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Topics - l_d_allan

#1
Sorry if this has already by asked & answered ....

Is there a tutorial available with step-by-step instructions on getting "Hello, world!" to appear on the LCD of my Canon DLSR's (6d, 5dm2, 600d)?

  • Tool-chain involved, if any.
  • Setup on Windows 10 desktop, if any.
  • How to upload the Lua script to DSLR flash card. My speculation is that it would be similar to updating the ML code and/or modules.
  • How to access and launch the uploaded LUA code to see if it worked.
  • For extra credit, perhaps get a button to light up, or something to beep, or ???
#2
    Please consider features related to "battery management"

    • Drain battery to [fill-in-the-blank] percent if over that state-of-charge (SOC).
      My understanding is that to "baby" Li-Ion batteries for longer life, they prefer to be stored at a SOC significantly less than 100%.
    • My K.I.S.S. practice has been to return from a photo event, upload the photos, and plug the batteries used into one or more chargers.
    • More than a few times, this non-professional doesn't take photos for several days or weeks, which is somewhat hard on the battery to sit at high SOC.
    • ...
    • Related feature request:
    • On/Off toggle to not allow battery to be in sleep state with the Power switch ON to go below [fill-in-the-blank] percent.
    • Can happen with Time-Lapses, which can also corrupt the SD card. Why do I know that?  :o
    • The intent is to diminish the occurrences of the battery getting to fully drained status.
      That can also be somewhat hard on the battery, especially if the battery stays at 0% for an extended period of time.
    • ...
    • Corner cases probably make this more complex than I realize.
      Wish this rusty embedded developer (not ARM) had the skills with the ML tool-chain to help implement, but alas, not. Mea culpa.
    • ...
    • A model to perhaps serve as a baseline to reverse engineer:
      My recently acquired Dell laptop has built-in Windows-10 battery management. It seems quite a bit improved since the last time it played with it with Win-7.
      It also has a Dell-specific app for somewhat more advanced battery management capabilities.

    Sorry if something equivalent has already been requested ... or if this rusty ML fan-boy isn't aware that it has already been implemented.
#3
Using 20bit version of cr2hdr-20bit.exe, and date-stamp seems to be: 2015-Nov-24

Following are warnings/errors produced during processing:
**************************

Last update: ab1e90c on 2015-11-24 09:50:10 UTC by a1ex:
cr2hdr: moved safeguard from medium_int_wirth to kth_smallest_i...

Active options:
--amaze-edge    : use ...
--cs2x2               : apply ...
--wb=graymax    : set ...
--compress    : Lossless DNG comrpession

Input file    : 160911q_3791_MefSteveGreen.CR2
Attempt to reload DynaLoader.pm aborted
Compilation failed in require at C:/Perl/lib/XSLoader.pm line 93.
Compilation failed in require at C:/Perl/lib/IO/Handle.pm line 269.
BEGIN failed—compilation aborted at C:/Perl/lib/IO/Handle.pm line 269.
Compilation failed in require at C:/Perl/lib/IO/Seekable.pm line 101.
BEGIN failed—compilation aborted at C:/Perl/lib/IO/Seekable.pm line 101.
Compilation failed in require at C:/Perl/lib/IO/File.pm line 133.
BEGIN failed—compilation aborted at C:/Perl/lib/IO/File.pm line 133.
Compilation failed in require at –e line 162.
**WARNING** Could not identify the camera from EXIF. Assuming 5d MARK III ... actual camera is 6d
...
...
... cr2hdr-20bit.exe proceeded and seemed to process OK
...
************************

Also happened with following files (7 of 426 total .CR2 files)
Input file    : 160911q_3786_MefSteveGreen.CR2
Input file    : 160911q_3788_MefSteveGreen.CR2
Input file    : 160911q_3789_MefSteveGreen.CR2
Input file    : 160911q_3792_MefSteveGreen.CR2
Input file    : 160911q_3793_MefSteveGreen.CR2
Input file    : 160911q_3794_MefSteveGreen.CR2
Input file    : 160911q_3795_MefSteveGreen.CR2

To speed up processing and help keep the desktop computer responsive, I use cr2hdr-20bit.exe with 10 separate below-normal-priority threads in 10 command prompt windows (see next line). Only the first file for 7 of the batches had problems.

for %%n in (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) do start /belownormal for %%c in (1609???_???%%n_*.cr2) do cr2hdr-20bit --compress %%c
#4
I'm hoping ML devs consider preparing a version for the recently announced 5D iv when it becomes generally available.

(and sorry if this is considered trolling).

Hmmm ... I wasn't able to create a "New Topic" in the "Camera Specific Discussion" sub-forum.
#5
On the DPR forum for Sony full frames, the issue of "focal length detents" came up. Silly?

Anyway, a member suggested a work-around of having a beep at a specified focal length. That prompted me to suggest it as a feature request to the ML gurus.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/58064157

After all, if a camera can beep, and put the Focal Length in the EXIF, then it seems like "only magic" involving firmware-only. Correct?

The FR in the Sony forum specifically mentioned FL / 2 (such as 47mm for a 24-70mm zoom).

Obviously, low priority. It was my way of gushing about the ML Devs.  ;D
#6
I've attempted to update the Wikipedia entry for MagicLantern over the past year or so:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(firmware)

There are several {{citation needed}} warnings, and some information I believe to be accurate has been removed.


  • A version for the 6D is available, but less fully supported because none of the principal developers own the camera.[citation needed] Still true? Or is the 6d now a "1st class supported camera?"
  • A version for the mirror-less EOS M is less mature than fully supported cameras that one or more of the principal developers own.[citation needed] Still true?
  • Project policy is to not develop a version for the pro body 1 series like the 1Dx.
  • LensRentals.com has Canon 5d3's available with Magic Lantern installed.
#7
My 6d has gotten to the state of being semi-bricked, admittedly at least somewhat operator error. Assistance appreciated.

