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It may feel that way but it's really not once you actually start digging in. Sure it can be overwhelming at first, but once you learn where to go look and which topics to follow it's really not that bad.

Magic Lantern is decisively not designed for people who just want to install and play and there are plenty of warnings written all over the site to discourage that type of attitude. If you're allergic to manuals and impatient, you might want to move along, there are other easier solutions in the marketplace for shooting raw.

I'm not allergic to manuals, I just don't want to spend half my time searching for the right one. And then half again of that deciphering their content.

On the bright side, some professionally  written manual don't do as good a job at explaining thing as a few of the instructions put forth here. Getting ML set up and going wasn't that difficult.

I was thinking completely getting rid of the digic  processor and the buffer memory with a miniITX PC running i7 and that would either directly control the sensor and the lens system or emulate the canon motherboard hardware completely.

This will require an interface for the PC to work with the canon hardware and it can be canon firmware free (which justifies the earlier name canon mark free XD).And all this to record on high frames rates on RAID SSDs.

An interesting if not original idea. Actually many manufacturers have been offering that paradigm for a very long time.  In fact, entire industries are based on it. Definitely unique as far as cameras are concerned though.

The only thing you left out would be the financial incentive for Canon to offer such a device, Which heretofore has maintained a pretty tightly closed and exclusive market.

The processor is already, more or less, maxed out. So the commands are queued to end one process after the other. First it stops video and then sound, hence why sound has a longer duration than video.

As have been suggested, it is very informative to put on your reading glasses and grab your favorite cup of beverage and start reading. I doubt people are that interested in spoon-feeding when the treasure trove of information is freely available.

Its a lot more complicated then that. For one, its dry material. And two, despite some efforts to organize related topics, its still scattered in bits and pieces all over the sight. Its like trying to put together a puzzle while putting together a puzzle inside of that  puzzle.

Hello. It´s my first post and although I´ve been looking for in this and others threads, I don´t find the information (and/or because of my bad english ). It is about the start sequence of the camera when it switches on and load ML, it´s confusing for me. How many seconds it´s necessary to wait when I switch on the camera untill the load of ML is completed?. I´ve noticed that when I press any button during the boot sequence  ML firm is not loaded and I have to wait a few seconds , even in standby It´s more confused and sometines when I half-press the shoot button in standby ML goes out and original firmware is loaded.
Best regards

I've never timed it exactly, but I'm sure it can't take more than 5 sec. I'm really not understanding your dilemma. Are you saying its taking too long to load?

Anyway, the only way I get the Canon menu is when I press information. Are you sure you're are not pressing any buttons during the load sequence?

And who should do that? Messing around with firmware is no-go area for ML's devs. And messing around with pro stuff (1D C) on top of it? There are some hints Canon will hunt down those involved. Canon tolerated ML's efforts (until now) by doing nothing for/against the project.

Well I purchased my Canon 5D MK III over the Panasonic AF-100 because of ML. So I'm at least one customer Canon can be thankful to ML for.

Hey guys. Here is my first attempt at the 5D Mark iii. I'm using the Dec 27th build and sometimes i have to remove and return the battery for the camera to boot (simply switching it on and off doesn't help) does anybody else have this issue?

ML is installed on a Toshiba SD card (30mbps) and footage goes to a Komputerbay 1050x 128GB card.

Thanks for your time guys and do have a Happy 'belated' New Year!

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/83477023[vimeo]

That's a great start. Here's a few tips for the future:

Focal point -- Consider someone or some object you compose in the shot to draw our attention. Typically something that unusual or unique.

Moving objects -- things don't always have to move all the time. Where there is little or no movement, you can choose to move the camera instead. After all, it is a video.

Use the zoom -- Zoom towards the cell tower, or away from it.  Or consider a tilt, boom up/down, pan, or dolly in/out. The rack focus was a great idea, but try and have someone or some thing specific to rack from and to.

We look forward to your next video!

We have misunderstanding a bit here.
I did have "boot" problem. It took a bit of experimenting finally I got it ML booting and running OK.
The fix I presented at first message was the solution for me - so I posted, it may help some people.

Currently trying to get on the top of ML shooting raw video .....

