Messages

I am experiencing iso noise that is sooooo bad I'm afaid to shoot anything higher than 320. Can someone tell me is everyone just removing it in post? Or am I the only one who feels this way? I have used the t3i for the last two years, and I'm comfortable shooting all the way up to 1250, but 400 on the 50D looks worse than 1600 on the 600D. (to me) am I spoiled? Should I just treat it like a slow film stock and avoid high iso's or is there post magic that makes the higher iso's acceptable?

Make sure your exposure is manual and that you're getting an even exposure for each frame. You won't experience any noise, just trust the camera. If your exposure is too low or too high, you'll get that noise. If you need more light and want to keep your shutter speed (which you should always keep) and aperture is already wide open, then ramp it up in the ISO until your bracketing reads as close to 0 as you can.

Can someone please explain HOW to disable the BLACK LEVEL in the menu?  I get nothing but corrupted jumbled colored frames shooting in .RAW mode on the 50D with the latest nightly builds.

Try deleting your ML files on the card and replacing all files with the latest build. I'm not sure what you mean by "disable BLACK LEVEL."

Also - I get pink frames when I use the MLV format on my 50D. I recommend using the other raw option (which may be what you're doing already if you mean .RAW mode, good luck)

Hey guys. I bought a used 50d so I could play around with RAW video (my SL1 doesn't have ML available). I've got RAW video working and it looks great (latest nightly)...

My question is, where in the menu do you change the frame size/aspect ratio? I was hoping to play around with wide-screen stuff, and also just shoot at 720p. The default setting looks great but I'm wondering if I can change it in the menu somewhere and being a noob just can't find it.

thanks,
Justin

Just hit the function button to locate additional sub options for everything within ML. In your case, scroll over the RAW option, and press function. Press function again to exit the submenu, or hit the live view or trash can to exit back to live view again.

Just try the current nightly and let me know if it fixes the issue.

To get started with programming, follow the sticky topics from the development area.

Nightly Build 14 May 2014 Notes:

Live View - Expo Override DEACTIVATED:
-------------------------------------------------
+Shutter speed does not match camera settings
+Top shutter wheel adjusts ISO values, not shutter speeds.
+As shutter wheel is spun, adjustments are made in the opposite direction. I.E. a spin to the right decreases ISO values
+Rear click wheel adjusts both aperture and shutter speed values.
+Rear click wheel both increases and decreases shutter speed and aperture values together. One goes up, so does the other
+Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO are consistent both in low and bright lighting

Live View - Expo Override ACTIVATED:
-------------------------------------------------
+Full manual control available without menu navigation
+Top shutter wheel controls shutter values again
+WITHOUT FPS OVERRIDE: Shutter values are consistent with camera settings - i.e. 1/50 camera = 1/49 LV | 1/60 cam = 1/64 LV
+WITH FPS OVERRIDE 23.976 EXACT FPS: LV Shutter values are (approx) doubled from camera settings, but manual control is achievable. i.e. 1/80 camera = 1/48 LV | 1/125 camera = 1/60 LV

@A1ex, you must be a mad scientist. This build is as simple and usable as my (Stable v2.3 + raw) build, but with the benefits of the previous nightly build. I'm going to zip this build together and keep it in a warm happy place on my backup hard drive.

I'm also looking to get into using the new MLV format. I understand that tagging is available. A couple questions:
+Is changing from Raw v1.0 to MLV worth the different workflow, as the 50D does not record internal audio?
+Tagging the Take# is functional on the 50D on your new nightly build as well as the previous, but TEXT TAGGING is not functional in either build. Tips? Not possible on 50D?
+Using MLV2DNG.exe and MLVViewSharp, All frames are pink.

Keep on rockin,
ImagineFlight

[you do not have manual exposure controls]

@ImagineFlight: with exposure override turned off, you do not have manual exposure controls. You have Exposure Simulation. That is, you only get some brightness equivalent to the exposure settings you have dialed.

Proof: adjust the aperture and listen to lens clicks. There will be none. Instead, ExpSim is keeping shutter speed at around 1/60-1/100 and it's bumping the ISO. To confirm, take some silent pictures at different apertures and check the bokeh and the noise.