Sorry for the tl;dr ... I'm attempting to provide all hopefully relevant information, but it no doubt has extraneous info, may be incomplete, or reflect flawed memory (don't get old  :o )


  • Happened December 13. Was using the most recent build at the time from Nov, 2015 ... not the Dec 20, 2015 build which wasn't yet available
  • I'm not sure of the exact sequence, but the following is my best recollection .... sorry, in retrospect, should have kept log.
  • Canon OEM battery with "Recharge Performance 2 of 3" with 100% charge reported. I use either the Canon 5d2 or 6d OEM charger.
  • Happened during lengthy star-trail testing ... time-lapse + BULB stopped by battery going flat
  • Using ML BULB and Intervalometer with "unlimited 4 minute exposures". I've done this at least 50 times with no previous problems.
  • IIRC, the last file was semi-intact and could up uploaded with card-reader to desktop, but some visual glitches indicating corruption ...
  • Don't recall if this was the end of the star trails that night, or if I put in another LP-E6 battery to continue with making a "star trails pano"
  • I always start with the 6d OEM battery, but it is possible I was using a reputable non-OEM battery that has worked very well since I've owned it .... 3 of 3 "Recharge Performance" if that means anything for a non-OEM battery.
  • Recharged battery at home in Canon 6d OEM charger, and all seemed well. Re-installed battery.
  • Star trail ok, since you don't really need the final capture
  • At this point, everything seemed ok
  • 6d seemed bricked on next usage within day or so ... no activity light when turned ON. Did I forget to charge?
  • After 10 slow breathes, diagnosis was that battery was flat. Whew, but ...
  • Did some swapping of other LP-E6 batteries from Canon 5d2, along with other SD card from Canon T3i with ML.
  • Could get 6d to power up with no SD card, but not real reliably.
  • I was running late to get to a Christmas-related event, so I was less-than fully rational on diagnosis efforts. Sorry.
  • Later, 6d with formatted SD card from T3i (maybe by desktop in card-reader) seemed operational, without ML
  • Re-installed ML, not sure on which SD card.
  • Checked FAQ on ML "Camera Emergency Dept" sub-forum, and did the recommended steps ... maybe 2x.
  • I've read about, but not used the "Diagnostic Tools" in this sub-forum. At this point, the 6d is probably unable to run them yet. Is it ok to practice using the "Diagnostic Tools" on a a5d2 or T3i with fully functioning ML while or before working on the 6d?
  • Once before, I've dealt with an apparently bricked f.f. in the past that had ML installed, so at this point it didn't seem like a big deal, and no cause for panic. I don't recall if it was the 5d2 or 6d
  • FWIW: Note that on the DPR forums, I am probably one of the biggest fans of ML ... perhaps the biggest ... almost a fan-boy.
  • The 6d got back to working for a while ... all seemed ok (not sure whether using time-lapse, but pretty sure SD card had Nov, 2015 ML)
  • At this point, everything seemed ok again.
  • Next usage within a day or so ... battery dead again ... back to original semi-bricked
  • Powered off 6d with ML on possibly corrupted SD card seems to be draining battery.
  • When I remove the SD card and battery for 10 to 60+ seconds, 6d will power-on. May or may not work by putting in non-ML SD card with power left on.
  • Batteries other than the 6d OEM card seem to work better ... almost as if the 6d OEM battery has been corrupted somehow
  • IIRC, 6d is glitchy with non-ML SD card.
  • IIRC, powering up 6d with ML disabled (press SET during power up?) doesn't work.
  • With very busy Christmas season, I've been using my 5d2 with Nov, 2015 ML build  (just noticed Dec nightly build ... will install)
  • I regret and apologize that I haven't had the luxury of taking a coherent approach to diagnosis. Fortunately, I've got the 5d2, T3i, etc.

I would Greatly Appreciate help to take a rational, coherent approach to diagnosis and getting the 6d working ok again. It clearly isn't fully bricked, but not really usable, maybe even without ML.

At this point, this volunteer hobby'ist has tens of thousands of captures in my post-processing backlog from about a dozen unpaid Christmas related events. I'm hoping the fix is simple, like replace SD card, but it may not be. I will make every effort to work with anyone willing to help, and check this forum regularly for any replies.
#8
5d2, Aug 19 nightly build (2015Aug19)
When I attempt to select Dual-ISO 100/1600, 100/3200 or 100/6400, I see the warning message:
"Consider using a less aggressive setting (e.g. 100/800)

The 5d2 seems to accept 100/1600, and shows 2.8 EV DR gained.

However, if I select 100/3200 or 100/6400, it seems to ignore those settings. The EV gain doesn't change. When I return to the higher menu, it continues to show 100/1600 rather than 100/3200 or 100/6400. When I "Q" back to the Dual-ISO pop-up, it does show 3200 or 6400 as the upper ISO.

Am I doing something wrong? Is this "as expected"?

IIRC, I used to be able to select 100/3200 and 100/6400 on the 5d2. I think the 6d implementation allows 100/3200 and 100/6400.

#9
I've always been curious just how much Dual-ISO improved DR on my Canon DSLR's, especially my 6D.

Recently, I submitted a series of test RAW's to Bill Claff at www.PhotonsToPhotos.net. He has developed software to calculate "Photographic Dynamic Range", which seems more or less related to DxoMark and SensorGen.info numbers:
http://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/PDR.htm

I'm rather fuzzy on just how Dual-ISO works, and I'm not all that confident I provided Mr. Claff with appropriate test RAW's. The very preliminary results are less than expected ... maybe 1.5 stops at 100/800.

If someone has the interest and time to get involved in this, that would be appreciated.

#10
My impression is that my 6d is capable of EFCS (electronic first curtain shutter), but I'm unclear on the preferred settings.