I see. Did you set up a file with all the missing folders should you need to reformat and start again? I have all that titled ML boot disc ready and waiting should I ever need it. Don't want to have to go searching for it and find it missing or deleted. Good luck.

If I remember correctly, I have stumbled on plenty of posts regarding problems with KB 128gb 1050x, mostly disappointing speed. Me myself have 3 x KB 128gb 1000x cards that I have been forced to send back 4 times by now. Since passed summer. Different problems. Speed, defected frames with artifacts, corrupting with udma7 card readers etc. Thats why I gave up with them and bohght this mighty 256gb Sandisk and planning to buy another one. Btw, 2x128gb is ~200 eur more expensive than 1x256gb.

Its not an question of capacity, rather, one of security. Like flying in a plane with one engine or two: it gives you a backup. Especially for professionals where time is money. You cannot put all your eggs in one basket. If it fails, you loose...a lot.

This particular workflow also has the added benefit of avoiding anything to do with adobe, and in particular the creative cloud, and from that point alone it is worth considering.

If it is of any help the link to capture one is here. http://www.phaseone.com/en/Downloads.aspx

Not if your editor is part of the Adobe family. But I'm sure your help will be appreciate by those that edit as you do. Now if we can collect and organize all these into one area to avoid all this endless readings. If I ever solve my equation for RAW from ingest to render, I will post my procedure using Adobe suite. I'll also update here as I learn more and more along the way.

Here  is my first observation: RAW is not quite ready for prime time. Although RAW is a godsend for true cinematography, at the moment few -- correction no -- editors support it. In the future, I'm sure that will change. But for now, we have to hopscotch from program to program to get where we need to be.
The first step is to get from RAW to cinemaDNG which several application can do. Namely, Adobe's After Effect, Photoshop, and even Lightroom. Also, Speedgrade, Da Vinci Resolve, as well as several other free applications.

(BTW, you can view the DNG in Premiere but the playback will be slow as molasses (even when you lower the quality). So don't expect much at the moment other than viewing a still.)

The problem is once you've converted to DNG now what? That's where I'm at right now. Where to go from here? I could convert/transcode to a lower format edit, then reconnect. But the whole process is arduous enough without adding more step, and I don't want to learn how to lower the resolution's then bring it back up (if I can avoid it).

I guess its also a good time to figure when to use RAW and when not to. I'll be back when I learn more. So stay tuned.

[EDIT]

Unfortunately I don't have experience with WTH with the 5D, but when I was looking for it for my Canon consumer camera it literally cost more than the camera. Please let us know if you find something for the  5D.

EDIT

Here is one choice that may be of interest to you: Housing for Canon 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera

Lexar also announced updated CF cards with 1066x instead of 1000x. 160mb/s read and 155mb/s write speed.

Joining Toshiba and Sandisk who have had them for a while now. The Lexar cards are cheaper though. Incidentally, those max speeds are like the car mileage ratings: you ever quite get that at home.

I was just confused about the name "CF SMI Corporation SDCFXPS-064G" and I don't have any clue why this name should be different than Alex's one.
If I was SanDisk I would just use one name for the same product. The values are just fine, though. But I personally bought SanDisk because I never had issues with their "original" CF-Cards reliability.

I googled "SMI Corporation Compact Flash" and found this:
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/971601759/SMI_card_CF_Card_CompactFlash_card.html

And voila, there is the name "SMI".
I mean they seem to be really cheap and you can buy many of these fast cards. Probably same as fast as the SanDisk ones.
If I would want to make profit with this technique, I just would buy plenty of these cheap cards and replace the stickers with the SanDisk Extreme Pro 160MB/s ones.
Do you guys think this theory is crazy or do you think it is actually real? I am confused about that. The answer will not only help me but all others here in the forum and anywhere else in the world who are interested in the "original SanDisk" ones.

Thanks in advance !

Re-branding is a common business practice. For example, Samsung makes virtually all of the computer panel used in the industry even though you buy monitors from Apple or Dell.

The problem comes when you intentionally mislead or use someone else name without their permission. The unique thing about branding is it establish a reputation of quality. As you might guess, manufacturers are very guarded about what they put their name on.

