dfort's experiments for 7D Mark I

[dfort]

...can I donate some bitcoin to the development team for the 7d?

...but I'm broke in terms of donation money.

 

[domo94]

I meant for right now.

Like, I'm gonna donate, but in the next couple months when I stock up again. Just a temporary thing haha

[scotophorus]

@dfort First of all thank you for your kind contributions. I'm here to report that i've been getting tearing on a lot of frames on your build for the 2.0.6 firmware for the 7d when recording 14bit raw video with audio and using an external hdmi monitor. Even when using fps override. I didn't had this trouble when i was using your 10..12bit builds for the 7d 2.0.3.

[dfort]

Wow, someone is actually using the 2.0.6 version. That was mostly a challenge because I used a 5D3 to do the firmware dump.

https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=16534.msg192336#msg192336

This isn't a high priority project but it would be nice to get the latest Canon firmware working with Magic Lantern.

So this is only happening when using an external HDMI monitor? I don't have one to test with so I'll need some help resolving that issue. Not really sure where to start.

[a1ex]

http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=12760

Not a 2.0.6 issue; most likely, the memory bandwidth required by full-res HDMI (6 times as high, compared to built-in LCD) is simply too high for DIGIC 4 (it does not leave much room for raw recording).

The advice to switch to HDMI VGA should probably be in the menu; unsure whether this applies to any of the D5 models, or whether only D4 is affected.

[reddeercity]

HDMI work find at full res with 5d2 I regularly record the HDMI signal while recording raw video @1856x928 23.976p in 14bit . I'm know that other 7d user use to be able do the same , but
I remember talk about some frame tearing , but was fixed I thought .

[IDA_ML]

Hello Dfort,

I have tried to test your latest 7D build:

raw_video_10bit_12bit_LVState-wip.2018Feb04.7D203

As much as I wanted to report some good news, I am afraid, I don't have any.  I tried to download the modules but after turning camera off and on to activate them, they don't load and I get an "Err" message behind each module.  Maybe, you could continue the work on the 7D starting from the Dec. 11-th, 2017 build.  It was the last one that was working pretty well. 

[arrinkiiii]

Hi guys, long time...

So, it's already possible to record 10bits and 12bits in HD?    Here i can download this version for give it a trie? And the Lv is working good?

If i understand good, the problem now is to record in crop mode for the 4K?

Thanks 4all

[dfort]

So, it's already possible to record 10bits and 12bits in HD?   

Not quite. I've been experimenting but not being a seasoned coder I started off going in the wrong direction. There are test builds on my downloads page but they are far from stable. The best way to test is to set up a development environment and start tweaking what I started or try something new. It is actually quite easy to compile Magic Lantern. I posted tutorials for Mac and Cygwin/Windows that are well suited for beginners.

Maybe, you could continue the work on the 7D starting from the Dec. 11-th, 2017 build.  It was the last one that was working pretty well. 

The latest is a continuation of the Dec. 11-th build. I think that what you might be seeing is a strange phenomenon where sometimes all is well and other times it is broken. Try resetting ML to default, either through the menu or delete the SETTINGS folder, turn on only mlv_lite, restart--now if you shoot a video in either mv1080 or zoom modes in 10/12bit it will probably work. Reboot the camera and it will probably record corrupted files. Not sure what is going on with that. It happens to me on the latest as well as the older builds.

[IDA_ML]

Thank you Dfort!  I am glad to see that, despite all difficulties, you haven't given up on the marvelous 7D and this is the best news for me.

I will test again as soon as I find some time for that.

[arrinkiiii]

Thanks DFort, appreciated for the answer. So, its the best recording in 14bits for not having tearing or errors, cant have that in a paying gig

keep the good work, for sure that one day ours 7D's will record 10 and 12 bits without errors  

[IDA_ML]

Dfort,

A very brief feedback from first tests with your build:

raw_video_10bit_12bit_LVState-wip.2018Feb04.7D203

Following your instructions, I managed to upload and activate the mlv_lite, mlv_rec and mlv_play modules.  I tested RAW video recording with the MLV_REC module.  And it works - both in the normal uncropped mode at 1736x972 and the 5x-magnification mode at 2496x1198 resolutions. The Preview at 5x-crop is broken and screen freezes when recording starts.  If the RAW_twk module is also activated, the already recorded clips can be played back in the camera.  If an attempt is made to record in the presence of that RAW_twk module, the recorded 1736x976 video has again earthquake shaking.

My overall impression is that in the MLV_rec module, this build works in the same way as the "miracle" December 11-th build.  This is VERY GOOD NEWS since it proves that the 7D is capable of working without earthquake shaking !!!  It also appears to provide quite stable operation in both - the normal uncropped and the 5x-magnification modes at 10 and 12 bits which is EXCELLENT NEWS !!! If you could fix the freezing screen issue at 5x-magnification, this build will be perfectly useable !  Please keep up the good work, Dfort !

