Canon 7D Mark I

[najor]

Format card using a cardreader. Insert card into cam and format again. Download latest nightly and expand contents. Copy contents to card (cardreader again). Insert card into cam, run firmware update procedure.

Thanks! Mistake was that I didn't copy the ML folder when putting files on CF card. I followed your steps and everything works fine!

[Danialdaneshmand]

Thanks! Mistake was that I didn't copy the ML folder when putting files on CF card. I followed your steps and everything works fine!

Funny thing is i did the exact mistake , wonder why that is.

[najor]

Now I'm struggling with terrible frame skipping and can't find a way to record continuous MLV.
I have Lexar 1000x 64GB and can get only 1sec of footage at 1728 resolution, 24fps. At 1280p it records 3sec.
I tried setting to ignore frame skipping, but the footage becomes unusable because of skipping anyway. Any tips?

[walter_schulz]

Global draw off. And try RAW, too.
Card benchmark looks okay or not?

[najor]

Global draw off. And try RAW, too.
Card benchmark looks okay or not?

Hmmm.. I checked card's speeds and compared it to my Lexar 600x which works fine. Unfortunately looks like I bought fake cf card from Ebay. But at least now I know why frames are skipping 

[dpjpandone]

Hey guys, if you set your display options to "force vga" there is no tearing in the recorded mlv. Unfortunately, we cannot use 1080i hdmi out on 7D (I don't know about other cameras, but my guess is that any digic4 camera cannot do raw capture and 1080i hdmi out simultaneously, so using the force VGA option sets the hdmi output to 480p (just like when recording h264 on 5D or 550D. This is probably the reason 7D was the first and last digic4 came that had 1080i out during recording....

I hope this helps someone, I would hate to see anyone ruin their footage like I did today!

[Don diddle]

I had ML and accidentally reformatted my ML card on the camera, it seemed to delete everything and now I'm trying to reinstall it but it won't work, I:
-clear settings

-transfer ml and firmware to card
-update firmware

-try to open ML using Info or Picture Style and it just seems to ignore all of it and act as if ML isn't there, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated,

Don

[Walter Schulz]

Format card using a cardreader. Then format card using your cam. Download latest nightly, extract contents, copy extracted contents to card (cardreader again). Insert card into cam, startup and run Canon's firmware update procedure. Restart cam before timeout runs off. After cam has started press trashcan button.

[dmk]

When recording raw on 7D, can you still use external monitor via hdmi? I mean without any negative impact on recording speed etc.

Thinking of buying an external monitor like http://www.coollcd.com/lilliput-668gl70nphy-7-on-camera-lcd-field-monitor-w-hdmi-component_p708.html

[Pelican]

Exciting news: http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=12528.msg120665#msg120665

[edwmotion]

Exciting news: http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=12528.msg120665#msg120665

Yupie.... extra buffers. 

[Danialdaneshmand]

Can i ask what that's gonna do?
increase the cache so it has more space to put files into and then write them into memory card?

[N/A]

Can i ask what that's gonna do?
increase the cache so it has more space to put files into and then write them into memory card?

Yup exactly. Depending on what resolution you're recording with, it could mean an extra 1-5 seconds of footage.

[C7D203]

Hello,

Wasn't sure if I should open a new thread or not so decided to ask my questions here since it appears suited.

I have the Canon 7D
It still runs firmware 2.0.3 (which apparently is a good thing)
I have a 64gig UDMA 7 x533 CF card
I'm somewhat new(ish) to DSLRs.

I bought the camera because I'm both an enthusiastic sports / wild life photographer while at the same time I also make videos on YouTube so require both worlds.

I have recently encountered ML and... at face value it appears to be a game changer.
Granted, from my understating, Full Frame is full frame and obviously the quality of the sensor is superior on the 5D Miii but it does appear that with (or maybe not even) an anti-aliasing filter and with ML you get high quality HD video with further control.

I know absolutely NOTHING about hacked firmware.

I saw that there are no 'stable' current versions of ML for the 7D.
Is this correct?
what are the risks with using ML?

How much can I trust nightly versions or even a stable version?
I ask this because coming from the mobile phone world and having tried numerous Custom ROMs I know for a fact that many who claim to release a stable version have in fact released a version that is not even suited to be called 'snapshot' or even a 'nightly'.

I tried to understand the process of "installing" ML but I don't fully understand... you need to "update" the firmware unto ML and then when you turn off the camera it automatically restores back to Canon's 2.0.3 firmware? Or, do I physically have to keep both ML firmware and Canon's 2.0.3 firmware on the memory card (or even two different cards?) and keep installing and uninstalling each?
I ask this because having but this one camera it seems a bit of a hassle and not very time effective.

As an example, coming September my sister is getting married and as a present I thought to take photos and record the actual "marriage" event.
That means that I'll need ML for the 15 minutes (where I need high quality video) when they give their promises, etc, and then normal photographs.

I'm actually not even sure if ML is supposed to be good for stills as well as video or whether it's entirely a video designated firmware hack.

So I would really highly appreciate it if someone could explain it to me like I'm a 4 year old :-)

Many thanks.

David. 

[Walter Schulz]

Could not grant the wish to be handled as an 4 year old child. Therefore:
Top of page -> User Guide -> F.A.Q.
Come back with any questions not answered there.

[C7D203]

Thanks but I did actually read it.
I just don't really understand some of the technical talk and in some of the "answers" the 7D is not mentioned so I can't determine what is "true" for the 7D.

I honestly don't understand the difference between ML being an "add-on" or a replacement.