  • Is this associated with the "Silent" mode in the Canon "Drive" menu?
  • Is there a way to have a delay before the shutter activates, like 2 seconds or 10 seconds? That seems mutually exclusive.
  • Is there a way to use a remote to trigger the EFSC ... normally the "Drive" has to be 2 or 10 sec for the Remote to work. Or not?
  • My impression is that the 6d isn't prone to "shutter shock" like many mirrorless cameras (esp. Sony A7r?), but there still is some. Or not?
  • If EFCS is available, can I expect to be enough better at reduced vibration than Mirror-Up + 2 second delay? Or not worth it?
  • IIRC, there is Mode-1 and Mode-2, but I'm unclear on what they are for.
#11
6D 1.1.6 with Build June-19

I notice that the "Allow Clipping" shows up as an "Advanced ..." option for ETTR. Then it is "forgotten" when you shut down the camera. You have to enable "Allow Clipping" the next time you start ML and use ETTR.

Is this "as intended"? Seems like "Allow Clipping" isn't really all that advanced of a setting compared to some other choices. In any case, it seems it ought to be "sticky" and remembered from shut-down to re-start.  Or not?

Am I doing something wrong (again)? Is there a way to accomplish this?

If this setting isn't "sticky", can that be a Feature Request so that it is "sticky" and remembered?

Thanks.
#12
I'm been quite pleased with the use of cr2hdr.exe with Dual-ISO.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I wanted to check if the version from 16+ months ago (Dec, 2013) is still the latest/greatest?

I've seen references to 20-bit versions, and mentions of beta's that have to be compiled to use.

Also, I can't tell from the file-names in the Bit-Bucket if they have anything to do with cr2hdr.exe. Is one of those an updated cr2hdr.exe?

Some other questions:

  • Does the cr2hdr plug-in to LightRoom add any functionality?
  • Is anyone experiencing the Previews in Adobe Bridge and ACR to be slow and hard to use?
  • In Adobe Bridge, the thumbnails have false-colors and can be rather grainy looking.
  • That's also true with using the SlideShow to try to figure out which images are keepers and rejects.
  • ...
  • Also, in ACR, it can be sloooooow for all the "instructions" to be applied to the image.
  • A normal image is almost instant when you go from one image to the next, as far as seeing what has been done to the image.
  • With a Dual-ISO image, it can take 5 to 10+ seconds for the post-processing to show up.
  • That seems most likely with "complicated instructions" like Gradients, Local-Adjustments, Radial-Filters, Masks, etc.
  • Overall, post-processing with Dual-ISO .dng's in ACR can be very sluggish.
  • Am I doing something wrong? Or is that "as expected"?
#13
Nightly build: Jan 28, 2015

If it is of interest, here are the contents of:
CRASH00.LOG
ASSERT: 0
at KernelDry\KerSem.c:306, task Fread
lv:0 mode:3


Magic Lantern version : Nightly.2015Jan29.5D2212
Mercurial changeset   : 703ee626326d (unified) tip
Built on 2015-01-28 23:10:03 UTC by [email protected].
Free Memory  : 128K + 3991K

and ...
log000.log
... difficult to copy/paste ... has null codes embedded in log000.log on almost every line ...
I can try again and make more of an effort to maybe replace null codes if it would help.
58th (of 3189 lines)
1524: 13169.205 [LVCFG] PROP_EFIC_TEMP 9


The camera had only been on several minutes at the most ... and not in LiveMode.

If helpful, I can open a "Bug Report".

It does seem like a possible bug to have the format of log000.log have lines with the format of ...
null-code contents \n
null-code contents \n
.....
null-code contents \n

#14
General Help Q&A / Bad links for nightly builds?
February 09, 2015, 02:59:48 PM
For the past several days, the links to download Nightly Builds for the 6d, 5d2, and 600d have been broken.
Win 7, IE 11.

It does appear to work with Chrome.

When I click on the "Download" button for Jan 28, 2015, I see a message about: Oops! This link appears to be broken

Am I doing something wrong?

#15
With my 6d at ISO 100, RawDigger treats values of 13,236 and above as that channel being blown.

With Dual-ISO and 100/800, RawDigger treats values of 57,539 and above as blown.

Values in a "black trap" go as low as (0,0,0,0).

Is this "as expected"? My impression is "yes", but I wanted to check for sure.
#16
From another thread:
Quote from: a1ex on June 13, 2014, 02:43:45 PM
Indeed, you will want to try the cr2hdr-20bit branch

My understanding is that Dual-ISO continues to be actively developed, and there have been various versions of cr2hdr.exe compiled during 2014.

However, is the version of cr2hdr.exe for Windows that was built on Dec 7, 2013 still the preferred version to use for non-developers? Or a different one?

#17
I don't use RawDigger that often, but it can be Very handy at times.

I went to see if there was an update, and belatedly noticed that the developer released 1.0.x back in November, 2013, and it is no longer free. 30 day trial. 3 levels of capabilities with 3 prices.

Oh, well, it was good while it lasted (being free).

My impression is that ML devs and hard-core ML users have done a lot with RawDigger over the years.

Shucks, the beta doesn't work any more. Drat.

#18
http://www.canonrumors.com/2014/03/canon-eos-6d-firmware-1-1-4-available/
QuoteFirmware Version 1.1.4 incorporates the following fixes:
1.Fixes a phenomenon in which some images cannot be transferred to mobile devices running the EOS Remote app.
2.Corrects an error in the German language Feature Guide.
3.Corrects an error in the Korean language Feature Guide.

My understanding is that ML for the 6d won't work if the 6d has firmware 1.1.4 installed. Correct?

#19
I really miss many of ML capabilities, including Intervalometer and enhanced Bulb.
#20
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53223933


  • Just finished phone ordering the Pro-100 at $298 (Sunday morning)
  • price on web is $398 ... $298 price is by phone only
  • Printer + included A3+ 13x19" paper results in $300 rebate (via AmEx reward card)
  • 866.614.7544 ... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/Rebates_Promos/0331314_CANON_PRO-100.pdf
  • $400 rebate if purchase qualifying camera on same receipt
  • For me ...  Canon PowerShoot S110 advanced point-n-shoot 1/1.7" sensor for $250 (semi-obsolete ... replaced by very similar S120)
  • so that makes me golden for the $400 rebate
  • before rebate ... $548
  • after $400 rebate ... $148
  • Obviously, the cost for oem ink will eat your wallet alive if you do much printing, unless you refill ink cartridges
  • FWIW: IIRC, CanonRumors had recent article that Canon would be replacing/updating/refreshing the Pro-1, Pro-10, and Pro-100 line ...
#21
I was wondering if it would be feasible to implement a work-around MFA (micro focus adjustment) for Rebels and XXd series cameras like the 60d that don't have MFA.


