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Messages - FrankLad

#1
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 16, 2013, 08:19:44 PM
Update:  Mosaic Engineering had me ship one of my Canon t2i cams to their office for comparison against their own t2i that works with the VAF-TXi filter.

My gut feeling is that a solution will have to come through a software change (ie. Error 20 override/bypass) or some type of fairly drastic hardware change... but I'm hopeful they - or someone here in the forums - can figure out an answer.

Thanks for reading!
#2
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 12, 2013, 05:57:19 PM
Quote from: nanomad on September 12, 2013, 05:51:01 PM
Unfortunately that log seems incomplete. Make sure you turn off the camera *after* the red light turns off when error 20 comes up on screen.

Ahhhh, my apologies.  Here's a complete log:

http://www.frankladner.com/pubimages/LOG028.LOG

#3
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 12, 2013, 05:46:40 PM
Quote from: nanomad on September 12, 2013, 05:01:33 PM
It would be helpful if you could upload a debug.log

Hi, nanomad!  I've uploaded the most recent log here:

http://www.frankladner.com/pubimages/LOG027.LOG

Thanks for any help you can offer!

#4
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 10, 2013, 02:04:32 AM
Just wanted to confirm I've now tried the VAF-TXi on three Canon t2i cameras, with no success.  (At least, not without using the clumsy workaround mentioned above.)

The last camera I received had the 1.0.8 firmware which, as alluded to earlier, made no difference; still got "Err 20."

I've since updated it to 1.0.9 w/ latest Magic Lantern, CineStyle, etc. so at least it's up to par with the rest of my cameras... though I dread the idea of shooting a film without an optical anti-aliasing filter.  (While technically I can use it, I can't see it working well for the camera guys on-set, having to (cleanly) open/close/open the camera so many times, carefully installing the filter so frequently.)

Still searching/experimenting and SERIOUSLY hoping for a solution to this.



#5
Finally got the Vimeo version to upload, with ability to download source MOV file.


http://vimeo.com/74130775
#6
Here's a quick Canon t2i/550d RAW test I shot yesterday.  Captured at 1728x432 and upscaled to 1920x480.  (YouTube adds letterboxing, unlike Vimeo.)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK7ELm9nOJ0

Using the VAF-TXi resulted in very clean/sharp footage, though getting it to work with the t2i was clunky (as explained elsewhere.)

Even still, very happy with the results.  Given the short burst times, likely ideal for small experimental films and similar.
#7
Feature Requests / Error 20 Override/Bypass?
September 08, 2013, 08:53:28 PM
Hey guys!  I'm hoping it's possible for Magic Lantern to catch (and ignore) an "Err 20" / Error 20 instance.

What do you think?

In my case, it's not an actual mechanical failure; I'm simply trying to use a Mosaic Engineering VAF-tXi and am having problems on my t2i cameras.
(Background information here: http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=7265.msg73732#msg73732)

From what I'm seeing, Magic Lantern does detect the error condition, since it is able to write a log file.  But you have no choice after that but to turn the camera off.  (In my case, I remove the Mosaic Engineering filter, turn the camera back on, wait for the mirror to raise, install the VAF-tXi and film for as long as I can, until it switches out of Live View.  Then I have to repeat the process.  People with true shutter/mechanical failure have to either try a battery reset, or are otherwise left with an inoperable camera.)

What I'd like to see happen is Magic Lantern allow the camera to continue operation in video mode, even after the error is thrown.

I figure if this is something that could get implemented, it would not only help those of us trying to use the VAF-tXi with our DSLRs, but all videographers/filmmakers who've experienced Err 20 conditions, and would like to continue using their cameras for video work, regardless of the error.

Thank you for reading this!

#8
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 06, 2013, 05:58:00 PM
Just received the following email from Dave Cubanski (Mosaic Engineering founder).
He has been really helpful, and is keen on trying to figure out a solution to this.


Quote
Here's some additional information for you:  Earlier this morning,
we went ahead and upgraded the firmware in our T2i, from 1.0.8, to
1.0.9.  Happily, the camera still works fine with our filter; no
hint of this error condition.  By the way we did get your email
about the downgrade process; thanks for that; it may come in handy
still...

Later today, LiLi (here) is going to be installing Magic Lantern also;
I'll let you know if we run into any error conditions in relation to
that.

I'm still keenly interested to know, if the error occurs on your third
T2i, once you get it back, so let us know as soon as you discover
anything either way.

Lastly: Now that the 1.0.9 firmware seems to be working fine here, I'm
increasingly interested in swapping our T2i for one of yours which
produces the error.  As I had said, if we could access one of these
malfunctioning camera bodies for something like a couple of months, it
might give us the chance we need to find a way to make real headway
against this increasingly troubling issue - either through a modification
to the ML firmware, or by some other way.


This seems to confirm there ARE variances in t2i cameras.

The question remains... is it possible to bypass "Err 20" through Magic Lantern?

#9
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 06, 2013, 07:16:28 AM
Ok, I had the chance to put together a quick video showing the problem...

https://vimeo.com/73916093



#10
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 06, 2013, 05:57:56 AM
Quote from: 3pointedit on September 06, 2013, 04:37:23 AM
Does error 20only occur with auto lens on front. You can't test that with finger on mirror then. Can you prop the mirror open with lens on? If manual lens is ok, perhaps it is an aperture call that triggers the error, like a exposure simulation event.

