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Hi guys,

Hope all of you are doing well.

I have recently setup ML with the recent NB and it seems to work just fine. However, I come to shoot raw and my nightmare begins. First of all, the cropped area which makes it extremely difficult to control focusing on the subject and second of all the size. I have been researching for days for the best/recommended settings for (ML and Camera settings) to shoot raw video. I have seen people shoot with the same camera (Canon 550D) and came up with brilliant results. How did they achieve that? What was their settings? How could they get such big frame and shoot in raw?

My question would be, what are the most recommended settings in ML to use? (Reso, Buffer, FPS...etc.) I understand the other cameras can perform better but I am on a low budget now and cannot afford buying another camera. Please someone provide me with the most recommended settings or options to choose in ML.

I appreciate your help in advance! Help me bros

  Jackknife welcome to the World of Magic Lantern.

You are having "nightmares" with ML is simply because your lack knowledge/experience of using this product. Are you new to filmmaking? How many of these 48 pages have you read? I understand, you don't have time to study you just want to pass the "test". ML helps us understand that there is a process to produce great image. I am learning so much about producing good images that I felt the need to help you as much as I can. I will go point by point.

1. Cropped area make it difficult to control focus: Lens control focus. If you shoot in low light and have to open the lens all the way you could have two problems: shallow depth of field and noise in the image. Activate, and always use ETTR and shoot as close to 0.0. ETTR shooing has helped me. I do not like blown out backgrounds and images that I see in most movies. Many filmmakers are okay with it. Make sure you have proper lighting. Also, before I record I turn ML off then zoom in 10x and set focus using a Digifinder Pro. Most of the time the focus is off so I set the focus and turn ML on...

2. Second of all the size: Use a lupe. it is hard to look through the 3 inch camera monitor. 2. If you are talking about needing to get more subject in the frame use a wider lens. To get a "big frame" move the camera closer to the subject.

3. Settings I used for film work are: resolution 960x540 shutter 1/47, fps 23.97, aspect ratio 2:39 for continuous shooting.
   Settings I am using for a music video are 1152x482......which will give you around 40 seconds.

Magic Lantern is a great tool! What I have learned is when I study a subject for myself I learn more about myself and then what I can bring to the "party." I've read all 48 pages concerning the t2i on this site. There are some really learned and smart people on this site. The ML founders are on this site! Many know way more than I do so I read and learn from them. Some of this tech stuff is above my head but if I need to know something I study harder. If you want to be a good filmmaker you need to do a lot of test shooting. Most of it will not produce good results but you will learn from the experience.

All is well.

Hi there.. i have an issue trying to record raw in Sandisk 16gb 200x 30mb/s. Only capture 95 frames in 960x360. I dont know what to do... its the same that i was capturing in a kingston 8gb class 4 card. I bought this card today because 550D, as you know, doesn't capture more then 20mb/s.
BTW thanks for all this, you are making a revolution.. greetings

Anakin what are your camera's raw settings?

 

I own about 40 vintage lens. I have two new lens, a Canon 70-200 f4 ($600), and a Tamron 17-50 2.8 ($400). Those and a vintage Yashica 50 1.4 ($11) are usually in the bag. The Canon is best for photography and the Tamron has the best focal lengths for video, the Yashica is the sharpest and best for low light situations. We shot a short movie with it. You can view "Osi" at http://www.colemanentertainment.com/page04.html.

With $500 and needing more than one lens I would look online, in pawn shops and camera stores for vintage manual lens: 28 2.8, a 50 1.4 and a 70-200 4.0 so then most of your needs will be covered. You also need for video a wide like the Tokina 11-16 2.8.

Auto focus lens will cost more so you could buy old and new lens and still be within your price range. Find and compare then do lots of research before you buy.
   

The DIY stabilizer is perfect for the T2i. In order here's my upgrade list: 50d, wide lens, glidecam.  When I upgrade to the 5diii it will be sitting on that Glidecam.

Btw folks, I shot a short film yesterday.  Here are the details and the link.