The problem with those second tier cards is they typically lack strict quality control. These things are stamped in mass so some batches are good, while other batches are faulty but make it through. That's why many people experience this 50/50 good/bad from some card makers. Essentially making the consumer, their quality control. Which many people don't mind, if they can save money.

I wish we could collect the post workflow  in stages and all in one location: i.e., workflow using AA, 2) Workflow using Photoshop, 3) Workflow using Camera Raw etc.  Also note that updates are constant and may be necessary, and different version sometimes respond differently too.

Having to follow link after link to collect bits and pieces of data was a nightmare before you realize this. And I still don't have a completed timeline to rendered video that I can upload for viewing on Youtube, Vimeo, etc.

The cards I use are: 32 GB SanDisk Extreme 45MB/s (no ML) and 32GB Transcend SDHC (10) with ML on it.

I can't see where the problem is but I use Windows. The best way to narrow down a problem is to use the scientific method. Replace the  SD card with another and see if that works. Or second, try it on another computer (preferable one with your OS and see what you get.

At least then you'll know if its the card or if you're doing something else wrong. I suspect your procedure. Its usually one step you're missing or are doing wrong. That's all I have maybe someone else can help.

Here are more benchmarks with Global Draw set to off.
With the mlv_rec module activated.
Preview = Canon
Extra Hacks = On
Buffer full method = 3
CF-only buffer = 3
Freshly formatted CF Card with exFat
Magic Lantern installed on a "SanDisk Ultra SDHC 32GB Class 10"
Original Canon Battery

Fake card or not?

Not. Those are valid readings. What were you expecting?

So I just got a MacBook Pro with USB 3.0 and tested my new readers. The Kingston works just fine, but the Pixelflash doesn't at all!

Anyone have any experience with this? While the Kingston will transfer the data without any problems, when I use the Pixelflash, I get a "this disk is unrecognizable" error....what gives?

Sounds like an inferior brand. Send it back and buy only name brand products for now on. The cheap stuff just can't keep up with RAW.

I have been using the 64gb 1000x KB card and the 1050 128gb KB card since may with no issues. The only thing i notice is with the start up time of the 5d3. the 5d3 takes a lil longer to start up with the 128 card in then the 64 card.

Question for 5d3 raw shooters. Can the lexar 1000x 64gb handle these specs: or 2048x (2:35:1 forgot other dimension) 24fps, 1920x818 @ 32fps and 30fps, and 1920x1080 24fps and 1920x515 48fps continusly? Im not asking sarcastically im actually asking if it can sustain those resolutions cuz ill get one.

Its not about frame rate, it about data rate. And at approx 120 MB/s no DSLR camera I know of can attain that anyway.  Certainly none from Canon.

Anyway, those are the fastest CF cards there are. To go any faster you'll need a different form of card technology which hasn't been implemented in cameras yet.

The fastest memory card would now surely have to be this one: http://www.canonwatch.com/ces-2014-lexar-announces-worlds-fastest-memory-card/

Of course no current camera would be able to take full advantage of it but some memory card readers will. That would make downloading your raw footage very snappy indeed...

[edit: I just realised this is a CFast card, not CompactFlash. Same form factor but different pin configuration and not compatible with Canon cameras]

Well like you already said, no camera currently available can take advantage of their speed anyway. They're designed for the next generation of cameras anyway. It doesn't say if they're backwards compatible, but seeing as they are the same form factor it is like they will be. Just get the new reader since it can handle current cards as well as these.

I'm not sure what you mean. My post rises the price? Really? - Sorry for that dumpy question?

For me the Question is when drop the price..

I was referring to the "cons"  left out of the pros and cons. I think its best when folks know both side, don't you agree?

One is the enormous price. The other, is that's a lot of data to put on one card that could get lost, stolen, damaged, or corrupted. You might want to choose two 128 GB, or four 64 GB cards? Just something to keep in mind.

Hm.. 256GB sounds cool.

I maybe decided to purchase to. How many times have you use the card until yet? Often?

Maybee you can warn me If Something goes wrong with you card.