[domo94]

In other words, here's a video I made with footage shot in late 2016.
Details in description.

7D raw was a lot more stable back then. I don't have this kind of stability anymore.

Not sure if it's my camera or not.
Enjoy !

http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=12760

Not a 2.0.6 issue; most likely...

How is the 2.0.6 build?

[a1ex]

7D raw was a lot more stable back then [late 2016]. I don't have this kind of stability anymore.

Old builds are still available; if you can identify a regression, please do a proper bug report.

In particular, since 2016, the main builds received almost exclusively bug fixes on the raw recording side (look at the changes). In particular, for video, the relevant changes since September 16 2016 (15eb9aa) are:
- mlv_rec: RAWC metadata, minor file I/O fix, minor speed tweak (round MLV header to 512 bytes), version metadata
- raw_rec -> mlv_lite
- file I/O backend: fixed an important bug that resulted in invalid video files (like 1 bad video out of a few hundreds)
- raw backend: use the same raw type for all cameras, autodetect resolution rather than hardcoding it, raw capture info (pixel binning factors), preview fixes.

Even when going back to January 2016, the only relevant changes (between f87b759 and 15eb9aa) are:
- mlv_rec: fixed pink frames, wrong black level, crop offsets, added RAWC metadata, refactored powersave, blocked the zoom key while recording
- mlv_snd: persistent settings, show audio meters when recording sound (and hide them when not recording)
- raw backend: black/white level fixes.

That was all on the raw recording side. Notable new features that landed in mainline in this period: Lua scripting, advanced intervalometer, 5D3.123, 700D.115, Makefile updates, various refactors, benchmarks/tests moved to modules, submenu icons, various minor updates.

Given the above, I'm very surprised about your comment ("I don't have this kind of stability anymore."), so please report the issue properly.

BTW, noticed you have been trying the 10/12-bit builds. I hope you are not talking about them - are you aware these builds are not present on the download page, not even as experimental builds, for the 7D? There is a reason for that

How is the 2.0.6 build?

I have absolutely no idea - the current feedback doesn't allow me to draw a conclusion. Are you aware that we are relying on user feedback?

[dfort]

How is the 2.0.6 build?

Somewhat neglected at the moment due to lack of feedback from users.

Let me give you the back story to the 2.0.6 pull request. I heard lots of positive comments what a great camera the 7D is and I've got a few friends that own it so I picked up a real bargain on craigslist.org. I've got a 5D3 and comparing these cameras I can say that, well they weigh about the same but otherwise they are completely different beasts. In order to get to know this camera better I thought I'd try to do a firmware update on it. Just dumping the firmware proved to be quite a challenge. So does it work? Yes, there are issues that should be resolved but I have tested it out briefly and it does work. However, a higher priority on this camera should be to get it working with 10/12bit, lossless, crop_rec and all the other recent advances so the firmware update project has moved to the back burner for now.

[IDA_ML]

Dfort,

I have the 2.0.3 firmware version installed and do not see any reason why I should upgrade to 2.0.6.  I would prefer to get 10/12 bit video working on the 2.0.3 version before we move on with 2.0.6.  If you want some feedback on the latest build that you have been working on, please upload it, post a link and I will be happy to test it and report my findings as usual.   I provided a brief report on your February 04-th build (see my post #1486).  If there is some progress since then or if you want a particular function tested, please let us know.

[dfort]

...do not see any reason why I should upgrade to 2.0.6....

I posted several reasons in the Porting a Canon firmware update topic. I've got another reason now because one of my new lenses is on the list of bug fixes for 2.0.6.

Sure, it would be great to get 10/12bit, lossless compression and the crop_rec module working all the way up to 4k. This should all be possible on the 7D. However, I'm stuck trying to figure out why things that are almost working stop working after the configuration file is saved.

[atomtan]

I have searched forum and don't see any others having pointed this issue, so not sure if just me.  A couple years ago when installing ML on my 7DM-I the external audio input worked fine.  Then sometime a while back there was an ML upgrade (sorry, didn't note the build or would have reverted) which seems to have killed the analog audio input levels.  Boot camera without ML, the audio input levels are fine, with ML and they are so very very low that at a minimum I have to bump the analog DB up to maximum within ML but that isn't as clean as getting normal levels to begin with.
What am I missing here why ML external mic audio levels are so through the floor on a 7D Mark-I that the level indicator barely registers? 
Without my Rode video-mic plugged in the built-in camera mic levels are fine and normal.
Yes, yes, I know to use an external audio recorder, which I always do.  BUT, I prefer to use the hotshoe videomic compared to internal camera mic for my reference audio AND as a backup to my audio recorder/shotgun mic, as you sometimes need that decent backup.

I've had to revert to not using Magic Lantern-loaded CF card when doing important interviews, JUST for that decent backup audio.
Any ideas why my ML levels through the floor?

[a1ex]

Older builds are available since late 2013. If the issue was not present in some older build, then builds older than that are probably also good.

