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Hello all,

Two weeks ago I filmed with my EOS-M this video called "Miroslav's Home" for a friend of mine who lives with his family in a village in the central part of Bulgaria.  Yesterday, November 21-st, in my country, we celebrated the Day of the Christian Family, so I thought, it might be appropriate if I post the video here for those who value traditional family virtues.

Gear: EOS-M, EF 35/F2 IS, VND-filter, EF/EFS to M adapter, Ronin SC gimbal

Mode: Anamorphic 1280x2160 / 10bit lossless / 24 fps

Post processing: MLVApp (basic adjustments), export to ProRes422LT

Video Editing: DaVinci Resolve 16 Lite, final export in 1920x1080 resolution using the H264 codec

Conversion from H264 to H265 for file size reduction by a factor of 2,5 


Your comments will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Hello all,

    I guess, most of you are aware of the latest ML developments on the 700D/650D which our developer TheBilalFakhouri has turned into powerful raw video cameras thanks to his work based on the invalueable work and help of other lead developers:

https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=25784.0

    There is another camera that is almost identical to the above two models and also has the overclockable 41 MB/s SD-card interface but has not received an update for more than two years now.  This camera is the EOS 100D.  It is a pitty because the 100D is the lightest (400 g) and smallest DSLR ever made, is very powerful and is perfect for travel and gimbal work.  Personally, I also have the EOS-M which is even lighter.  However, when traveling, I much prefer the 100D since, apart from video, I also shoot a lot of stills and street photography and cannot live without the optical view finder, especially in bright sun shine.  Here is a recent video which reveals the excellent performamce of the 100D for filming low-light raw video:

https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=26245.msg236819;topicseen#msg236819

    A while ago, I talked to Danne about a possible ML update and he was of the opinion that implementing the latest 700D/650D developments into the 100D should be fairly easy and should not take an experienced developer more than a few days of work.  Then I decided to talk to TheBilalFakhouri and he also confirmed that getting the 100D updated shouldn't be that hard.  He also said that he would be glad to do the work and add the 100D to his list of supported cameras, however, he must have a working 100D in his hands to complete the job successfully, (based on failed attempts to work on the 100D remotely).  Unfortunately, the 100D is not popular in his country and it can be impossible to lend (or get) one.  That is why, on behalf of those who still use the good old 100D, I am asking for help.

    If there is someone on the forum who has a working 100D that he/she does not use any more and would be willing to donate to TheBilalFakhouri for the above update, please contact him with a personal message and he will suggest how to get the camera to him.  In my opinion, this would be the only way to breath new life into this fantastic camera.  Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Hi all,

A few days ago I filmed my daughter's highschool graduation party on the 5D3 using the April 1-st, 2021 experimental build by Danne.  I wanted continuous 4k/24 fps recording, that is why I decided to use the 1x3 anamorphic mode at 1392x2340 resolution, (crop factor of about 1,38). This mode provides continuous recording without card spanning or SD-overclock even if the scene is slightly overexposed.

Here is a short film from the event that is the result of 73 GB of RAW footage:

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/9eKT/xhmMafCFQ

If you have a slow internet connection, please do not watch the video online but download it on your computer using the blue "Скачать" button in the bottom left.  Sorry for uploading just a 1080p version - no quota for more.

Gear used:
------------
5DMkIII, EF 35/F2 IS, Gimbal Ronin SC

Post processing:  MLVApp v. 1.12, export to ProRes422LT
------------------

Video editing and adding music: Davinci Resolve 17.2 Lite
------------------------------------

Overall, the above build has been extremely stable and reliable.  Good job, Danne !!!  I never had a single glitch while filming during the entire session, not a single corrupt frame either.  Was a little bit concerned about battery life since replacing the battery requires the camera to be taken off the gimbal but it turned out that one full battery charge was sufficient and I never had to replace the battery.  Focusing at 5x and 10x magnification goes really fast and is very accurate, the histogram shows accurate exposure too. 

As far as image quality is concerned, my daughter pulled out several stills from the clips at moments that she liked most and all her friends were amaized by the quality and the possibility to capture and extract precisely the candid moments from the shots.  Personally, I like the absence of moire and aliasing, as well as the rendering of finest detail.  You may not like my grading but I am not good at that.  The processing latitude of RAW video is enormous, even at 10 bits - so, there is a lot of processing latitude.  I think that if you do not mind the 1,38x crop factor, this anamorphic mode is the perfect choice for 4k event videography at 24 fps. 

Thanks for watching and please let me know your opinion on that.

This video called Mushroom Adventure was filmed last weekend in the Vitosha mountain nearby Sofia where we enjoy the beautiful fall colors in this time of the year.  I wanted to test the new 4k anamorphic mode of the EOS-M implemented in the latest October 27-th 2020 experimental built by Danne.