There is an exponential increase in price that was left out from the above post. By the time you reach the maximum 256 GB the price becomes astronomical, so choose wisely. I don't think anyone else makes a card of that size, and although any card can fail, Sandisk is as good as it gets.

ML installation - SD card want boot. When I got EOS M I wanted to use ML. Follow all instructions on the net ... the SD card would not boot.
The solution - as I use only UNIX/Linux systems the utility called fsck ( fsck from util-linux 2.22.2
fsck 1.42.7 version ) showed that "dirty bit is set ". It means that hard disk (SD in this case ) is corrupted so it can not be mounted nor used as boot disk. The fix is as follows, you have to be root or sudoer:
# fsck -a /dev/sdf1   ( where sd....1 what ever letter is your SD card ).  I do not know if this works on OSX.
I use 32GB class 10 SD cards. Did not try 64 or 128 GB yet. ML is great ....

I think you left out a step? Anyway, what brand is your card?

[Alpha 5d3]

MORE INFO: I can take pictures. None of the Canon menu buttons work (okay, revised, the set button doesn't work but i can select menu items by pushing on the mini joystick above it. i tried reinstalling the firmware and i got the same fonts.dat retry problem). The record video button doesn't do anything.


UPDATE: I somehow was able to get it running with the Alpha 5d3 software. Then I reverted to the Canon 1.1.3 and carefully went through all the steps to get back to the nightly builds. After the last step of updating the firmware with the boot flag, the same problem happened: "fonts.dat retry". but this time even though it said that, it's working okay!! wow. harrowing 24 hours!

Could you please be more specific? For example, specify which build by name or code rather than using the term "last." Like you did in your update above. 

I try to follow along with these posts but its hard to keep up when I don't know where you started form. And just to be clear what you mean when your refer to "revert": The default IS Canon software unless ML is launched correct? Thanks.

[older Sandisk Extreme Pro 90MB/s UMDA6]

The newest Sandisk Extreme Pro UDMA7 160MB/s VPG65 CF cards are great for raw video. I tested 64GB, 128GB and 256GB and finally decided to purchase 256GB which is absolutely reliable with my 5dMK3.
And even older Sandisk Extreme Pro UDMA7 100MB/s VPG20 handles continues 24fps 1080p raw video well. Make sure that you don't mix it with older Sandisk Extreme Pro 90MB/s UMDA6 that wasn't capable to hold recording speed above 83MB/s but rather stood around 75MB/s.

Actually, that's the average record speed of 1080p RAW ( +/- 2MB/s), so even that should be sufficient for RAW acquisition. Go for the updated UDMA 7, only if you prefer a bit more headroom for good measure.

I average 83 MB/s. Well below the card's stated 150 MB/s or my as tested, 120 MB/s write speed.

Incidentally, Canon lists the 5D MKIII CF card slot as being UDMA 7 compatible (Max 167 MB/s) whatever you care to take from that.

That is probably as good as it gets no matter how fast your card is. Think the camera writes around 100mb tops.

I haven't been able to locate the specification for the max speed of the CF card slot, but I can confirm that the UDMA 7 cards can read and write a lot faster.

My own test using CrystalDisk  Mark net 152 read and 121 write. The fastest I was able to get on the camera was 126 read and 92 write. Well below the cards capability.

How about speeds?
Is there even a chance that CFs will catch up with SSDs in terms of speed? Ever?

Yes, but the question isn't speed, its cost. Still, an mSAT module is just a bit larger than CF cards, and the can already reach speed of 3X what  even the fastest CF cards can. But even if that form factor is impractical for a camera, present SD cards speed still top out at 2X what your typical CF card can write, and 10X what your camera's SD card slot will allow.

What does all that tell you? That its not the cards, rather Canon's limiting and antiquated controller technology. As soon as Canon removes the lid, you can have all the glorious RAW you can handle.

I don't need speed. I'm perfectly fine with 1920x1080 RAW video, which tops at 83 MB/s. As long as I have that, I'm fine.
Of course, some people would disagree.

Like me? If you had said that 5 years ago there'd be no RAW. Or at least no way to do what you're doing right now. We always need more speed.

EDIT: for specific speed ratings