  • Many lenses communicate with the body to report distance to subject. I've noticed a rather coarse value in the EXIF and LCD.
  • How much resolution is there in the chip register for this value? Coarse (cm?) or fine (mm?) or very fine (less than mm?)
  • If the chip register value was very fine, perhaps the distance from 10x magnified LiveView (MLV) could be compared to the value reported by the AF point?
  • Example: Carefully focused MLV reports 2500.00 mm for 50mm lens, and AF also reports a value very close to 2500.00 mm. This would indicate the AF was accurate, and MFA=0 for this combination of body + lens.
  • However, suppose there was some threshold of difference that indicated front-focus or back focus?
  • ML might be able to calculate the equivalent "fudge factor" MFA, and tweak the AF accordingly.
  • Or not?
#22
Quote from: awesnap on February 13, 2014, 06:44:39 PM
Been messing around with Dual_iso raws for the past week, this totally changes my shooting style! THANK YOU!!!

I've been using Dual-ISO for some months, and have been impressed also. And I'm also THANKFUL!!! to the devs.

I'd appreciate getting some details on changes you (and others) have made to your shooting style due to Dual-ISO. You may have "use cases" I'm unaware of, or my use of Dual-ISO may be less than "best practice".

#23
On my 5d2, 6d, and 600d, there is a warning in the ML/TL menu about "File renaming may be unreliable". I haven't encountered any problems on my 5d2 and 600d. I use the setting "Adobe-98 Workspace", so I have files like:
* non-Dual-ISO ... _MG_####.cr2
* Dual-ISO  ... _UAL####.cr2

However, on the 6d, there will be three "flavors" of file-renaming:
* _MG_####.cr2 (seem to all be non-Dual-ISO)
* _UAL####.cr2 (seem to all be Dual-ISO)
* _0#_####.cr2 (may or may not be Dual-ISO) ... the "prefix number" have ranged from 01 to 04. They seem similar to "Folder Numbering" except there is only one folder, and there isn't a "roll-over" from 9999 to 0001

This makes it difficult to decide which images to process with cr2hdr, and which not. I suppose I could look closely at each _0#_####.cr2 image to guess if it is Dual-ISO number. But that is tedious and error-prone.

My thinking is that I should process all 6d files that have the prefix _UAL and _0#_ with cr2hdr.exe ... not just the _UAL#### ones. My observation is that if cr2hdr.exe attempts to process a non-Dual-ISO file, it short-cuts the processing, writes a printf-like message to the console and continues .cr2. I guess this doesn't cost much "wall clock time". I think previous versions would halt, so subsequent files in the "batch" would be unprocessed.

Are there flaws with this? Is it ok to use cr2hdr.exe on a non-Dual-ISO file? Am I missing a way to tell which files are and are not Dual-ISO? The "Keyword" doesn't show up until the .dng has been generated by cr2hdr

Is there a better work-flow that just having cr2hdr.exe process all _UAL and _0#_ files?

BTW: I haven't tried using the .vbs approach to processing Dual-ISO .cr2 files. Can this utility tell the difference between Dual-ISO and non-Dual-ISO?
#24
I'm ending up with some files with the EXIF info indicating the "Camera Model" is "Canikon". Is anyone else encountering this?

My speculation is Canikon is a mix of Canon and Nikon when ExifTool or cr2hdr is confused with a possible "corner case". Or not?

I'm rusty with grep, but would a "grep" for "Canikon" in the ML or TL source code return any hits?

I'll also ask this question on the ExifTool forum.

So far, I don't have a repeatable sequence that causes this to happen. Sorry. I thought I'd check first before digging into the issue. It happens rather erratically ... maybe every 5th shooting session. I think it's happened 3 or 4 times in the past several months.

It seems to involve:

  • Shooting with both 5d2 and 6d, with one of them having a Samyang manual lenses with no EXIF for fstop or lens
  • I use ExifTool on the .cr2's to fill in this EXIF info when images from Samyang lenses are involved.
  • Seems to involve Dual-ISO, which also involves ExifTool
  • Problem could involve ExifTool, cr2hdr, or ... operator error on my part
  • There is a odd-ball work-flow involved, including multiple pass of ExifTool


#25
Article from Canon Rumors:
http://www.canonrumors.com/2014/01/patent-microadjustment-automated/

I'm unclear what the engineering involves. I have no idea if it is similar or not to ML's implementation.

BTW: I've been wondering if the lower-end DSLR's (Rebels, 60d, etc.) could get a work-around micro-focus-adjustment capability by comparing a high-resolution distance difference between the distance reported by the AF point and LiveView. Or not?

#26
With my 6d and 5d2, I rarely, if ever, get a successful Dot-Tune AFMA.

There is almost always a warning:
"Double-check the Focus Target"

90%+ of the time, there is a value for AF micro-focus that seems valid ... mid-way between the left and right side of the focus confirmation squares ... such as
__xxXXXXXXXXXXXXXx_________
results in something like -3, for example, which seems valid.

This happens with both cameras, and all Canon EF lenses that I've tested, including 35mm f2 IS, 50mm f1.8ii, 24-105mm f4, etc. I get the focus set with LiveView and 10x magnification, then turn AF off and LiveView off.

I've tried several targets, like a red brick wall with almost white mortar, 19"x22" laser printer patterns for high contrast, outside in direct sun, inside in room with quite a bit of light from south facing window, etc.

Am I doing something wrong? Some setting I'm over-looking?