@ayshih (and anyone else who can compile ML): at first sight, it seems that CONFIG_NO_MANUAL_EXPOSURE_MOVIE should be disabled for 50D (internals.h). If the properties do not react in movie mode when you move the camera from bright to dark (like they do on 500D), disabling this will allow expo override to sync with the exposure values from properties (as dialed from the scrollwheels). Can you confirm?

https://bitbucket.org/hudson/magic-lantern/commits/ff23f490c3677be41618a04ff3d6319a03d3ce07

Hey @A1ex, Thank you for your help - I am in better understanding now. I think I'll continue to use my own v2.3 build since it's always worked for me. I like the new look of the nightly build with its shiny font and built in RAW, but the manual controls aren't as basic and controlled as the old build. I'll try out the future nightly builds to see if this changes, but for now I'll stick to what I know.

I'm interested in learning more about the coding behind ML, if you could redirect me to a forum explaining how to program ML, maybe I could contribute a little bit to what you're looking for.

ImagineFlight

last 2-3 pages of this topic is COMPLETELY OF TOPIC.... Pleas keep forum organized! Thanks!

None of this is off topic. So I guess you're right. It's "of " topic, being on topic about exposure on the 50D. Unless you think a forum about 50D specific video exposure should not be included within a topic on the Canon 50D, I'd say we're doing pretty well. Gotta love spell-check, right? "Pleas" use it.

Hey A1ex,

If you don't have coding skills, show me a video with the exact differences between the two builds (I don't have a 50D).

If you have coding skills, let me know how the exposure-related properties react in 50D when Canon decides to adjust the exposure automatically, e.g. when moving from inside to outside (test code linked above; a video showing the reaction of these properties would be perfect).

FYI, the 50D's video mode is similar to the one from the old 5D2, that is, without manual exposure controls. Therefore, ML adds them via exposure override (and, of course, should not sync to Canon's auto-exposure code).

I don't have Magic Lantern coding skills unfortunately. But I can verify that Canon was not altering the exposure settings. My camera was set to 1/50 on manual mode where it remained for photographs. ML seemed to give me odd shutter speeds and 180 equivalents, which changed when I attempted to adjust my aperture, throwing me into a "two steps aperture, two steps back shutter speed" mindset. Depending on the light I am experiencing when I activate Live View, this "Live view specific" shutter speed is different every time, causing me to reset all of my settings frequently.

All of this is  without Exposure Override activated. With Exposure Override activated, I am able to manually set my exposure. This is on the most recent nightly build, I have not tested other nightly builds.

I made a video of this occurrence here, though I'm sure this ML build was coded and written in this way for a reason that I don't understand or know of quite yet.

I'm currently using the Stable v2.3 build with the June 11 GregoryOfManhatten build (http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=5586.0) instead of the most recent nightly build and am finding great success with the simple and easy exposure settings (with the exposure override setting activated. Due to the inconsistency of the nightly build, my "build" seems to be much more simple.)

Thank you for your help in better understanding my camera and magic lantern. You guys totally rock.

ImagineFlight

Reminder: I can look into the shutter speed issue if anyone provides me with the info I've requested a while ago.

See also: https://bitbucket.org/hudson/magic-lantern/issue/1968/50d-shutter-aperture-doesnt-change-when

Hey Alex,
The biggest issue I run into with the new builds is the lack of shutter speed control. With my classic 2.3 build with raw, I have complete control. With the recent nightly build, setting my shutter speed is a nightmare. And when shutter speed is set incorrectly, video appears to stutter or have out-of-control motion blur. I have no clue as to why someone decided that shutter speeds needed to be set automatically and change alongside my ISO and aperture settings, but it's made working with the new builds extremely difficult. I can set my own controls manually and get fantastic video. With the new ones, it's like getting drug into a rabbit hole of confusion. I've tried a few days working with exposure override, and while it works, it's still not simple and easy like it used to be.

I have missed your previous posts requesting information regarding shutter speeds. Let me know what you want, and I'll get it to as fast and best I can.

