550D/T2i raw video recording port official thread

[mine85]

Could you please provide more information about your workflow for DPX files?

I only have option to convert RAW to either .DNG or .TIF

Which application would help in conversion of batch files from RAW to DPX?

Also, is that application available for Ubuntu 13.04?

For windows I used Resolve for DNG to DPX exports. I haven't seen DPX workflows for Ubuntu/Linux options yet.
As @coolerinc says, would .TIFF from Blender be a viable alternative for you?

If you have the guts and patience, then using .TIFF is the only way to go.  The image quality is top notch.  Just takes a while to render during the import process (regarding your movie software).

[prabhath.mp]

Hi prabhath.mp,
I'm using After Effects to convert any format into DPX
The benefits of using DPX or Tiff you can read here, I am not a supporter of anything.
Your workflow is OK
Cannot say what converter is good for Linux. Perhaps using Tiff is the only way for this moment

For windows I used Resolve for DNG to DPX exports. I haven't seen DPX workflows for Ubuntu/Linux options yet.
As @coolerinc says, would .TIFF from Blender be a viable alternative for you?

Thank you both for your suggestion and inputs 

From this I have come to a conclusion that .TIF file is quite reasonable alternative for DPX (though there might be some drawbacks), however, it should be far more better than the native video (H.264), in terms of dynamic range and flexibility to process during post-production.

This has been very helpful.

Thanks so much once again.

Cheers,
Prabhath MP

[mine85]

Has anyone been successful with Dual ISO on the 550d yet?

[Rewind]

Has anyone been successful with Dual ISO on the 550d yet?

We are shooting dual ISO on 550D's for about a couple of months.
http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=5582.msg69853#msg69853

[studio]

Didn't try to project on to the theater screen but I think the quality of RAW 1600x680 2.35:1 will be fine. BTW people in the theater don't sit too close to the screen

I think 1200 x 500 is pretty close to a Super 16mm blow up. The shots i am getting at that res would give you close to what you get with a blow up to 2084 x 854 which is flat cinema scope. Even shooting 2K you lose half the resolution vertically in 1:2.35
I love the look of this stuff. I feel more inspired by the ML raw hack on the 550D than i did about the HD h264 because the grade is everything and I like the grain structure that you get, it feels organic and you get to keep everything. Some shots do suck in cities, but that maybe because this hack desires you film in nature, away from symmetrical lines! I cant see much difference in handling between this and the EPIC (which is just as difficult to post) and insure!

[prabhath.mp]

I think 1200 x 500 is pretty close to a Super 16mm blow up. The shots i am getting at that res would give you close to what you get with a blow up to 2084 x 854 which is flat cinema scope. Even shooting 2K you lose half the resolution vertically in 1:2.35
I love the look of this stuff. I feel more inspired by the ML raw hack on the 550D than i did about the HD h264 because the grade is everything and I like the grain structure that you get, it feels organic and you get to keep everything. Some shots do suck in cities, but that maybe because this hack desires you film in nature, away from symmetrical lines! I cant see much difference in handling between this and the EPIC (which is just as difficult to post) and insure!

Wow, that was quite an inspiring statement actually

Thanks for your inputs. It has been very helpful.

I never knew that the quality of Epic in terms of dynamic range was more or less same as 550D (I have never got a chance to work with RED cameras until now )

Query to Magic Lantern Team:-
Team, you all are geniuses who have really made a revolution by creating such a wonderful firmware for Canon digital cameras (DSLRs particularly).

I will just pray to God that you get a Nobel award for all your efforts.

I was thinking, since we have so many people who use this firmware, I am sure I'm not the first person to be asking this query below:-

Why not design a camera?
Since, you all have so much knowledge in this field and you all know the limits of most Canon sensors, probably it would be easy for you to design an amazing camera with best features.

I sincerely respect your efforts so far. In a way I was motivated to take up photography/cinematography after I got to know about your application, while I was watching some video on Vimeo site few years ago

Cheers,
Prabhath MP

[dlrpgmsvc]

Why not design a camera?

Yet discussed, and decided it's a too costly operation with no advantages.
Sorry but they are so great geniuses (like you said) that they yet thinked, discussed and rejected the idea ! Sorry !     