Gear:  EOS-M, EF 35/F2 IS, EF-S 10-18/F4,5-5,6, EF to EF-M converter, VND filter
          All clips were filmed hand held at 1280x2160p resolution, 12-bit lossless and 24 fps

Workflow:  Basic corrections and export to ProRes 422LT: MLVApp
                Video editing, stabilization in post and adding music: DaVinci Resolve 16

The video:
https://vimeo.com/478147414
Your comments and critical remarks will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[Additional gear:]

Hello all,

This video was filmed at the Southern Black Sea Coast where my family and I usually spend our summer vacation.  The wide angle shots and timelapses were filmed on the 100D with the EFS 10-18/4,5-5,6 IS STM lens while the close-up portrait footage of the young couple was shot at the 1736x2928p/10bit lossless/14fps full sensor readout anamorphic mode on the EOS-M equipped with my favorite vintage lenses:

Sigma 90/F2,8 DL macro and
SMC Takumar 50/1,4

The Sigma would not let me control the aperture but is a very sharp lens producing a beautiful bokeh and background blur.  I had to control the exposure entirely with a VND filter.  A little tricky to focus but once you nail focus, footage is really beautiful.  The same applies also to the Takumar.

Unfortunately, 16 fps were not available on the EOS-M at the time of filming but even 14 fps in combination with the Optical flow function of DaVinci Resolve were found to provide a pleasing result with a nice motion blur of the sea water.

Additional gear: Tripod and VND filters

Post processing: MLVApp (for cleaning focus pixels and very basic adjustments) and DaVinci Resolve for the Optical flow, video editing and adding music.

Due to limited Vimeo quota I was unable to upload the video in 4k resolution, sorry about that.  But downscaling from 5,2k to 1920x1080, in my opinion, provides excellent FHD quality.

Please let me know what you guys think.

And special thanks to Danne for bringing the EOS-M and the 100D to perfection, making them the ideal travel cameras.
https://vimeo.com/444943732

I discussed this briefly with Danne on the EOS-M thread and he suggested that I should start a new topic on it. 

The EOS-M is not only the second most powerful ML capable camera after the 5DMkIII but is also very user friendly.  Thanks to the systematic efforts of our developers, we now have a variety of built-in presets, instantaneous access to ISO and aperture, various focus aids, etc. which help users to quickly and easily get their filming jobs done. 

In this thread I would like to suggest another improvement that would make the EOS-M even more user friendly.  Would it be possible to memorize specific custom settings, that differ from the hard coded presets, similar to C1, C2 and C3 on the 5DMkIII?  These custom settings should be easily accessible as on the 5D3.  Why, and are the already available presets not enough?  Well, not really, at least according to my experience.  If users often change modes, whenever they decide to go back to a previous mode, something has changed (shutter speed, shutter fine tuning or resolution, etc. ), so they have to adjust these settings again and this takes valuable time and wastes battery power.  If a user has  a specific setting that he uses often and he can store it as C2 for example, after filming in another mode or using another preset, every time he wants to come back, he simply selects the already stored custom setting C2 and the camera  restores all of his settings stored under that C2 custom mode.  This is how they do it in the 5D3.

I am not sure if I make myself clear enough but the basic idea is to memorize a current set of settings, (say timelapse filming at 5k anamorphic with intervalometer active - C1), on a push of a button for C1-C3, just as this is done in the 5D3.  And then, restoring those C1 settings, (from say 1080p MCM rewired),  should be possible on a push of a button and maybe a C1-C3  selection from a submenu too.  The quick selection of ISO and aperture on a push of a button is simply fantastic, as it is now in the EOS-M.  Custom sets of C1-C3 settings should be selectable in a similar way too.

If someone familiar with LUA scripting would be interested in jumping in and implementing this additional custom functionality, I am sure, this will make many EOS-M shooters quite happy.  On my part, I would be happy to test and provide feedback throughout the development.

Are more people interested in that?

Hello all,

At New Year's eve, I had the opportunity to play around with the EOS-M and the Viltrox speedbooster (VSB).  So, I decided to push this camera to its limits by filming the fireworks in the first few minutes of the 2020.  Several hours ealier, just a few minutes before it became completely dark, I captured the last sun light of 2019 that was producing a beautifil sunset.  These shots, filmed out of my window at Dual ISO 100/800, worked out quite nicely, without problems at all. The fireworks, however, turned out to be a real chalenge.  It was so dark outside that I could barely frame the shots.