Keep being awesome,
ImagineFlight

@ arboldeconfianza -  I tried using the tool you recommended to change the Black level setting but with no luck.  Nothing is happening.  Also, since a 50D is a 50D, why should we have to change the BL in the first place?  Shouldn't there be a standard setting within the ML itself when installed that fixes it by default use?  It really suxs that i cant get any of the latest builds to look normal on my 50D - they are all extremely pink/ magenta and can not be corrected.  I know its apparently a soar subject to bring this up, but the latest version of TL does not have this issue except a SLIGHT magenta shift that can be adjusted in CC.   TL was on the right track to perfecting the 50D.  I get amazingly beautiful creamy ALEXA like images using TL and processing through resolve.  TL still did have some issues that I thought the latest version of ML would have addressed by now....Please, dont give up on the 50D - its looks amazing - even better than the 5D mkii when processed right!

I definitely agree. The 50D is an animal when it comes to RAW video.

Using the most recent nightly build, I've discovered that using the MLV format comes out pink and un-correctable like you said. However, the classic raw format still works perfectly, now that I've learned to use the Exposure Override function. MLV on the 50D isn't a very plausible format for the 50D, since the 50D lacks in audio recording capability (which seems to be the point of MLV). I recently shot a promotional video on my 50D in classic Raw v1.0, and all my frames came out perfectly (almost - one was corrupted, had to adjust the Hex values with HxD).

I definitely prefer my personal build using Stable Build v2.3 and this raw build here: http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=5586.0

It provides the basic manual controls I always look for. However, your personal RAW preferences are lost on reboot - i.e. aspect ratio and the like.

Also, check this out - http://vision-color.com/visionlog/ I've been using this with ACR. I always color through ACR for a realistic image. This camera profile helps me achieve that and gives me solid working ground.

This is the closest to the problem I've been having that I could find. The last build I could use on my 50d was back in December. Ever since then I've had next to no control over the shutter speed, and I get a flashing screen as if it's hopping from ISO to ISO. In the past this would happen only when I tried to change the ISO, but with the latest build it starts doing it a few seconds after I turn the camera on. If I switch off LV I can set any shutter speed, but as soon as LV is back on it goes haywire again. For me the builds just keep getting worse and worse!

You wouldn't happen to have a copy of that build would you? The furthest back I can go on the nightly builds is January of 2014

maybe you should activate exposure override

That's just the thing - I shouldn't have to do that, shouldn't I just be able to have it available? And why does my shutter speed change when I adjust my aperture?

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

On the 50D, how do you set your correct shutter speed exposure? Which version of ML are you using?

for video, the screen values are the good ones. The ones from the top of the camera, are for pictures (as far as I know)

Thanks for the response! It's nice to have some sort of lead.

Can you help me understand what my values represent then, reading as  "1/92, 94°?" I'm having a difficult time reaching my desired 1/50 or 1/48 value for the 180° shutter rule. Nothing worse than bad blur for filming, looks terrible! Also - why does this value change depending on the light? Am I not in full manual mode for some reason?

Thanks,
ImagineFlight

Can someone help me understand the shutter speed values displayed on Live View? After upgrading to the most recent nightly build, (after using V2.3 with this RAW build - http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=5586.0) my shutter speed values are now confusing me.

My camera's setting, (based on the top of my camera) is on 1/50, since I shoot 23.976 and the fewer frames offer greater resolution shooting.

BUT in Live View it reads a completely different shutter speed and the Live View picture is whitewashed when shooting outdoors, (even though photographs I take with the same settings are exposed correctly). For example, the camera is set to 1/50, but in live view it will read as 1/92 (or any number it would like to). In fact, even when I adjust my aperture I've found that this number changes. I'm not certain of how my frames are being exposed. I also get confusing readings within the ML menu, like "1/92, 94°." When this value is changed within Magic Lantern, my photo settings change on the top of my camera as well. It also appears to loop around through settings when I rotate my click wheel far enough.

All in all, I would like some help in setting an accurate solid shutter speed for 23.976 fps raw video recording, and an understanding of what these units represent. Do I follow what's on my camera's top display or what ML tells me?

Regards and much thanks, ImagineFlight

I've searched everywhere. I'm sure everyone says that though.