Frame Size:  1152x490 (gets about 30 seconds recording time)
Aspect Ratio:  2.67:1 (I think)
24fps
Lens:  17-40mm f/4.0, 40mm f/2.8
NLE Project size:  1280x720

Note:  I experimented with some post grading in some of the shots.  The ones that are pixelated heavily should just be ignored.  I also tried using a suitcase as a dolly on pavement.  Too jittery.  Outside of that, I need to work on my sharpening technique in post production, and get a steady cam for less motion jitter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r38xeDdjgn0

I just did a test of my old 13 year old $100 stabilizer and the $20 DIY stabilizer I built a year ago. Here is the T2i raw non-edited footage from the DIY stabilizer. : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REpObiVl3-0&feature=youtu.be     

Easy build based on this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rTRbGXJvrA

Go to Home Depot website.  Type in this:

EcoSmart 30-Watt (120W) Bright White CFL Light Bulb (1-Pack)

Great bulb, gives off yellowish color, which doesn't matter because when recording in RAW...white balance can be over ridden to suite ur flavor.  What matters is the 2100 lumen outputs.  More lumens = lower ISO = less noise + better shot.

One other thing.  If u can get one, the EF-S 10-22mm lens should prolly be the best lens u can use for wide screen and decent RAW filming.  The pure wideness of the shot will make up for the extreme cropping that takes place say when u do 960x540 or 1280x320.  However, with that in mind the price u spend on that lens could net u a 50D which has a much bigger memory buffer and screen output.  Decisions.....

Home Depot have those bulbs for $10 per bulb. Schiller's Camera rent that Canon 10-22mm 3.5-4.5 lens for $20 a day. If you pick it up on Saturday and return it Monday by 5:30 its still only $20. I read better reviews on the Tokina 11-16mm 2.8. The t2i raw crop factor is challenging and one of the reasons I'm getting a 50d.

What are you shooting on?

T2i and ML raw.

***EDIT:  I used 1280x426 mode, I think its 2.67:1.  I do not use "crop mode".  24FPS over ride.  Im not sure if its continuous, but i think I get around 15 seconds or more.  Best way to find out, record a quick test vid at any rate.  after it stops, ML will then "estimate" any options you select to give you a frames est you can record.  Rule of thumb:  24 frames is one second, 240 is 10 seconds, 720 frames is 30 seconds...etc.

Hey BrotherD!  Good idea on "verse by verse". 

I used the EF-L 17-40MM f/4.0 USM.  THis scene in particular was ay 17MM on the lens (which when applied to the 1.6 crop factor is 27.2MM). 

The light used was mostly "natural light" style light bulb form the ceiling with a diffuser, and a light on the side which pumps out 2700 lumens.  You can get them for $10 a bulb (really helps ISO, I bought 3, and for indoor shoots, I can do 200 ISO with proper lamp placement.  Using $3 crappy lamps I picked up from Salvation Army!!!!)

As far as the color grading and "softness" I did that in Adobe Light Room.  Very easy to do.  I should say Lightroom is AMAZING for the price you get...much cheaper than DaVinci Resolve or even full Photoshop.  All I did was:

*  Increase exposure
* Change Contrast
* decrease highlights, whites
* increase shadows
* minimal sharpness increase
* increase luminance and masking
* apply proper lense correction for distortion

Thats it.  After, I "sync" the rest of the TIFFs in the module, then export for reassembly in whatever tool you want.

Note:  ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS try to shoot in less than 800 (prefer less than 400) ISO.  Better lighting = softer picture, less noise.  You wouldn't know it, but the original video was LOADED with noise.  I had to get jedi with my color correction technique. 

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Yoda

Helps big time! That's a nice lens. I would have thought you used a 1.4 lens. I'm glad you are talking lights, which is my next frontier. I got four lamps. What's the name of those bulbs and what type of diffuser did you use?

Davinci Resolve 10 Lite. Color grading and correction is second to none. If I need to get it edited and rendered with the quickness, I'm calling Resolve. AE, PP, FCP, Vegas can do things today that Resolve can't. PP, FCP and Vegas better be very careful... As I look into the future I see having Resolve on your resume as a must. It's professional and free! C'mon man! Resolve is more important to me than a new BMW.

Did you want a technical answer?