I did come across a post for the 6d that mentioned:
'In "INFO button display options" -> "Display shooting functions" has to be enabled'
but I'm unclear what that means.

#27
I'm wondering if anyone has "best practices" for using Dual-ISO with star-trails?

Or is Dual-ISO + Star-Trails an inappropriate combination?

With a full-frame and 14mm or 8mm fisheye, I've used Bulb = 120 seconds, Intervalometer at ""like crazy" (shortest delay between shutter activations), ISO 100, and f5.6.

My speculation is it might vary if the image was mostly/entirely the sky, with no foreground? Then you want high contrast between the star-trails and the night sky, and perhaps Dual-ISO would be a poor choice?

Or if the foreground was important? Then you might want to get some detail in a very dark foreground during new moon?

Related question:
What about attempts to get images of the Milky Way in very dark skies (new moon and rural areas away from towns/cities)? (non star trails ... wanting little or no star movement, so not using intervalometer). Would Dual-ISO be appropriate?
#28
http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=9672.msg92997

Is there a way to turn off the blinking-then-solid red light that accompanies the count-down-timer?

When taking pictures at an event, performers can find it distracting to have a red light appearing ... it can seem like a laser gun-sight has been turned on.

As a "hold your nose workaround", I generally have black electrical tape covering the light. It'd be nice to have the option to enable or disable.
#29
For Windows, I've seen references to EosCard 1.32 and 1.40.

There is a bundle from August, 2013 that is associated with 6d TL installation that has 1.32, but it seems to freeze with message:
Checking latest ML ...

I've seen posts related to the 7d that mention EosCard 1.40, but the download links seem invalid.

BTW, EosCard.exe 1.32 seems glitchy. For me, it acted frozen for 5+ minutes, and won't close. I had to use TaskManager and "End Process Tree" to close it.
#30
Is there a way to turn off the blinking-then-solid red light that accompanies the count-down-timer?

When taking pictures at an event, performers can find it distracting to have a red light appearing ... it can seem like a laser gun-sight has been turned on.

As a "hold your nose workaround", I generally have black electrical tape covering the light. It's be nice to have the option to enable or disable.

If not now possible, could this be a "Feature Request"?
#31
http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=9559.msg91631#msg91631

In the Debug section, internal temp is reported in Fahrenheit and Celsius, but I couldn't find how to have this as an option in LiveView.
#32
I'm fuzzy on whether the Nightly Build for the T3i/600d is ML or TL. Or some hybrid?

I've got ML Nightly Builds on both my 5d2 and 600d, updating perhaps weekly or so. I use the 5d2 much more than the 600d, but I've found the 600d with ML to be stable and reliable. I've encountered some glitches, but never had a camera with ML become a brick.

I'm hoping the ML for the 600d has a LOT of TL in it ... I think that would interest my confidence to install TL on my recently purchased 6d. So far, I'm being cautious, and holding off on using TL.



#33
General Chat / Origin of ML project name? 17th century?
December 15, 2013, 01:04:07 AM
from Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_lantern
> "The magic lantern or Laterna Magica is an early type of image projector developed in the 17th century"

And from the blog of LensRental's Roger C. MD:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/12/iceland-spar-the-rock-that-discovered-optics#more-16570
> "There were even early attempts to use Iceland spar to create 3-D imaging. In 1894, a British physicist named John Anderton patented a system that would project paired images through magic lanterns each equipped with Nicol prism polarizers in different orientations. "
#34
Sorry if this has been asked before.

Part of me gets envious when a fellow camera club member shows up with a nice, new, (non-shiny) D800 and its purportedly great DR ... but then I realize ...
"Yeah, but they don't have ML ... too bad for them".

Also, does Nikon provide an SDK like Canon? Was the Canon SDK used in ML development? Or would that be a no-no? Or not applicable?

#35
http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/canon/cameras

~ $13 USD per day ?? (compared to non-hacked 5d3)

(If I did the math correctly? )



#36
In LiveView, I can see the internal temp displayed, which is handy. However, my preference would be to have the temp reported in Fahrenheit rather than Celsius. Is that possible?

In the Debug section, internal temp is reported in Fahrenheit and Celsius, but I couldn't find how to have this as an option in LiveView.

Or did I miss a setting? Is this done with the Preferences file?

If this isn't currently an option, could this be a Feature Request?

#37
I'm curious if my 5d2 and T3i / 600d have a relatively low, normal, or high amount of Hot and Cold pixels, as reported by cr2hdr.exe when processing Dual-ISO files.

So for apples and apples:

  • 30 seconds
  • at ISO 400
  • with lens cap on (or body cap)
  • Dual-ISO 100/1600
  • Room temperature, and exposure not done in LiveView, so as to not increase sensor heating
  • Also, I think it would be appropriate to have recently done the remapping of hot/stuck pixels by taking a 30 to 60 second exposure with the body cap on. Also, have ML disabled by pressing SET while camera booting.
  • How much use has the camera had ... reported shutter activations (including in/out of LiveView)
  • How much of the usage has been video? (which I believe can be more likely to overheat the sensor ... or not?)
  • other issues I'm leaving out?


  • 5d2 with about 201,000 shutter activations, almost no video: 1477 cold pixels, no hot pixels reported
  • T3i with about 30,000 shutter activations, no video: 374 cold pixels, no hot pixels reported

Edit: Did some Dual-ISO images this morning, with very different Hot/Cold pixel counts reported:
Hot: 25 to 660
Cold: 25,636 to 46,030 (but several had zero)

Seems odd ... they weren't particularly long exposures ... 1 to 10 seconds. However, one or more may have been with LiveView ON ... don't recall specifically. I suppose that could make a difference. Or not?


#38
I've been a happy user of ML on my 5d2 and T3i for a year or so now.

Yesterday, my 6d with 1.1.3 arrived, and seems to work fine. I'm cautiously eager to install ML.