Traditionally, I've been using ML 2.3 with the most recent RAW module plugin for my 50D supplied from here: http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=5586.0

I always shoot my Photo and Video in Manual. Always.

I decided to try the most recent nightly build and was thrilled to find that RAW Video capability was built into the ML firmware! The new font is shiny too.

I was not thrilled to find seemingly different and frustrating shutter speed options. The top of my camera currently reads at 1/50, (as I shoot at 23.976 fps for the extra resolution, so 1/50 fills the 180° rule), and when taking a photo, the exposure is always correct as I adjust through ND filters and aperture / ISO settings.

BUT in Live View it reads a completely different shutter speed and the Live View picture is whitewashed when shooting outdoors, (even though photographs I take with the same settings are exposed correctly). For example, the camera is set to 1/50, but in live view it will read as 1/92 (or any number it would like to). In fact, even when I adjust my aperture I've found that this number changes. I'm not certain of how my frames are being exposed. I also get confusing readings within the ML menu, like "1/92, 94°." When this value is changed within Magic Lantern, my photo settings change on the top of my camera as well. It also appears to loop around through settings when I rotate my click wheel far enough.

All in all, I would like some help in setting an accurate solid shutter speed for 23.976 fps raw video recording, and an understanding of what these units represent. Do I follow what's on my camera's top display or what ML tells me?

Regards and much thanks, ImagineFlight

The Quiet Season | A Filmmaking Experience
Brandon Neubert of Kaysville UT | 3 May 2014

The concept behind The Quiet Season began with a letter that my mother wrote to me while I was away in Tennessee for a few years in service for my church. When I received the letter, I read it through about seven times and went to a public library to type it into a word file and save it onto my portable hard drive. I don't know what caused her to write as poetically as she did in that letter, but I do know it was inspired, and I'm glad she wrote it. She's an excellent cyclist and loves to ride. What I loved most about this letter was how it shared her reasons behind her riding, the honesty of it all. It was so visual, so vivid, that I could see, hear and feel everything as I read. Simply put – I knew that other cyclists shared those same feelings, and I wanted to share her experience. Later that week I began basic scripting and very basic storyboarding. After that, I put it away for a year and a half until I could return back home to Utah.
People deserve to know that this was the first "real" "short film" I've ever produced. I have my reasons for not uploading the rubber duck love story that my buddy Angus and I made in high school, though it is pretty awesome. I'll start out by saying my experience using Magic Lantern on the Canon 5D Mark II was fast, moderately simple (with a complex workflow), and delivered more for my budget than anything else in existence right now. You can read about my workflow near the end of the article.

This was actually my first experience with ML as well, making this project even more difficult. But I didn't want to botch this and turn such a fantastic narrative into a sub-par home video. At the time, all I had access to was a Sony NEX-5N. So I began doing research on HDSLR video.

I discovered Magic Lantern completely by accident. While searching for HDSLR footage and learning about bitrates, frame rates, 180 shutter rules and other technical stuffs, I stumbled onto some ML Raw footage on Vimeo. I was absolutely and utterly blown away by the clarity I saw, and it blew all other DSLR footage I had ever seen out of the park, rendering it cheesy, cheap and totally obsolete. In fact, even footage shot at 540p on a tiny T3i in raw absolutely destroyed everything shot at the normal H.264 codec in "1080p." Ladies and Gentlemen, not all 1080p is created equal. The raw is so sharp and versatile, it doesn't even compare. Here's some post production coloring to show how data-rich raw footage really is:

Color grading example for the film. Magic Lantern really is magic.

Now armed with some newly found knowledge of DSLR video and the incredible potential of Magic Lantern discovered, I began even more research. I learned as much as I could about production that I didn't already. I realized quickly that the Canon 5D Mark III or its older predecessor were what I wanted. Through all of this, I was still building my storyboard, writing shot lists, scheduling shoots, locating and selecting music (which turned out to be right under my nose, stupid me...), finding locations through Google Earth, managing my (very) limited budget, and going to school at the same time.