[prabhath.mp]

Yet discussed, and decided it's a too costly operation with no advantages.
Sorry but they are so great geniuses (like you said) that they yet thinked, discussed and rejected the idea ! Sorry !     

Opinions change over a period of time because they are always depending on situation. Hope the ML team will reconsider their decision once again and maybe in near future, there might be an actual 'Magic Lantern - 4K' camera

I'm just hoping/wishing that it'll be true someday in near future..

Cheers,
Prabhath MP

[RenatoPhoto]

Why not design a camera?
Since, you all have so much knowledge in this field and you all know the limits of most Canon sensors, probably it would be easy for you to design an amazing camera with best features.

Best if Canon make the cameras and hire the ML team as R&D.   

[teo92]

Gold evening/morning guys, have a couple of question to ask you all.

I currently have a 550 and tried to shot some raw video. I read almost all the 44 pages but still have some questions: i recorded at 960 at 23,976 and managet to get 576 frames (i think continuos recording). I used the tool to export dng files and opened them as a sequence in after effects, did some games in camera raw and opened the composition. Now problem comes: the quality during te scaling up to 1920 become horrible. I an clearly see pixels. How can this be possible?

Please, be patient with me, it's the first time for me here.

Thanks in advance, Matteo

[Yoda]

You can't upscale a 960x540 file to 1080p and expect great quality.  If that were the case...we wouldn't need better equipment for 2K, 4K, etc.  In addition, how you manage the files in post processing, any compression applied, will greatly affect the outcome.

I read your example and tried an experiment.  I recorded a 960x540 RAW, tranformed to DNG files, imported in Lightroom, applied color grading, and exported to 1920x1080p. Then used Quicktime Pro 7 to create the movie file.  Went terrible.  Pixels, looked like a bad VCR recording (if you are old enough to know what that is).

Suggestion:  If you wan a "full screen look", you might try using one of the anamorphic aspect ratios (2.35:1, 2.67:1, etc).  I used a 1280x320, and got continuos recording at 24fps.  There is a trade off.  The wider you go with your aspect ration, the shorter the height will be on your video.  Wide look works for me, because when you export at the same aspect ratio your file was captured in, it will automatically look anamorphic when imported into your movie software (Premiere, FCPX, Avid, etc).

Bottom line:  The 550d raw capabilities at this stage of the game are VERY limited.  If you want more picture "real estate" (aka screen size), get a better camera.  The 50D has a much better hardware, and you can get them used on Craigslist for about the same price as one of the Rebel cameras.

Cheers,

Yoda

[Yoda]

I should say one more thing. and this is just "my $.02".

Because of the hardware limitations of the 550D, I do not believe you can upscale any video to 1080p with any decent quality.  HOWEVER, you CAN use a 1280x720p project, and get great quality.

Example workflow:

* Capture in 1280x320 at 24fps (use FPS over ride on ML)
*  Convert RAW file to DNG files
*  Import into Lightroom (or After Effects)
*  Apply color grading and other desire effects
*  Export as TIFF files, no compression, best quality, using original dimensions (1280x320)
*  Import image sequence into Quicktime Pro ($30).  Export to .MOLV (Apple ProRes 422 codec), use original source for frame size, frame rate, etc.
*  Open any NLE (FCPX, Premiere, etc).  start new project.  Use 1280x720 as your dimensions, 24fps.
*  Import your .MOV File.  Apply to video track (or in FCPX, the timeline).  Video should look anamorphic at this time in the preview pane.
*  Export (or share) movie using same Apple 422 codec.  Do not change any quality settings.
*  If desired for Youtube sharing, you can use any conversion utility such as Quicktime Pro, Compressor or other software to convert it to the h.264 desired format for streaming.
*  Done.

Note:  You CAN export to h.264 directly from your NLE, but the conversion process usually takes longer vs using a dedicated utility.

Hope this helps.  Works for me, and unless you have a trained eye (or are horrible in your capture/post processing technique), no one will know you even used a 550D when they see "the results".

If it looks good for you, thats all that matters in the end.

Cheers,

Yoda

[Yoda]

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

[mine85]

Is this Prores workflow applicable in Windows too? Sorry for the nOOb question.

*  Export as TIFF files, no compression, best quality, using original dimensions (1280x320)
*  Import image sequence into Quicktime Pro ($30).  Export to .MOLV (Apple ProRes 422 codec), use original source for frame size, frame rate, etc.