But ... when I got ready to proceed:

  • broken nightly build for several links
  • no nightly build at this time (Dec 13) ... nothing shows up for 6d on Nightly Build page
  • attempted to read 57 pages of "Tragic Build" thread, with increasing concern
  • now reluctant to install the version that I did download  (file name indicates Dec 11th)

I'd really appreciate feedback / replies from 6d owners with ML working well on their camera.

#39
My experience is that cr2hdr.exe is rather slow. YMMV.

I've got an i7 with 4x2 cores, including hyper-threading. Generally, I can watch TaskManager monitor CPU usage at 12 to 13% ... which I interpret as the equivalent of one core of the eight. Bummer.

It would be great if cr2hdr.exe was multi-threaded, but it doesn't appear to be. And that's non-trivial to implement.

Here's a work-around for a scenario when you've got a LOT of Dual-ISO files to prep. For example,

  • I came home from a Christmas concert with 600+ images having high contrast, and a LOT of them are Dual-ISO.
  • I have a numbering convention with YYMMDD + 6 digit sequence number
  • Range of 131207r_184250_DI_Description to 131207r_184850_DI_Description (Edit: _DI_ obsolete)
  • for %n in (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) do start /belownormal for %c in (*%n_DI_* .cr2) do cr2hdr --compress %c
  • within .bat file: for %%n in (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) do start /belownormal for %%c in (*%%n_DI_*.cr2) do cr2hdr --compress %%c

That gets the TaskManager CPU monitor showing much greater than 12%, up to 100%, and the files are prepped in much less "wall time".  The /belownormal argument for "start" let the computer remain responsive, rather than sluggish while the CPU grinds away.

(obsolete) You should run Adobe's DngConverter.exe afterwards on the .dng files to accomplish compression ... otherwise the .dng's will be uncompressed and large.

Flawed? Room for improvement?

Edits:

  • A .vbs solution exists that works well, and is significantly advanced compared to this .bat approach
  • See post #6 in this thread for several tweaks/simplifications
  • At the time of the OP, I wasn't aware of the --compress argument to cr2hdr  ... my bad

S:
cd \_WorkInProgress\Temp
for %%n in (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) do start /belownormal for %%c in (YYMM*_?????%%n_*.cr2) do cr2hdr --compress %%c
pause

#40
I'm unclear on how to use Dual-ISO to best advantage. I think I may be close to a good workflow, but I wanted to check for sure, and also learn about "the error of my ways" from others on this forum with more experience and expertise.


  • Appropriate for scene with high contrast, where HDR would help.
  • Even with RAW histogram, there is "valuable content" on the left and/or right side.
  • Otherwise, "why bother?" if the levels fit within the histogram ok (low to moderate contrast)
  • For an example using ISO 100/1600:
  • Dual-ISO starts at OFF
  • (but does Auto-ETTR take Dual-ISO into account, so this isn't necessary or appropriate?)
  • Or does the camera's normal metering end up being appropriate?
  • Determine best exposure for bright areas at ISO 100, perhaps with ETTR, trial-n-error, etc.
  • ...
  • The RAW histogram would tend to look like it was ETTL (exposed to the LEFT)
  • Exposure will tend to be underexposed, with few if any blown highlights, but will probably appear to have "blocked shadows" on the LCD.
  • Enable Dual-ISO (this example uses 100/1600)
  • Take picture(s)
  • Process with cr2hdr.exe
  • Open with ACR, LR, or other
  • Expect to see an image that looks rather underexposed
  • Image should have quite a bit more usable dynamic range, so the exposure/shadows/blacks can be increased significantly without as much noise happening

Or not?

Am I "unclear on the concept"? Do I have a flawed understanding of how Dual-ISO is supposed to work?

Is my workflow more or less ok, but sub-optimal? Would a different technique work better? Am I leaving something out? I haven't really been following the progress on ETTR and Auto-ETTR, but my guess is that those capabilities are now somewhat integrated.

My speculation is that once you "get the hang of it", you don't have to disable Dual-ISO, but can more go by the metering and/or Auto-ETTR.
#41
I've got an "under construction" website
www.CanPrint.org
that also uses SMF as the forum engine.

The "point" of CanPrint.org is to help people get proficient with inkjet printing, specifically using Canon printers. It is a non-commercial website, and not ad supported.

I've been impressed by how well ML controls spam. I rarely if ever see inappropriate posts. I was hoping to find out how that is accomplished, and make adjustments as appropriate to my website.


  • Does ML have security "mods" to reduce spam?
  • Or does ML reply on moderators to identify and remove spam?
  • How is ML able to restrict malicious bots from gaining membership and posting spam?
#42
See:
Discussion on how to "double and triple stack" discounts to get best price.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52615444

Canon link (best link for best deal can vary ... state of flux during Black Friday)
http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/buy-one-get-four-free-when-you-buy-select-canon-photo-paper?cm_sp=SP-_-PRT-_-Text_BFbuy1get4
http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/free-gift-paper-and-scrapbooking-kit-promo

If you figure out how to play the game, you can legally and ethically get well over $200 USD worth of premium Canon paper for under $20, directly from Canon. About 7¢ per letter size sheet on Luster, Semi-Gloss, and Plus-Glossy II. The MSRP is 70¢ per sheet. The Pro Platinum is about 13¢. 4x6" glossy for about 2¢

50% off with triple stacked discount of "Buy One Get Five" plus "50% off for registering your Canon printer" and also "Nine free gifts if order over $50". And free shipping. There will be local tax on the net amount. No rebates to fuss with or forget.

Some days there is a promotion for 13x19" A3+ paper, and some days not. About 19¢ per sheet, if I did the math correctly (100 sheets for $18.50 USD ... that's pretty easy).

Note that for actual low costs per print, you pretty much have to refill your cartridges with non-oem ink. Otherwise, you are still paying about $10,000 per gallon for Canon oem ink. There is a significant learning curve to cart refilling, and upfront expenses. It's only rarely that I've seen real discounts on real Canon oem ink. The ink is the "crown jewels" for Canon (and Epson and HP are even higher per gallon).