I used my favorite EF 35/F2 IS lens which the VSB turns into a 24/F1,4.  This large apperture was very welcome in the darkness, so I filmed wide open.  My Dual ISO setting was pushed to the limit (200/3200) to get the exposure right but still, the fireworks clips were underexposed by two to three stops.  To have enough vertical resolution for the Dual ISO, I decided to use the maximum 1736x2928 anamorphic resolution available on the EOS-M for 16:9 aspect ratio.  This resolution allows continuous recording at 14 fps and 12-bit lossless if the shot is slightly underexposed.  I had plenty of underexposure, so I could film as long as I wanted and never had an early stop. As an additional bonus, this resolution almost completely eliminates aliasing and moire which can be a big problem with sharp lenses.

I know, many people fear low frame rates but I use them all the time for wide angle videography with no issues at all.  When moving objects in the frame are small, which is true in most cases with this type of videography, then their angle velocity with respect to the optical axis is small enough to eliminate visible interruptions in the motion.  Adhering to the 180 deg. rule provides very smooth filmic motion as you can see in the video. EOS-M has a very useful feature which allows the shutter speed to be fine tuned to the desired shutter speed, so I adjusted it to 1/29 s. - close enough to the 180 deg. shutter. 

As always, I did the Dual ISO conversion with a few basic adjusrments in MLVApp and the conversion to 24 fps, video editing and adding music - in DaVinci Resolve 16 Lite.

The final result is not perfect but in my opinion, usable.  For some reason, Vimeo reduced the contrast which is not nice but ... see for yourself:

https://vimeo.com/385702749

Your comments will be greatly appreciated.

Hello all,

This is my first attempt to film low-light street portrait videography at night using the 5DMkIII with the amazing EF 85/F1,4 L IS lens.  The footage was recorded hand held in the pedestrian zone of Sofia called Vitoshka.  I used the October 13-th experimental build found here:

https://bitbucket.org/Dannephoto/magic-lantern/downloads/

and filmed at 12-bit RAW with lossless compression in the anamorphic 1360x2296 mode which results in 4080x2296 final resolution.  Overall, very pleased by the video quality from the above setup:

https://vimeo.com/370631151

Postprocessing workflow:
----------------------------

1) MLVApp: very basic adjustments - white balance, exposure, curves, saturation, sharpness, export in ProRes 422 LT,

2) DaVinci Resolve Lite: cutting, mounting and adding text and music, final export in MPEG using the Quicktime codec for lowest file size.

3) Upload to Vimeo in 1920x1080 resolution without upscaling - unfortunately, my internet connection is too slow for uploading larger resolution files.

Some feedback on your part will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Now that it became quite clear that the good old EOS 7D is not likely to receive further ML development:

https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=23738.msg214441#msg214441

and will probably be forgotten soon, I have decided to post a video, filmed with this camera, which I consider as its "swan song" (see download link below).  Many people ask me why am I so crazy about this old camera, released about 10 years ago.  Well, watch the video and judge by yourself.  The first 3:26 minutes of it were filmed with the 7D at 1728x972 resolution using the 3x3 sensor reading method meaning that the video contains just 1/9-th (or 11%) of the sensor information.  Despite this low resolution and mediocre sensor reading, when I watch it on my 30-inch screen from a distance of about 2m, I have the feeling that the clips were shot on Kodak Ekta Chrome color slide film.  The colors, detail and dynamic range of the 7D are just incredible.  I have also included clips from the EOS 100D, (starting at 3:26), for comparison.  Despite the fact that some of those clips were shot at 2320x1306 resolution using the much more superior 1x1 sensor reading method in the crop mode that provides 100% of the cropped sensor information, the 100D clips look much flatter.  You can distinguish the 2320x1306 clips from the ones shot at 1736x976 resolution on the 100D by closely watching the resolution in the areas of fine detail (vegetation, tree branches, etc.).

In my opinion, from all ML-capable cameras, the 7D is the one that provides overall RAW video quality and look closest to the Arri Alexa, considered to be Hollywood's  top notch standard for digital video quality and cinematic film look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mslRGYa-80

The video that I am posting here was shot with the EOS 35/F2 IS, the 24/F2,8 IS and the EF-S 18-55/F3,5-5,6 IS lenses on both cameras hand held.  I also used a variable ND filter in the clips shot at bright sun shine to avoid stopping down the lenses to more than F11 where diffraction starts softening the image.

My workflow:
========

1) Converting the MLV files to virtual cDNG sequences using MLVFS which now cleans 100D's focus pixels quite well.  Thank you, Dfort!
2) Color correction and editing in DaVinci Resolve 15 Lite
3) Export to MPEG 4 in 1920x1080 resolution

Since I don't like what YouTube does to my videos, I have uploaded the video to a Cloud.  Here is the download link:

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/3Yw3/MbAHmSoSk

If you wish to watch it in its highest quality, please download it to your computer using the "Скачать" button in the top left of the page from the above link.  Enjoy and let me know what you think.