different about your Canon firmware is infinitesimally small.
Do you see other ML overlays?
Just a last test: Delete AUTOEXEC.BIN and ML directory from the card and copy extracted latest nightly contents to card. Restart, enable focus peaking and test in photo mode with liveview.
EDIT: There is indeed a condition which will disable focus peaking. Do you - by any chance - have a ML menu option line on the screen during liveview? If so: Press trashcan button, the line will disappear and Focus Peaking will be working.
I wanted to be sure I have the process correct but found something of interest. I began the process by going to the site to download the latest nightly build. It is the same one I got, dated Oct 8, 2014, but I downloaded it anyway. In comparing the two files, the one downloaded yesterday and the one just now, I find that the one downloaded yesterday has an extra autoexec.bin file, this one "autoexec.bin.cpgz". This is in the folder on my desktop that I installed to the card from. I did not see this file yesterday, and think it was not there. I grabbed the card from my camera and checked it to find that the .cpgq file is not there, either.
So - the process:
1. remove card from camera, connect to computer and delete AUTOEXEC.BIN file and the ML folder from it.
2. Copy the just downloaded files to the card, leaving the "5D2_212.fir" file as it is.
3. Pop card in camera and go through update process.
Yo?
Perhaps of interest, I did just try Photo mode in Liveview, both as exposure simulation and as stills display, using the current software and have not focus peaks.
I have to go out for about an hour, but will be back and will try as stated here, or with any further instructions found here.
Thank you, Walter!
Quote from: RichHall on December 12, 2014, 06:17:27 PM
3. Pop card in camera and go through update process.
Yo?
Not quite. Just pop the card. Update not needed.
I did as instructed and still have no focus peaks. Tried Stills Only and also Stills + Movie in the Canon firmware's Live View function set. Did have to turn on Focus Peak in the ML menu. Tried it with Zebras on and off. Tried it with Focus Peak as On, 0.5, local, Filter Bias at Strong Edges, Image Bugger at Low-res and with Focus Peak On, 2.0, Filter Bias Balanced, Image Buffer High-res, Threshold 2% and Color Blue. All to no avail.Thanks for the help, Walter, any other ideas?
Zebras are working?
Puzzled ...
Not much hope but do you have reset Fn settings as well?
No, Zebras are not working. I am uncertain what you mean by your question "Do you have reset Fn settings as well?" I did, through the Canon menu, "Clear Settings" as part of the firmware update process last night.
Custom settings:
http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/0/0300004270/02/eos5dmkii-im5-c-en.pdf
Page 190
Back to ML menu interaction:
(http://picload.org/image/cldlwcr/vram0.jpg)
(http://picload.org/image/cldlwpi/vram1.jpg)
Quote from: RichHall on December 12, 2014, 07:49:50 PM
No, Zebras are not working.
Are you actually on the LV screen that shows ML overlays? Do you see any ML overlays at all (I already asked this once)?
If not, you need to toggle through the different LV screens until you get to the ML one (this is done with the INFO button on my 60D).
Responding to two posts here -
First to Walter - forgive my ignorance, please, but I do not understand what you are trying to show me here. I did go back and Clear All Custom Functions and restarted the camera. No luck. I checked out pages 190 onwards and didn't see anything else that I thought applied. I think the two images you posted are shots of the Live View screen on your camera and I have nothing like that where it shows the items Focus Peak and its settings in white against a blue banner.
and to dmilligan - I do not seem to have any overlays working. No focus points as shown in Walter's second image, no audio level indicators which I really need, and only the lower portion showing shutter speed, aperture, exposure meter (without any indicator of what the exposure is or should be), remaining frame count, ISO, battery level and an icon of a microphone with "M" next to it. That and the rectangle of the exposure area in the middle of the screen. I do have the bars top and bottom to show the 16:9 crop.
Also, live view is now going back to standard operation, shutting the mirror and ceasing live view function, in about one minute without any action by me to tell it to do so.
With thanks for your efforts. ai yai yai I need to get to editing, but I need this to work even more! Thank you for your help.
Can you take a pic of your screen? If you don't know how to use the ML snapshot feature just use another cam/phone, upload it to picload (or other hoster) and link it here.
Quote from: RichHall on December 12, 2014, 10:25:04 PM
only the lower portion showing shutter speed, aperture, exposure meter (without any indicator of what the exposure is or should be), remaining frame count, ISO, battery level and an icon of a microphone with "M" next to it.
As I suspected, you are in one of the Canon LV screens, you need to cycle through them until you get to the ML one (that looks like Walter's screen shot). IDK exactly what button does this on the 5D2, but it's probably something like "INFO" or "DISP". You can always refer to your Canon manual.
(http://magiclantern.fm/Users/Rich/Desktop/LiveViewScreen1.JPG)(//)
Perhaps I don't even know how to insert an image here! I clicked on the icon and it only shows the text with an insertion point. Dragging the image there only gives it's location in text form. Preview shows me a question mark icon for the image.
As I wrote: Upload it to picload or any other picture hoster and link it here. You can't use magiclantern.fm for file upload.
working on pic load now. Thanks Walter.
(http://pl.vc/3uk0f)
and I did find that I can get my live view screen to look like Walters by using the ML menu while live view is engaged. I had previously always used one or the other. Also - no focus points as AF was off.
(http://picload.org/image/cldcwri/liveviewscreen1.jpg)
perhaps this has the image from pic load? Yes!
Now press INFO several times to toggle screen view.
Yes Walter, I was just finding that out and came back to say voila! more in a few minutes. And thank you so much for your patience and time. What part of the world are you in that I might buy you a drink or coffee sometime or, perhaps, a donation would be a better thing?
Supply of affordable wine: Already established.
Kudos to dmilligan for pointing out the obvious liveview toggle issue.
EDIT and totally offtopic: Either donate to OSF or register your bone marrow. A dear colleague at work suffers from blood cancer and if no donor will be found in a very short period he will perish. He's in his thirties and with family.
Sorry for offtopic but if there is any chance to save his life I will take it.
(http://picload.org/image/cldigro/liveviewscreen3.jpg)
With greatest thanks to Walter and dmilligan for their patience a perseverance while dealing with a person who apparently can't see something so simple, I herewith put the solution as I understand it:
Problem: Focus Peak isn't working on a 5DmkII. Global Draw is ON for all modes, Focus Peak is On with any of the sub settings selected, and still no Focus Peaking indicators on the Live View Screen.
What is happening: the overlays can be toggled on and off via a Canon firmware toggle built into the INFO button, but only when Live View is engaged.
Solution: engage Live View, hit the INFO button until you can see the overlays you want to see. There are four choices:
1. No overlays, just the bottom bar showing base info of exposure, frames available, ISO, battery and audio setting.
2. All of the above, plus the Canon icons for most of what shows up in the Quick Control screen.
3. All of above #1 &2 plus a huge histogram.
4. None of the Canon stuff, just the ML info you've selected to be shown, all nice and tidy in the top and bottom cropping bars. As shown in the image above. If I had AF turned on, the focus points would be shown as well.
Walter & dmilligan, please add anything you see fit. And greatest of thanks again.
Now, back to editing, but tomorrow, my first experiments with RAW video capture on a 5DmkII!
And Walter - send a link to OSF to me at Rich .... At .... YourVideoSCV ... dot... com I did a search and didn't find them. Way sorry to hear about your colleague and have been in similar situation here.