Here is a video I did this morning that shows "the results" using the method I just described.  Even though it is only 720p, at full screen it looks way better than a scaled 960x540 vid on 1080p.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1j3g9KjibA

What lens did you use on that clip?

Here is a video I did this morning that shows "the results" using the method I just described.  Even though it is only 720p, at full screen it looks way better than a scaled 960x540 vid on 1080p.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1j3g9KjibA

Yoda that video looks great! Was that natural light? Post-processing? For a upcoming music video to be shot verse by verse I set the camera to a 3:1 crop, 24 FPS override(actually fps 23.97) and the resolution is 1280x426. the buffer speed is 21.7 These settings will record for around 90 seconds which is plenty long enough for this project.

  What crop did you use and were you able to shoot continuous?

We hear people say that the t2i is not good for shooting raw then another video like yours come out.

Keeping the faith!

Hey guys,

Long time lurker, I've been reluctant to try shooting Raw as I produce documentaries, so measuring the length of time I can film in frames didn't excite me very much. 12 minutes isn't even long enough, but it's the right amount of time to be able to control when to stop and start again (aim for a question as that's not a necessary part of the film)

Anyway I decided to try Raw with my 550D the other day, trying the continuous 960x540, 16:9. I was half impressed, but the work flow seemed to slow everything down so much it, the payoff didn't seem worth it. Granted, if I shot in a higher resolution I might be thinking differently, but I'm not sure if the pros are worth the sacrifice in the recording time, cropping, resolution and post workflow. I mean, if you light a scene properly and know the limits of the camera and how to use it, then h.264 isn't that bad.

I'd love to be proven wrong though, maybe my settings and workflow are the issue?

Record at 960x540 16:9
Copy all media to desktop and use RAW2DNG to convert each shot (this step took ages since it also creates the ProRes files... but they're useful so I wouldn't want to do the process without them)
GingerHDR into AE to grade and make any other adjustments and make a rough cut, then InstantHD to 1080p
Import AE sequence into Premiere to make last minute changes and add some sound
Export at 1080p for Youtube

RESULT:

Raw files - raw2cdng - dng - Davinci Resolve 10 - proxies - edit - balance, color correct - relink - export.   

Evening friends.

Note:  Im new to the forum, but not to video/audio production.  If I post something, its because I'm either contributing or I have "searched" and do not have the answer.

That said, I've been following this thread for a while, and decided to cross over to the dark side and grab a dev build for the 550D.

My setup:

Camera:  Rebel T2i, Sandisk 32GB Class 10 card that writes theoretically at 30 mps.
Computer:  2010 Mac Mini dual proc 2.33Ghz, 8GB RAM
Software:  RAW2DNG Utility, Adobe Lightroom 5, FCPX 10.0.0.9, ML build 11174 (noted on the first page of this thread, last entry on the builds section)

So, I was able to "record in RAW", but only at 960x540 at 14 FPS...but it stopped automatically after 10 seconds.   Booooo.....

My question is this:  What settings must I use for the RAW recording module to get 960x540, so I can record continuously at 24FFPS without stopping?

I set the FPS over ride to 14 FPS just to start, using "EXACT FPS" option in the sub menu.  Ideally, I'd like to be able to record 2-3 minutes.

The rest is easy.  I was able to export using RAW2DNG utility, import into Lightroom, and take advantage of all the RAW editing options in Lightroom.  Exporting was just as easy, as well as adjusting in FCPX.

If anyone has answers this this problem, I'd appreciate it.  What I'd like to do to give back, is once I know I can record without stopping, write up a small tutorial on the whole process so folks can follow along, soup-to-nuts, and be able to achieve similar success. 

Im very familiar with the 2.3 ML Stable package, but if we can understand the settings required for RAW....it would be so awesome.

Thanks all.  If anyone has questions on Lightroom 5 or FCPX working with this material, please hit me up.

