Utilizing RAW video features on Canon 6D?

[Ferb]

I'll keep it short and to the point.

I'm experienced with magic lantern and shooting raw photos with Canon 6D. However I haven't managed to play with the RAW Video yet because so far, the camera is unable to use the video feature. I'm assuming this can likely be attributed to writing speed issues. The cards I have at the moment are both Lexar Professional x400 40mb/s write speed cards. From what I understand the Canon 6D can only write to a max of 40mb/s anyways.

Anyone experienced with shooting 6D RAW Video that could send me some input would be appreciated. I am going to be backpacking Europe this summer and would like to be able to shoot in some sort of input of RAW video so that I can get the greatest possible color gamut/color flexibility. I would edit the RAW video as if it were like a CR2. file etc...

Thanks a lot! 

[Walter Schulz]

Use ExFAT file system. You should be able to do 720p24 (give or take) with a fast card.
Benchmark your card: Modules tab -> Bench.mo. After restart go to Debug tab -> Benchmarks -> Card Benchmarks -> Quick R/W benchmark (1 min)
In photo mode you will see numbers above 40 MByte/s in write mode (= fast card).

[Levas]

Go to the magic lantern downloads page and look for the experimental builds.
And then download the 10/12 bit RAW video file for the 6d:
https://builds.magiclantern.fm/jenkins/job/raw_video_10bit_12bit/11/artifact/platform/6D.116/magiclantern-raw_video_10bit_12bit.2017Jan25.6D116.zip

This will give you the option to use 10 or 12 bit raw video instead of standard 14 bit raw video (so smaller in file size giving you longer recording options in high resolution)

Once downloaded and put on memory card, turn on camera and enable at least the following modules in the magic lantern module tab:
MLV_rec (for recording raw video in MLV format)
MLV_snd (for recording sound with the raw video)
File_man (for browsing through your files on the camera and view/check MLV files on the camera)
raw_twk (for being able to check 10/12 bit files on camera with file manager)

Turn off the camera and turn it on again so the modules are loaded.
Now there should be an option in the magic lantern menu for raw video (don't forget to enable sounds recording on another magic lantern tab)
You can enter the menu with the 'Q' button on the camera and within this menu you can see all the settings for raw video.
-You can choose horizontal resolution, both from menu and with the top scroll wheel on camera
-you can choose aspect ratio, 16:9 etc.
-You can choose bit depth (10/12/14 bits)
-and some other options.

The 6d is restricted to about 40MB/s writing speed, some options:
1728 x 724 resolution (1:2.39 aspect ratio) x 25 frames per second in 10 bit should give continuous recording
1728 x 972 resolution (16:9 aspect ration) x 25 frames per second in 10 bit gives about 20 seconds recording time

I mostly shoot short clips with my 6d, I like this setting a lot:
1824 x 764 resolution(1:2.39 aspect ratio) x 25 frames per second in 12 bit, this gives about 21 seconds recording time.

You also need software to be able to do something with your raw MLV files. I'm using MLV_dump for converting the MLV to DNG files but there are many more options. Search the forum for postprocess MLV files.

[Milk and Coffee]

Is there a crop to the full frame sensor shooting MLV on the 6D? (IE: does it say 1.0x/1.06x/1.09x after selecting the highest resolution?)

[Levas]

In normal default raw MLV recording, there is no crop on the 6d, crop is 1.00.
You can select 1824 x 1026 as highest resolution in 16:9 aspect ratio.
The 1824 horizontal pixels come each from 3 pixels binned together (so the origin is from 3 x 1824 = 5472 pixels, the full width of the sensor of the 6d).
The 1026 vertical are from every third line on the sensor, (skipping 2 lines every time), so every 3th line is read, 3 x 1026 = 3078 pixels. (This is for 16:9 aspect ratio, sensor is 3:2 aspect ratio)

[Levas]

Some more information in this post how the sensor is readout on most Canon DSLR's:
https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=16516.msg160831#msg160831

Most Canon DSLR's do horizontal pixelbinning (3 pixels -> 1 pixel) and vertical lineskipping of 2 lines, so readout every 3th line.

[Milk and Coffee]

In normal default raw MLV recording, there is no crop on the 6d, crop is 1.00.
You can select 1824 x 1026 as highest resolution in 16:9 aspect ratio.
The 1824 horizontal pixels come each from 3 pixels binned together (so the origin is from 3 x 1824 = 5472 pixels, the full width of the sensor of the 6d).
The 1026 vertical are from every third line on the sensor, (skipping 2 lines every time), so every 3th line is read, 3 x 1026 = 3078 pixels. (This is for 16:9 aspect ratio, sensor is 3:2 aspect ratio)

Thank you! Very very useful!

[Milk and Coffee]

In normal default raw MLV recording, there is no crop on the 6d, crop is 1.00.
You can select 1824 x 1026 as highest resolution in 16:9 aspect ratio.
The 1824 horizontal pixels come each from 3 pixels binned together (so the origin is from 3 x 1824 = 5472 pixels, the full width of the sensor of the 6d).
The 1026 vertical are from every third line on the sensor, (skipping 2 lines every time), so every 3th line is read, 3 x 1026 = 3078 pixels. (This is for 16:9 aspect ratio, sensor is 3:2 aspect ratio)

So I just realized, that Canon markets the 6D as "FULL HD 1080p." But that's not true, is it? They're upscaling the image in normal canon firmware???

[Walter Schulz]

The only cam not upscaling (among ML supported cams) is 5D3. Old news.