My go-to paper for give-away prints used to be Costco Kirkland at about 15¢ per sheet. For what I do, Canon oem paper was too expensive at about 70¢ per letter size sheet (MSRP).

My speculation is there are more than a few people on this forum with Canon DSLR's and Pro-100 printers. The cost of ink and paper will eat you alive without super discounts, unless you are a professional printer and the cost of ink + paper is a small percent of the selling cost.

FWIW: with cartridge refills using non-oem German ink and super discounted Canon paper, I can now make high quality, color managed letter size prints for under 10¢ a sheet. Giving away 100 letter size prints as a volunteer photographer at a non-profit event is now chump change.
#43
DPReview.com had an announcement that owners of EOS C100 video cameras can get their device upgraded to have DPAF, for $500. Apparently, the sensor had the capability all along, but the firmware didn't support it at time of release.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/11/06/canon-offers-dual-pixel-af-upgrade-for-cinema-eos-c100-camera

Any chance this might apply to the 5d3 or 6D? Seems at least remotely possible that their sensors might actually have dual-pixels, but not enabled in firmware.

Or not?
#44
My speculation is that it MIGHT be possible to do something like ML to Canon printers. Feasible?

I'm aware that Canon publishes an API for interacting with [fill-in-the-blank]. Is this mostly related to their software, like DPP? Or does it provide any kind of baseline toolkit for interacting with cameras? Printers?

I think the Canon printers I'm familiar with allow firmware updates. IIRC, I don't know if I've every actually done that. My understanding is that the recent Pro-100 has had several firmware updates.

Specifically, I'd be interested in enhancing some of the diagnostics that Canon printers can do. Thinks like:

  • Put a timestamp on nozzle checks, alignments, etc.
  • Including other information on nozzle checks, alignments, etc. ... such as printer serial number and print-head serial number
  • Enhance nozzle check to print out the "slanted diagonal grid" for all cartridges and nozzle sizes, similar to what is done for the pigment black ink (which is very helpful to see exactly if a specific nozzle is clogged ... but could be hard to see with yellow and PM, PC, etc.)
  • Print out pure large rectangles like the nozzle check, but at "full color" purity and intensity, rather than diminished intensity like the nozzle check. Would include the different nozzle sizes, like 5 picoliter, 2 pl, 1 pl, depending on the printer model
  • Eventually accomplish something like a RIP for specialized b/w printing
  • "Stress tests" that really challenge ink flow, much more challenging than nozzle check
  • Intelligently "defeat" the ink level monitoring so perhaps cartridge chip resetters would be less necessary, or unnecessary
  • lots more, but the above may give a sense of possibilities
#45
Summary:

  • I've got a Canon 5d2 that I originally purchased in May, 2010 that may be developing problems.
  • Wouldn't turn ON this morning.
  • No lights or LCD activity when on/off lever moved from OFF to PART-ON or FULL ON.
  • Intermittent ... sometimes LCD will come on when CF card isn't installed ... every tenth time or so?
  • My uninformed speculation is that this isn't related to ML, but the behavior is possibly similar to bricked camera from ML.
  • Plus ML gurus may have a LOT of experience with mis-behaving cameras that act "bricked".
  • At this point, appreciate guidance on how to troubleshoot, and how to proceed with Mack extended warranty to maximize odds of having repair covered rather than declined.
  • Some concern that if I send it in for warranty work (extended), it will intermittently work fine once received by Canon / Mack extended warrant. It'll come back with same problem(s).
  • "What's changed?" Nothing comes to mind, other than this is the first time it's been used in cool/cold weather in some time.

More info and trouble-shooting I've done so far (may be TMI and/or TL;DR  ... sorry)
What happened this morning:

  • Attempting to take star-trails pre-dawn ... about 4:00 am with ~7:00 sunrise. About 34F degrees (not freezing, but chilly)
  • Aftermarket (non-oem) battery (made by POWWER from Adorama or BhPhoto or from Amazon?) had been charging and was "Full Green" 100% SOC (state of charge)
  • Put 5d2 in padded camera fanny-pack to let it gradually cool off about 15 minutes prior to heading to nearby park
  • Once in park, put 5d2 on tripod and attempted to turn on. Nothing. Nada. No power lights or LCD activity.
  • Attempted with original Canon oem LP-E6 battery that has "Recharge Performance" of "Slightly Degraded". Also nothing.
  • Put camera back in padded fanny pack and brought back inside.
  • Proceeded with back-up T3i/600D to take star-trails

Most of the time, neither LP-E6 battery brings camera to life ... Canon original and aftermarket made by POWWER.

  • Both batteries have been working fine.
  • Both charge to "Full Green" in Canon charger.
  • Both show 99+% SOC (state of charge) once done with charging.
  • The POWWER after-market battery show three bars for recharge performance, which user manual indicates is "Fine"
  • "Recharge Performance" of the original Canon battery .. two bard (Slight degradation)
  • Removed CF card, removed lens, and put on body-cap to simplify.

Been using MagicLantern (ML) latest/greatest nightly-builds for about a year or so.

  • 5d2 had been working perfectly the previous day with the same ML firmware
  • Swapped out CF card with another that didn't have ML firmware on it. Still dead.
  • Canon may not like that camera has had ML installed. I think they can detect that some AutoBoot flag is set on the camera. Or not?
  • At times, I've had ML nearly brick the 5d2 and my T3i/600D with unhappy nightly builds, but these have been resolved with some head-scratching and wrestling. May have been operator error on my part ... PEBKAC.

After an hour or so inside, the 5d2 will intermittently turn on partially

  • With no CF card, and aftermarket POWWER battery, camera has come to life several times
  • Only about 1/10th of the time I turn switch from OFF to ON
  • Able to check "Battery Recharge Performance" and observe 3 bars (Fine) with POWWER battery
  • Whew ... at first.
  • But haven't been able to get ON with CF card installed ... at least at first when "boot'ing"
  • After about 10+ tries, about to get ON with Canon-oem battery and no CF card.
  • Two bars for "Recharge performance" using original Canon oem LP-E6 (manual indicates "Slightly Degraded")
  • Once camera comes on, able to open CF door (which turns camera partially OFF ... power LED off and LCD off)
  • Leave ON/OFF switch in "FULL ON" position
  • Install CF card
  • CF card recognized ... seems to be working ok
  • After about half an hour, camera won't come back on. Acting Dead again. Drat.