Cheers,

Yoda
550D
Lenses:  18-55mm IS, 40mm 2.8 USM, EF-L 17-40mm USM f4.0, 50mm f1.4 USM, 50-250mm IS
Software:  FCPX, Logic Pro 9, Adobe Lightroom 5, Motion 5, RAW2DNG, EOS Utility
Hardware:  Rode NT-1A, Mac Mini, Yamaha RX-V3800, Paradigm Studio v5 Towers (biamped), Green Screen

Yoda, I just did a quick settings test of 960x540, fps override 23.97 and 16x9 framing. The results were continuous shooting. In your camera scroll to raw video, click the Q button (next to WB) then change the framing. You will see the write speed, in green letters, change at the bottom of the screen. Mine read 960x540 (16x9), in white letters and 20.7 MB/s at 23.97 in green letters.

Read through this thread's 44 pages and you will get answers and be blessed by all the work the Magic Lantern team and others have put into shooting raw!

Hi All,

Thank you so much for the reply

I ordered for a 32 GB SanDisk SDHC Class 10 20MBps (I have a 16GB of the same variant and I found it useful for RAW).

I am finding it difficult for a workflow on Ubuntu 13.04, however! If any of you guys are using Ubuntu 13.04 please provide your suggestions regarding workflow.

I installed WIne and downloaded RAW2DNG.exe (for Windows). But finding it difficult to decipher the RAW file.

Thanks once again.

Cheers,
Prabhath MP

Try raw2cdng version 1.30. Search for it on this site. It's easy to use.

Hello guys!

I am new here. I`ve decided to test out one of my cameras and in this case EOS 550d. A make a short movie and it is my first test of making Raw video. I`ve squeezed out a max from this camera at the moment. Here are some data:

Lense; Sigma 30 mm f/1.4
SD Sandisk Extreme 30MB/s

Settings;
Aspect ratio; 1728x864; 2:1
Shooting in 23,976 Full HD mode

I had no bad frames. The big issue here is that in this settings I can get out only 24 frames and than camera stops shooting. I slowed the footage down to 60 % of original.

I`ve recorded arround 60 videos and with DOS extration method I have a couple of hours of work just to extracting these files. Is there some other - faster method than this? I would be very glad for any kind of information...

Somewhere I`ve noticed  that writing speeds of SD card system in EOS 550d is max to 30 MB/sec. Is this true? In this case I will have to wait for some stable version of ML for my Canon 7D to do RAW with 1000x CF card. Because in this case it is not appropriate to work serious.

Here you can see my work:

I did not put a lot of effort to editing this work, but anway what do you think? 
Cheers from Slovenia!

Very nice composition and images! Have you tried any other settings? I shot a music video Friday with some settings recommended on this site: menu, 720, Magic Lantern frame override 23.97, 1200x344. I like having many shooting option with ML.

I use Eyeframe. Open, drop raw files in, give it "20" seconds to ask for file location for the dng's and tiff's. Select folder. Pictures of tiff's show up in box. If you need proxies click convert and select type of proxy from pull down menu. I think Eyeframe is fast but I have not compared it to another program or an expert on the "best" program to use.

Dear telecastDaveRI,
I do have same request as NedB. Hope that you can share a bit about your success. Thanks!

BTW, while recording using live view i can zoom 5x but 10x make my camera crash immediately, so how can we do the proper focus without zoom in and how to back to normal view after 5x zoom (as above 10x crash)

Keba hit the menu button to exit the 5x mode.

Derrick

I'm using this build currently
http://www.mediafire.com/download/kjj8ddkkfmge8vz/ML_550D_Dual_ISO_Aug_25_2013_Update.zip
it was on the first page at the bottom of the first post

Yeah I don't get as many frames with the latest build compared to the build I was using before
I messed with dual ISO very little, so far what im getting is that because it is using every other line the resolution is cut in half..not to big of a problem on the mark 3 @ 1920x1200 but a big problem on the t2i @ 1200x496

Yeah I heard turning off global draw can really help increase recorded frames when shooting in raw but im only find the difference to be 20-30 frames at the most..id rather be able to monitor my levels and histogram while shooting than have 30 more frames...

I guess in the latest build they added some kind of card warm up feature with the raw video, not sure how much it helps if any but on start up your camera writes a file to the sd card and its supposed to increase read/write speeds for shooting raw

I can wait until I learn more about dual iso however I will start using global draw and card warmup now. Thanks! 

