Is Magic Lantern safe? Afraid to try?

Started by deletedAcc.0021, April 04, 2013, 04:50:25 PM

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deletedAcc.0021

I was very skeptical at first about ML and must have searched a million pages and youtube videos about ML and being safe.  Hell, even the developers say that it is "not safe" in the FAQ's.  So I can understand peoples reluctance when it comes to installing ML on their new camera.

I was really nervous the first time I hit the firmware button to install ML, so nervous that I actually called Canon's Service Center first to see if I'd void my warranty.

Anyway, its been installed for a couple weeks now and I've put ML though its paces. I wanted to know how far I could push it and still recover from a "bricked" camera.  I did everything the developers say not to do in the "best practices" page.  Including taking out the card before waiting (T3i) the recommended 5 seconds, running the battery dead while recording, formatting the card outside the camera, and even changing some settings in the menu I wasn't sure about.

In every case, just removing the battery for a few minutes and rebooting the camera brought ML back to working condition.

The only time I had any issues was when I formatted the card outside the camera, the camera would not turn on.  So I removed the battery, copied new ML files to the card, and rebooted. Everything worked fine.

I would have to say that ML is safe, especially if you follow all recommended practices.  So if your a bit nervous about trying ML for the first time, read the manual and install page thoroughly, then go for it ... you won't look back.

And if your wondering, Canon's service people said that ML will not void the warranty (unless they could prove ML broke the camera).

ed.jenner

Just to add to that, even the nightly builds are surprisingly stable with good improvements.  Kudos to the developers!

deletedAcc.0021

I was going to ask about the nightlys.  Any major improvements over 2.3 for the 600d?

ed.jenner

Well I found the new focus stacking to be very nice for one and a while back the ability to set manual in a custom setting for AEB.  I'm on a 5DII, but I assume it will be the same on other cameras.

There is so much in ML though, I would try a nightly and see for yourself for what you use.  You can always go back to the 2.3 version by just copying those files back to the card.  Chances are you will find something you like better though.