About a month ago, something similar happened, but I'm fuzzy on the specifics

  • POWWER after-market battery had been charging, and was "Full Green"
  • Put battery back in camera. This may have been the night before or as heading out.
  • Checked camera before driving away as a "last sanity check"
  • Camera dead, like battery was dead (glad I checked)
  • Put back in charger, and the status light flashing may have indicated nearly drained
  • Used original Canon oem battery, which was fine
  • Seemed like camera may have drained battery by just being in the camera overnight
  • Once POWWER battery fully charged, has been fine for the past month or so ... until yesterday

Camera has been used quite a bit by a non-professional, but "serious hobby'ist"

  • Utility included within ML shows about 190,000 shutter activations
  • Which includes going into LiveView mode
  • Canon specs indicate shutter is expected to last 150,000 shutter activations.
  • Stats collected by ML indicated that "average" 5d2 goes about 350,000 shutter activations before dying. Whew.
  • Camera almost never used for video
  • When first acquired, somewhat ignorant about what are "best practices" for longevity
  • Did some experiments with videos, and some were long and may have over-heated camera
  • Mea culpa ... camera has been dropped twice since I've owned it
  • about 4 feet each time onto carpet.
  • both times, didn't seem to faze the camera, continued working fine
  • possible some kind of "accelerometer" within the camera could detect it has been dropped
  • near end of warranty, and after first drop, focus screen fell out and was fixed under warranty
  • I did have to go back and worth with Canon support via email to get it covered under warranty
  • Which I infer that indicated that a "has been dropped accelerometer" hadn't been triggered. Or not?

Have extended warranty from Mack camera, purchased at time of original order.

  • Need to track it down ... ASAP ... and check for sure if it covers 3 years, 3 additional years, 5 years
  • Mack may object if ML firmware used?
  • Concern that if I send camera in for warranty work, it will behave when they test it.

Best guess? battery terminal connection or on/off switch or power supply?

#46
My understanding is that Canon has some proprietary EXIF info embedded in their .cr2 RAW files for non-standard info like

  • If Long exposure noise reduction on/off
  • If High ISO speed noise reduction on/off/strength?
  • If Auto Lighting Optimizer enabled/disable
  • Peripheral illumination correction enabled/disable
  • others, depending on model
The above (and more) is available to DPP 3.13.45 using their "Info" window. Many or most of the above don't seem to be available when Adobe's DngConverter generates .dng's from the .cr2's. Drat. Or perhaps I'm unaware on how to accomplish this?

If this Canon specific exif info is "lost" by DngConverter, is there a way for MagicLantern to accomplish this, or equivalent? Some other utility? I've asked on the ExifTool forum, but that doesn't seem like something ExifTool could do.

Could ML do something like make Keywords out of this non-standard exif info, such as what cr2hdr.exe does? Or some renaming option like what is an option with DUAL_ISO?

#47
I noticed there is a new (2013-Oct-4) cr2hdr.zip with refreshed cr2hdr.exe and dcraw.exe

I'm wondering if the changes make any different to the image quality of the resulting .dng's. If so, would it be worth using the new cr2hdr.exe to reprocess older .cr2's that used DUAL_ISO?

FWIW: My speculation is that if newer versions of cr2hdr improve image quality of DUAL_ISO images, then the original .cr2 is now the "master", and the corresponding .dng isn't really the equivalent of a "matching master".  Or not?

Would it be feasible/appropriate to somehow note or highlight that a new version of cr2hdr.exe improves image quality? Perhaps with some kind of naming convention? Or something the equivalent of PV2010 changing to PV2012? 


#48
5d2 2013-Oct-1 Nightly Build

In dim lighting, using "Set" to get ETTR will sometimes fail with the message "Expo Limits Reached".

When that happens, the ISO has been changed to 1600, and the shutter speed to the lowest allowed (like 30 seconds). My preference would be to return the ISO and shutter speed to the previous settings.

My practice is to make my best guess at exposure, take a picture, and look at the ETTR hint based on the actual RAW histogram (which I believe doesn't use LiveView, but that actual RAW data).

I've noticed that I'll get this message when it isn't really that dim, and an EV higher than 1600 ISO and 32 seconds will work ok. I suppose this is because ETTR "Set" works with LiveView, which meters at about the equivalent of 1/30 second? Or not?

#49
My understanding is that DUAL_ISO works best with the "base ISO" at 100, and the "recovery ISO" at 200 to 1600.

My observation is that using HTP can provide about a stop better dynamic range in normal (non-ML, non-DUAL_ISO) images.

What about using HTP (highlight tone priority) and ISO 200 as the "base"?

OK?

Flawed?
#50
Quote from: Audionut on September 14, 2013, 03:26:36 AM
The amount of resolution loss is directly related to the distance between ISOs.

DR increase is directly related to the distance between ISOs.

Need more DR, increase separation between ISOs, also suffer increased resolution loss, etc.

Is there a way to tell what the "effective resolution" is when using DUAL_ISO?

With Adobe Bridge, the metadata with my 5d2 continues to show nearly 5616x3744 resolution in the CR2 and the generated DNG (from cr2hdr.exe), regardless of whether I use 100/200, 100/400, 100/800, or 100/1600.

Is that "as expected"?

I also tried with Canon's DPP, and with RawDigger to see if they reported a significantly different resolution. No difference.

BTW, I noticed with RawDigger, that the .CR2 files had max channel values of about 14,740 (same as when not using DUAL_ISO). However, the generated .DNG from 100/1600 had max channel values of about 57,160. I suppose that is the blend of 100/1600? Ingenious / magic. Well done.