Thanks! 

[prabhath.mp]

Because of the hardware limitations of the 550D, I do not believe you can upscale any video to 1080p with any decent quality.  HOWEVER, you CAN use a 1280x720p project, and get great quality.

Example workflow:

* Capture in 1280x320 at 24fps (use FPS over ride on ML)
*  Convert RAW file to DNG files
*  Import into Lightroom (or After Effects)
*  Apply color grading and other desire effects
*  Export as TIFF files, no compression, best quality, using original dimensions (1280x320)
*  Import image sequence into Quicktime Pro ($30).  Export to .MOLV (Apple ProRes 422 codec), use original source for frame size, frame rate, etc.
*  Open any NLE (FCPX, Premiere, etc).  start new project.  Use 1280x720 as your dimensions, 24fps.
*  Import your .MOV File.  Apply to video track (or in FCPX, the timeline).  Video should look anamorphic at this time in the preview pane.
*  Export (or share) movie using same Apple 422 codec.  Do not change any quality settings.
*  If desired for Youtube sharing, you can use any conversion utility such as Quicktime Pro, Compressor or other software to convert it to the h.264 desired format for streaming.
*  Done.

Note:  You CAN export to h.264 directly from your NLE, but the conversion process usually takes longer vs using a dedicated utility.

Hope this helps.  Works for me, and unless you have a trained eye (or are horrible in your capture/post processing technique), no one will know you even used a 550D when they see "the results".

If it looks good for you, thats all that matters in the end.

Hi Yoda,

Thanks so much for the inputs.

Will there be any difference in quality if we were to use only one application to render the video? I use Blender, by importing .TIF files as a sequence and then it is rendered in .H264 (.AVI) format.

Also, could you advise which video format would contain more details? (Preferably supported by Blender)

Thanks so much.

Cheers,
Prabhath MP

[Yoda]

No, you can use Blender.  I used to useFInal Cut Pro X for the import/render to movie sequence.

HOWEVER....

I would strongly recommend spending the $30 on Quicktime Pro.  It runs on Windows...not limited to Mac.  Mixing down to H.264 ultimately is best for a Youtube stream, but you lose any flexibility for futher work in an NLE.  If you mix down into H.264, and try to make movies off this format, it iwll ultimately be "remixed" again as H.264 is not an accepted movie render format.  H.264 is typically for the "finished" product as it is a lightweight coded with powerful compression.

If Blender can accept ProRes, you should be set if you buy QUicktime Pro 7.  Another option would be to export as uncompressed 8 bit video.

Bottomline:  For simple clips like the one I did, using H.264 isn't going to run you down.  If you want to up your game, and not spend crazy $$, or do any kind of semi-pro video editing....get Quicktime.  The savings in time rendering alone was amazing.  Much faster than doing it in NLE.

Cheers,

Yoda

[ItsMeLenny]

Just use FFMPEG or AVCONV, massive flexibility, export to almost any format.

[dafassi]

Hi could you please help me.
I have two problems when recording in RAW format.

1) Sometimes i have a pink frame between the recording.
2) Sometimes there is one reverse frame in my sequence ... means: while playing the clip sometimes it seems like one single frame is the same like a frame before.
It looks like the Sequence plays reversed for one frame.

Do you have this issues sometimes, too?
What todo against that?

Tryed different builds (nightly + normal).
Have a ScanDisk 32GB 80MB/s card.
Record in FULLHD-Mode with 1280x536, 23.967 FPS RAW
Used Batchelor3 for Batch Raw2DNG
Import in AE
Prebiew gives me sometimes these errors :/

[BrotherD]

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!

[BrotherD]

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?

[Yoda]

***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

[dafassi]

Hi!
This is an issue i have ... this happens often. Where does it come from?

[BrotherD]

***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?

[Yoda]

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.....

[prabhath.mp]

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.....

Well said, Yoda

Regarding lights, which light source would provide more control? Can we attach a CFL bulb or a set of CFL bulbs to a dim/bright control switch?

Also, in few videos on YouTube, I came across using Work-Light as an alternative. I'm very new to all these lights. Could you advise, which one is effective/efficient both performance wise as well as cost wise

Thanks so much for your suggestions.

Cheers,
Prabhath MP