I also would like to share a few thoughts on the future of Magic Lantern. This time, I will do my very best to be as positive as possible.
As I stated several times on this forum already, in my opinion, ML is the most revolutionary achievement in photo/video technology since the invention of the DSLR. The first videos published by Trammel Hudson inspired me to start reading on the ML forum, and although I did not understand much of what was written in the threads, I admired the efforts of A1ex and the other developers and followed with great excitement their first implementations of ML functionality into Canon DSLRs. When the first RAW videos shot with ML on these cameras appeared on the net, I was so amazed by the video quality that I decided to save every penny I earned with my second job as a photographer to buy a ML-capable camera. Shortly after that, RAW video was successfully ported to the 7D, I bought this camera and couldn't be happier that I did that. ML on the 7D inspired me to shoot my first amateur videos. Quality was so good that it exceeded all my expectations. I remember, friends of mine asking me if these videos were shot on the RED or Arri Alexa. And when I told them, they were shot on the 7D, they wouldn't believe that. After I made my first demonstrations with filming RAW video, extracting the DNGs with ML RAW Viewer and processing them in Lightroom, only then they believed that. At that time, many people were inspired to start experimenting with ML.
Now I can say that ML changed my life. Thanks to it, I learned so many new things, tested so many new exciting techniques and also learned to be more careful and precise when shooting stills and videos. As a result of that, also my photographic results improved and my ML videos brought a lot of joy and fun to my family and friends. It's hard for me to express my gratitude to all developers for making this miracle happen!
Enough with the history, let's talk about the future. In my opinion, if ML continues to move forward in the same way as it is moving now, it has a great future for at least the next 10 years to come! Here is why:
1) According to A1ex's statements above, if I understand properly, soon we will have ML on several other DIGIC 6/7/8 models. This will keep the interest in ML alive and will attract many new users that own such cameras. The interest in ML will grow rapidly worldwide.
2) Nikon's engineers are working very hard on implementing RAW video in their latest mirrorless Z6 and Z7 models.
https://www.diyphotography.net/12-bit-raw-video-is-coming-to-the-z6-z7-and-nikon-dslrs-to-get-cfexpress-support/Once RAW video is officially working on them, many people worldwide will become aware of its quality and filmic look and will want to shoot their family and amateur videos in RAW. People are always inclined to want and buy the best! However, how many of them will be able to afford these models? The body alone costs about 3.4K US$, add another 1.4k for the Atomos Ninja recorder and another 5k for the Z-lenses and adapters and you easily end up with 10k for a system like that. It is quite clear that only professional film makers will be able to afford such gear. Consumers will look for less expensive solutions. But are these available from other brands? No and it will take quite some time until other companies develop and release them. And even if this happens, how many years will these companies take to get where we are with ML now? Until then, the only reasonable alternative for RAW video will be Magic Lantern. Nowadays, you can shoot 2.5K RAW video with a cheap Canon camera like the EOS-M that costs in the 100-150 US$ range used and you can use almost any lens with it. So, I expect prices of old ML-capable Canon cameras to sky rocket and the interest in ML to further increase dramatically!
3) And what about all the ML science, developed so successfully by A1ex and other developers and implemented and now working in most of the ML-capable cameras? What about Dual ISO, noise reduction techniques, sensor reading, pixel binning techniques, card overclocking and spanning, ISO research, lossless compression and so much other innovative stuff? What about MLV Producer and MLVApp? Isn't all this new knowledge and know-how the most important aspect of Magic Lantern? All this will be available for generations to come and I am sure, many companies will take advantage of this new knowledge and will implement it in their new models.
So, my suggestion to A1ex and the Community is: Let's keep Magic Lantern going and it will have a great future! This statement may be a little overoptimistic but I truly believe in it!