Have you tried to convert the raw files with Bachelor or RAW2DNG? I recently filled my card and corrupted my raw files.

When I exported them using Bachelor, the frames were listed a .dp-2 rather then dngs. I ended up using a cmd trick and rewriting their extension to dngs and I was able to recover all of my raw images.

DL sooner or later many will run into this problem unless ML can "read" the files. I have two files from different shoots and during a music video shoot today it might have happened. Files are being processed with Eyeframe now. Where can I find Bachelor and can you share the cmd trick?

Thanks!

I am a HUGE fan of anamorphic aspect ratio, partly because how we are all so use to 16:9 and 16:10 because of web outlets

Testing out settings because you mentioned it
Since I've shot this video I updated my magic lantern to the latest build with dual ISO

23.976 Global Draw with histogram, waveform, crop overlay
I use to be able to only do 2.42:1 1200x496 continuously for ~510 frames

but with the latest build I am getting

23.976 Global Draw with histogram, waveform, crop overlay, card warmup 1GB
2.42:1 - 1200x496 - 489 Frames
2.39:1 - 1200x502 - 445 Frames
2.35:1 - 1200x510 - 410 Frames
2.20:1 - 1200x546 - 291 Frames

16:9 - 960x540 - Continuous

hope this helps

It do help me formulate a few more questions. Where did you find that latest build? It looks like you got more frames with the old build? Have you tested the dual iso? I thought we were "supposed" to shoot with Global Draw off What is card warmup 1gb?

Thanks again!

Of Course!

T2i - 50mm 1.4 - 24mm 1.5 - 70-200 2.8
SanDisk Extreme 45MB/s 32GB

Shot cropped @ 1200x496
Converted with Raw2Dng
Processed curves and color in bridge
Exported as JPEG @ 1920x794
Imported into premiere as sequence
Video limiter, Luma Correcter
Exported as H.264 @1920x794 5MB bitrate

I havent read too much on the dual iso yet for t2i, i hope its all ready for use :/

I watched it again. Loving those desert shots! Have you tried shooting 960x540, 16x9, 23.97? I'm thinking you have and you just like the look of 1200x496? I'm inquiring because I have a music video shoot tomorrow. The plan is to use the Panasonic LA 7200 anamorphic adapter with a Cosina 28mm lens. You got me thinking about shooting it 1200x496 instead of 960x540. I will go do some test shots...

 Thanks y3llow, I like the way you patiently answer questions. Is this your or one of your raw workflows from AE to Resolve?

"Have you tried a wider working space in AE, exporting as full range DPX and importing into Resolve as full range, monitoring in Resolve via a rec709 display lut / calibrated monitor and encoding to rec709 video formats from there? You'll be monitoring / previewing as rec709 (16-235) so things may appear to be clipping and crushing in preview although your scopes should tell you otherwise as the 32bit work space should ensure no clipping whilst you grade and making your choices on how you compress your DR into rec709 for final encode?"

Derrick

Nice video Yomo! Can you post the specs, workflow and if you resized the image? I thought dual iso only works in photo mode with the T2i.

OK thanks Just need a little time for research Sooner

You would think class all 10 cards read and write fast. Some of them write at a max of only around 15mb/s which is not fast enough for a camera that can write raw video around 21mb/s.

To me it blows my mind thinking about how Magic Lantern has the T2i a "consumer" camera shooting raw video as opposed to the 5DIII and 50D, professional cameras that are writing raw video files faster than 80mb/s.

Thanks again ML!

Derrick

i have a sd card speed 6 can i shoot a raw on it ?

Dirty, the short answer is no, well, maybe. yes. My class 6 Scandisk Extreme III cards from 2010 works fine. My newer class 10 cards from Kingston and Micro center write slower and not as long as the the the Scandisk. Get the fastest cards you can afford. Do a little research.

Derrick

Mann if you research this forum, you will see that some do not have or know Resolve well enough to include it in their workflow. Audio, titles and pink dots in raw files are still "problems" in Resolve. I do finish in Resolve. Most of us have After Effects. Resolve will be a complete editing software program in the near future. I am looking forward to that day!

Derrick