However, I remember Trammell mentioning the default configuration with Canon audio (on 5D2, but likely applies to all models) was with pretty high analog gain.

edit: found the old post: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-eos-full-frame-hd/237675-canon-5d-mark-ii-audio-exposed-beachtek-dxa-5d-juicedlink-cx231.html#post1161097

I can also find the exact audio settings used by Canon (as the linked post refers to old 5D2 firmware, without manual audio controls), but not right now.

[domo94]

BTW, noticed you have been trying the 10/12-bit builds. I hope you are not talking about them - are you aware these builds are not present on the download page, not even as experimental builds, for the 7D? There is a reason for that

I can't give any specific instances, but it's definitely just consistency, speed, performance, etc. I can tell and feel the difference from before, but I'll get a bug report.

Yes, I have been on the 10/12. Could be a significant factor. I just head to the download page and all it does is give me nightly. I don't know what's stable without digging through forums.

[gordongee]

i unfortunately installed fw 2.0.6 on my eos 7d and now may be too late found out the magic lantern isnt possible to be installed... but i want to install on my eos 7d ..
as far as i know i cant downgrade or install it as far as i could figure out... if there is a possibility pls tell me

big hugs

Wow, someone is actually using the 2.0.6 version. That was mostly a challenge because I used a 5D3 to do the firmware dump.

https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=16534.msg192336#msg192336

This isn't a high priority project but it would be nice to get the latest Canon firmware working with Magic Lantern.

So this is only happening when using an external HDMI monitor? I don't have one to test with so I'll need some help resolving that issue. Not really sure where to start.

[Walter Schulz]

as far as i know i cant downgrade or install it as far as i could figure out... if there is a possibility pls tell me

Just do it.

[scotophorus]

i unfortunately installed fw 2.0.6 on my eos 7d and now may be too late found out the magic lantern isnt possible to be installed... but i want to install on my eos 7d ..
as far as i know i cant downgrade or install it as far as i could figure out... if there is a possibility pls tell me

big hugs

you can downgrade from 2.0.6 to any firmware, you have to put the firmware file on the root of your cf card and execute firmware upgrade on the camera menu. Here is the link to the 2.0.3 firmware http://pel.hu/down/eos7d-v203-win.zip

Thank you for the info Alex, i've been using dfort's december builds with 10-12bit raw and havent noticed any tearing, probably because of the reduced bandwith as you said. I'm yet to test dfort's feb 28 build for 2.0.6 firmware of the 7d. I'll edit this post as soon as i test that one.

https://bitbucket.org/daniel_fort/magic-lantern/downloads/magiclantern-Nightly.2018Feb28.7D206.zip

[dfort]

Pelican's site sometimes goes down and some files might not download so I've been posting the Canon firmware updaters on my downloads page. Just noticed that I didn't have a "7D Canon Firmware for Testers" package so I just put one up. Now you can easily switch between 203 and 206 if you want.

Note that I usually just point to my downloads page instead of individual files. That's because I often delete old files and don't want my posts to contain broken links.

As far as the 7D.206 ML build -- This was a low priority project just to see if I could do it because getting a firmware dump from this camera was very challenging. It seems to work quite well though it is having a problem passing some tests. If anyone wants to pitch in and figure out what needs fixing, please do!

[rob_6]

Dfort,

A very brief feedback from first tests with your build:

raw_video_10bit_12bit_LVState-wip.2018Feb04.7D203

Following your instructions, I managed to upload and activate the mlv_lite, mlv_rec and mlv_play modules.  I tested RAW video recording with the MLV_REC module.  And it works - both in the normal uncropped mode at 1736x972 and the 5x-magnification mode at 2496x1198 resolutions. The Preview at 5x-crop is broken and screen freezes when recording starts.  If the RAW_twk module is also activated, the already recorded clips can be played back in the camera.  If an attempt is made to record in the presence of that RAW_twk module, the recorded 1736x976 video has again earthquake shaking.

My overall impression is that in the MLV_rec module, this build works in the same way as the "miracle" December 11-th build.  This is VERY GOOD NEWS since it proves that the 7D is capable of working without earthquake shaking !!!  It also appears to provide quite stable operation in both - the normal uncropped and the 5x-magnification modes at 10 and 12 bits which is EXCELLENT NEWS !!! If you could fix the freezing screen issue at 5x-magnification, this build will be perfectly useable !  Please keep up the good work, Dfort !

IDA_ML,

Would you mind sharing the instructions that you said dfort gave you when using the new firmware: raw_video_10bit_12bit_LVState-wip.2018Feb04.7D203

I tried based on what you mentioned in your post, but I must be missing something. I am getting earthquake shaking in about half of the clips I tested even though I didn't have the RAW_twk model activated. I am testing out 10 bit with the standard resolution of 1736x972 and the 5x-magnification mode at 2496x1198 resolution. Just wanted to make sure I had all the settings right that dfort gave your for this build.

Thanks!

Rob