Messages

I'd also like to know if this technique is workable or not.  Regular (non-silent) HDR/timelapse works fine, but I am seeing no exposure differences at all when I try the 'silent' flavor

EDIT: It now looks like HDR bracketing with silent only works properly in 'M' mode (?).  This would be unfortunate, since it is in 'Video' mode that I attain best resolution with my 500D.

"make raw2dng" should work without asking for a cross-compiler, though I didn't try to delete mine

Yep, looks like you are correct (which makes sense):

Code Select Expand

$ make raw2dng
[ GCC      ]   raw2dng
[ GCC      ]   raw2dng
[ GCC      ]   raw2dng


I guess if I ever do decide to compile *all* of ML, I will have the infrastructure to do that

Clone MagicLantern unified from the repo to your harddisk.
Set your system so, that you could compile MagicLantern with modules enabled
Goto

Code Select Expand

~/magic-lantern/modules/raw_rec and type

Code Select Expand

make
That´s all

Edgar

Thanks Edgar!  Actually, from what you said, I now realized how non-trivial the task of simply compiling 'raw2dng' is i.e. the entire MagicLantern repository is needed, and (even though this confuses me greatly) I apparently also need an ARM cross-compile environment -- even though I am compiling for a binary on my X86 regular desktop (!).

In any case, from bits and pieces, for the sake of others curious, this is what worked for me:

Code Select Expand

$ cd Downloads
$ wget https://launchpad.net/gcc-arm-embedded/4.7/4.7-2013-q2-update/+download/gcc-arm-none-eabi-4_7-2013q2-20130614-linux.tar.bz2
$ tar -xf gcc-arm-none-eabi-4_7-2013q2-20130614-linux.tar.bz2
$ mv gcc-arm-none-eabi-4_7-2013q2 ~/gcc-arm-non-eabi
$ echo 'export PATH=$PATH:~/gcc-arm-none-eabi/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
$ source ~/.bashrc
...
[cd to where the magic lantern stuff will exist]
...

$ hg clone https://bitbucket.org/hudson/magic-lantern/
$ cd magic-lantern
$ hg update unified
$ cd modules/raw_rec
$ make CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-eabi- GCC_VERSION=-4.7.4
$ sudo cp raw2dng /usr/local/bin


The new binary 'raw2dng' then looked like it would work if I had a 'raw' file to give it:

Code Select Expand

$ ./raw2dng

usage:

./raw2dng file.raw [prefix]

=> will create prefix000000.dng, prefix0000001.dng and so on.

If there is a simpler way of doing this, I'd sure be interested

I just recompiled- for a third time, and now it works... I don't think I did anything differently this time- it's a little odd..

christaylor, can you elaborate on how you successfully compiled 'raw2dng' for Linux, or point to where the compile instructions are located?  I have done some searching and not (yet) found anything...

Thanks!

EDIT: From a more-convoluted-solution-than-I-thought-it-would-be, I think I managed to figure this out (though I am looking for a simpler solution, since my own seems unnecessarily complex):

http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=6457.msg58739#msg58739

Why do you use raw2dng.exe in Linux?  I work with raw2dng without exe and without wine. 

Edgar, I am continuing to scan the forum for a solution, but can you tell us how you successfully compiled 'raw2dng' on Linux?  Thanks!

Hi-Res does not work on 500D.

Thanks for confirming this.  I guess I assumed that the features/docs applied for *all* cameras that could run 2.3

Still hoping for anyone that can show me where to access the menu option for 'Silent Pic Hi-Res' in ML 2.3 (?).

Not sure about silent picture (never use it), but the easy/advanced menus were dropped in version 2.3 and are now replaced by item hiding (when pressing the Menu key). The userguide does mention silent pic hi-res, but I'm not sure if it's updated.

Thanks for confirming that there is no longer an 'easy/advanced' menu, so I'll stop looking for one

However, this still leaves me wondering if/how I can activate 'Silent Pic Hi-Res' as described in the docs?  Has anyone used that mode in 2.3?  If so, how did you do so?

OK, I am just not seeing that I expect to see in the 2.3 menu options on my 500D.  I think part of the problem is that the menu structure has changed, and the old posts are just confusing me

I wanted to try 'Silent Pic Hi-Res', but my only 'Silent Picture' options seem to be 'Simple' and 'Burst'.  So then I was wondering if I needed to activate what has been called the 'Advanced Menu' option to see it, and the instructions are to press the 'Menu' key to get that.  However, on my 500D, the 'Menu' key doesn't do that -- it is for toggling between showing/hiding menu options (!).

Help, my hair is falling out!

As I mentioned/questioned in my own thread (http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=1663.msg5123#msg5123) I am also not clear on whether the 'FPS Override' function is all that useful for astrophotography, considering that in my own picture taking I usually have much longer exposures than that mode will allow.  However, I have not actually tried doing it this way, and so if you (or anyone else) can test it, I would appreciate it

I think the high iso function in liveview also very useful.....

Do you mean the 'LV Display Gain' feature?  If so, then I agree with you, in which case I would add another 'astro' feature to the list:

4) LV Display Gain:
- When used for still photos, provides option for very high display brightness gain for framing and/or focusing

Another feature that I have not explored yet might be this one (can anything confirm for astro use?):

2B) Silent Pic Hi-Res + intervalometer:
- similar to #2 but high resolution via building larger pic using matrix of smaller silent pics
- not sure it is fast enough to image brighter astronomical objects into a single undistorted image suitable for, say, image stacking

Perhaps an external monitor solution?

Actually, in my own opinion, if someone is willing to carry along another device to supplement ML and the camera, I would be more interested in an android-based tablet application to do the 'remote control', on a 7" or 10" screen e.g. DSLR Controller, on, say, a 7" Nexus 7 tablet:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1202082

All the 'astro' features are not yet in that app, but it sounds like the creator is willing to consider them.

[first post, 2nd attempt...]

After my intervalometer died, I decided to install ML onto my 500D.  Works great!

Astronomy is my primary interest, and ML would appear to provide quite a bit of functionality to make it easier.  I would appreciate it if other astronomers could verify/correct/add to my humble observations for using ML for this purpose

1) Intervalometer:
- good for typical timelapse and image-stacking purposes i.e. taking a lot of pictures automatically
- for both bright (Sun/Moon/Planet) objects and dim (wide field and DSO)
- replaces need for external intervalometer or tethered USB control (e.g. Gphoto2)
- highest resolution photos possible (JPG and Raw)
- bad in that causes wear and tear on camera shutter

2) Intervalometer + Silent Picture:
- good for cropped images of bright (Sun/Moon/Planet) objects
- provides 5x and 10x zoom of areas of interest in the frame
- good is that there is no wear to the shutter
- good for image stacking
- seems to be alternative to USB-tethered PC solution i.e. EOS-MOVREC
- bad in that resolution is far less than 'real' photos are, so not appropriate for high resolution timelapses

3) Movie + FPS Override:
- similar benefits to #2
- no 5x and 10x zoom feature
- good for highest resolution timelapses
- bad in that maximum interval around 1 image every 5 seconds or so
- probably a great mode for daytime cloud timelapses

Comments?

P.S. I would dearly love to use #2 tor replace EOS-MOVREC.  No need to drag a netbook/laptop around!  However, the DSLR screen is (of course) much smaller, so focus is not as easy