Hi, 3pointedit!  I'm only able to shoot with manual lenses using the trick above.  Auto/electric lenses will not work in that scenario, as you point out.

But the Error 20 itself occurs simply when the mirror is held up, regardless of whether a lens is on the front or not.






#11
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 06, 2013, 03:29:29 AM
a1ex:  Thank you for reading!  I would have suggested the same as Rewind: to manually hold the mirror up, since this is basically what the filter does.

Quote from: a1ex on September 05, 2013, 11:02:13 PM
You need to investigate how err20 messages appear (where they are triggered from, where they can be killed). If you can find a way to reproduce without a VAF filter, I can take a look.

With the filter installed, the error is generated right after you turn the camera on in Video mode.  (or after the Live View button is pressed in photo mode.) There's a slight click (trying to lift the mirror) followed immediately by "Err 20... cannot continue, etc."

The only way I can shoot with the VAF-TXi on my t2i cameras is to let the mirror pop up, THEN insert the filter and pop on a manual lens.  ...but that's not ideal.

I can see that Magic Lantern DETECTS this error condition... I was just wondering if it can basically override and allow the camera to still function.

(Seems like this would also be useful for people with actual shutter failure, apart from filter conflicts... to allow them to still get video life out of their cameras.)

Quote from: Rewind on September 05, 2013, 11:09:00 PM
Seems like not all of the 2ti's are exactly identical )

It really seems like it.
#12
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 05, 2013, 10:55:08 PM
I'm curious about downgrading from Canon firmware 1.0.9 to 1.0.8 and running an older version of Magic Lantern. 

I spoke with David at Mosaic Engineering (who's become aware the Error 20 situation is not just an isolated incident, given the increased frequency of reports) and he says their in-house t2i - which works fine with the TXi filter - is running Canon firmware 1.0.8.

Found the link with information on downgrading (http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Firmware_downgrade) but am a bit unsure about disabling the bootdisk flag, AND not totally sure about ML functionality for 1.0.8 as opposed to 1.0.9, so would appreciate any thoughts on that.

Thanks for any suggestions!



P.S. Here's the text from the CRASH.LOG, which is generated when Canon's Error 20 is displayed:


ASSERT: dwDeadLine != 0xFFFFFFFF
at LVState.c:5842, task LiveViewMgr
lv:1 mode:20


Magic Lantern version : v2.3.NEXT.2013Sep04.550D109
Mercurial changeset   : 91c8e0493489 (unified) tip
Built on 2013-09-04 00:22:33 UTC by [email protected].
Free Memory  : 225K + 1697K



#13
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 05, 2013, 04:19:11 PM
Just thinking out-loud...

Is there a way for Magic Lantern to catch the Error 20 condition and ignore/bypass it?




#14
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 05, 2013, 05:20:56 AM
Here's the t2i + VAF-TXi test video:

https://vimeo.com/73831395

This was shot running the ML nightly build from yesterday.
Standard MOV/H.264 video clips but, of course, the difference is more pronounced in RAW footage.
#15
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 05, 2013, 04:30:52 AM
The folks at Mosaic Engineering are looking into this and will be calling me within a day.  I'm hoping for a workaround, which I'll gladly post here.

In the meantime, I've been able to do some test shots with the Canon t2i + VAF-TXi by installing the filter just after the camera goes into Live View, and just before putting the lens on.
Cumbersome, and not ideal in a real filmmaking scenario (eventually the camera will pop out of Live View mode and you'll have to remove the lens, remove the filter, get back into LV, pop everything back on, etc.) but to be honest, I really don't like the idea of shooting without one, so I may end up doing this each time.

Will try and post some test shots soon.

#16
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 04, 2013, 02:34:32 AM
Quote from: John Kesl on September 04, 2013, 02:28:42 AM
I don't have one, but it seems you should raise the mirror, then install the filter?

Hey John!  Actually, that's part of the installation process.  The mirror has to be raised for the filter to fit properly:

http://www.mosaicengineering.com/products/vaf/txi/install.html

(Camera is placed in Live View mode, raising mirror, VAF-TXi is installed, which holds the mirror up.)

#17
Hardware and Accessories / Re: 550d VAF-txi filter problem
September 04, 2013, 02:17:00 AM
I'm also having the Error 20 issue with the Canon t2i and Mosaic Engineering's VAF-TXi.

Recently sold my Canon 7D and VAF-7D filter in favor of getting three Canon t2i cams to shoot with.  Got a VAF-TXi recently (was hoping to order another in the near future) but got the "Err 20" screen.

Tried it on multiple bodies, with both electronic and fully-manual lenses (and no lens at all), to no avail.

I've looked for generic / non-VAF specific ways to "trick" the camera as it relates to the mechanical shutter (because I thought surely someone out there would know a way to use their DSLR in video mode, even after they get a real Error 20 for shutter failure) ...but haven't found anything useful yet.

Hoping someone can suggest ideas.

Thanks, guys!