Apparently you can rent 5D Mark III kits with Magic Lantern already installed for about $200 a week, body only. But I sent a message to my friends and coworkers in the BYU-Idaho AV Department, asking if anyone had access to a Canon 5D Mark II or III, and another request for a CF card. Turned out that I was in luck. Another friend and coworker, Andrew, was the proud owner of a Canon 5D Mark II, a Glidecam HD-2000, a Tamron 18-24mm wide angle lens and was already incorporating ML into his workflow. Another friend owned a very quick CF Card, onto which ML was quickly and easily installed. I rented all of this from the two of them for $110 total for the four day weekend.

Shooting dates were set, I found a ride home, and armed with my new weaponry and knowledge I got to work.
I had two days for the shoot. Originally I had planned for three, but if weather isn't one of the many destroyer of guerilla filmmaking then I don't know what is. Day one consisted of mostly ambient shots – those I categorized without having a rider. We shot a little of my mother during the evening when my father returned home from work. The day after, Saturday, was completely spent rushing from one location to another, taking two to three shots and moving on. I named my new ulcer, Freddy. Days were short, and the golden hour quickly faded into the golden 5 minutes, or so it seemed.

A small portion of my shot list and text storyboard.
Through some miracle, I got most all of my shots in, as well as some that I hadn't planned on before the sun disappeared on Saturday night. On Sunday morning it was snowing, but was able to capture the footage of the geese – to me, a key element of the film. Other decisions involved cutting external audio from the film, a decision made to save time and also to make it more cinematic. On Sunday I also recorded the narrative with my mother in her studio and she gave me the music. I'll tell you right now, having a studio producer for a mother is the best connection in the world. You can hear some of her other work here on her Bandcamp page:

https://lisaneubert.bandcamp.com.

Please remember that this was my first short film. When I finished, I had a massive amount of data to work with. I had researched previous ML workflows, run some tests and learned about how ML worked. But when you're working with that much data, it can be overwhelming. I was juggling three external hard drives around and had multiple file types in different codecs for each clip: DNG Sequence, Lossless AVI, Unprocessed ML Raw and a couple AE composition files. However, soon I was organized and ready to edit. My workflow looked like this:

1.   Use Raw2DNG to extract DNG files into their own folder. Label and organize shots according to folder.
a.   This may be the most important step of your entire workflow. I had all of my shots numbered and lettered before shooting anything.
2.   Use After Effects to create proxy editing files. Build your rough edit.
a.   (Now, I've learned you can use RAWanizer to combine steps one and two, a great time saver)
3.   Use Adobe Dynamic Link to link back to your original files in After Effects. Replace proxy images with full-res DNG sequences.
4.   Make basic color corrections and grading as you go.
a.   The video was so versatile and easy for me to color with my photographic experience in Photoshop and Lightroom. Without raw, it would never have looked like it does now.
5.   Complete your final edit in Premiere.
6.   Review all coloring, and make adjustments as necessary using Adobe Camera Raw in After Effects.

Many hours, late nights, caffeinated beverages, test audiences and prayers later, I finally reached the release date I had set a month earlier – Thanksgiving Day. I premiered it at home, made minor corrections (you never finish, you just submit it with faith), and uploaded it online, adding subtitles through YouTube's awesome subtitle tool. After uploading, it turned out I was only half way done. The next few weeks were spent contacting local bike shops, Facebook organizations, international online blogs and all sorts of pages to find my audience. Now, beyond my own belief, I've reached over 17,000 views – a solid 16,500 more than I even pretended to hope to gain. It's been viewed all over the globe in places such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Spain, Italy, and even Kazakhstan. I've received thank you letters from many people around the globe for sharing their own feelings and riding experiences in The Quiet Season. See, cyclists everywhere share a common bond that The Quiet Season was able to portray to others.

This project was an incredible experience for me. It was the largest projects I had ever undertaken, and took many hundreds of hours in planning, researching, learning, messing up, stressing, contacting, shooting, editing, driving, scouting, praying, and having a blast. It was so much fun. I'm really grateful that I took the initiative to film this narrative. It has been the building block in my current career outlook, and has opened many doors. For me, I just love telling the story. It takes a lot of work – to attempt this in a week would have been impossible to say the least. To attempt it in a month would have been difficult. It had been a project in the making for over a year. But hidden within the research, stress and sleepless nights was a story worth telling, and that made it all worth it.