Also, in some cases it seems that ML cannot be run with a 64gig card and in others it's mentioned. It's also unclear to me whether I can load it using a smaller card and then use my 64gig card or whether having a 64gig card (as my primary card) prevents me from using it altogether.

It just seems that on every regard, in the FAQs, they mention or talk about the 5D Miii or the 600D or the 60D and never on the 7D so I can never understand what that entails about the 7D.

[Walter Schulz]

Replacement:
Overwriting a given firmware (equivalent to "Operating System" (Windows 7, Mac OS X, Linux ...)) with another one. Like in "Replacement".

Imagine ML as a program running on top of a given Operating System. Just like Notepad is running with Windows serving as platform. Or Photoshop, Lightroom on Windows/Mac OS. Or GIMP on Linux.

ML doesn't replace Canon's firmware.

You don't have to use a small card to initialize your cam for ML (aka: setting cam's bootflag).

Format card using a cardreader.
Insert card into cam and format again.
Insert card into cardreader
Download nightly build and extract contents
Copy extracted contents to card
Insert card into cam and run Canon's firmware update.
Follow instructions and restart *before* timeout runs off.

[DFM]

... it does appear that with (or maybe not even) an anti-aliasing filter and with ML you get high quality HD video with further control.

Yes, sortof!

With ML installed the 7D can shoot H.264 and raw video in two modes - regular and crop. Regular video uses the full area of the sensor but only samples some of the pixels (called line-skipping) - this is what introduces the nasty moire/aliasing. In crop mode, the camera only uses the center portion of the sensor and samples every pixel, so the skipping problem goes away (in theory it's as good as a still photo). You cannot shoot full-HD (1920x1080) RAW in non-crop mode, it's a limit of the way the sensor is read, so if you're after 1080p footage you either have to shoot in crop mode (which creates a very narrow field of view, similar to using the "5x" zoom button in Live View), or stick with H.264. Until very recently we had no fps control for crop mode raw recording, so the data rates being sent to the card were so high it was impossible to shoot full-resolution for more than a couple of seconds. Even now, you need the fastest possible cards (1000x or above) to record at the larger sizes. You're OK with a 64G card on the 7D, but a 533x speed rating will limit what you can shoot in raw video. These days the 'workhorse' card is Komputerbay's 64GB 1000x.

Your mention of 'further control' is a little different for raw video - yes, you do get to change your white balance and push the exposure much more in post-production, and as it's basically a series of still photos the quality is far higher, but the price you pay is needing to do that post-production; which involves extracting the footage, color grading in Resolve or Speedgrade, then rendering out a new file. Unprocessed, the raw file is flat and often has messed-up black and white values, plus it'll be a long while before you can upload an MLV file to YouTube! If you've never done grading before, that's a big leap from "copy from card and press upload". Raw video is rightly something that we're all passionate about, but some days you're just hoofing a clip of your cat onto Facebook, and plain old H.264 recording is the way to go. ML doesn't stop you from doing that.

ML's very stable in photo mode these days - occasionally you can crash the firmware by pushing some of the obscure features too far (like focus stacking with motor speeds too high) but you just pull the battery and restart. If you have a fast card the raw video recording is also pretty stable, nobody's blown up their 7D yet, but you're at the limit of what's possible so even things like attaching an HDMI field monitor can mess up the recordings, so you need to play with it and learn what works with your methods - don't install it the day before a commercial job! Personally I think raw video is good enough for B-cam work and personal projects, I don't know of anyone who'd rely on it to A-cam a one-off event like a wedding; but then the same was true in the early days of RED.

Adding a VAF filter from Mosaic will reduce the aliasing in regular mode only - it has no benefit in crop mode, if anything it'll make the image a bit worse. It's also designed for dedicated video shooting, you remove it to take stills as the filter wedges the mirror up, making your viewfinder useless (it's possible to shoot stills via Live View, but that's a real pain and there will be a slight blurring of the image). The filter will work for both raw and H.264 footage, indeed with the huge increase in fidelity you get from raw files, having a filter is arguably much more important. I've been using one since they launched, but if you're doing mixed-media location work you need a second body for stills. Anything that ships with a set of tweezers isn't going to be installed in a field!

ML has made a huge difference to the 7D's video performance, and while it doesn't alter still image files the focus/exposure/automation tools are a massive help to folks shooting macro, timelapse, etc. The thing to remember is you don't have to use it even if it's installed - ML doesn't remove any of the 7D's factory features, it simply adds more.

[Mare]

Hi ML team

After testing ML-Nightly.2014Jul02.7D203 I have noticed that when I'm using Live view with Exposure override ON (I have couple of manual lenses) and  changing time value down, the time values are incorrect in Live view, but on LCD panel on the top of camera are correct. The opposite way (time value up) is everything OK.

Can someone confirm that bug?

Best regards 

[Danialdaneshmand]

Hi ML team

After testing ML-Nightly.2014Jul02.7D203 I have noticed that when I'm using Live view with Exposure override ON (I have couple of manual lenses) and  changing time value down, the time values are incorrect in Live view, but on LCD panel on the top of camera are correct. The opposite way (time value up) is everything OK.

Can someone confirm that bug?

Best regards 

I have the same issue but with a little play , back and forth it does correctly.

I have a issue with Auto ETTR
it tends to always go for a high iso like 3200 even though i'm letting it go for lower shutter speeds.

[dmilligan]

I have a issue with Auto ETTR
it tends to always go for a high iso like 3200 even though i'm letting it go for lower shutter speeds.

Make sure ISO is not set to Auto. Whenever it uses a high ISO, is the shutter speed it chooses already at the slowest shutter speed you set in the ettr menu? If so, there's no issue, you just need more light (or allow even slower shutter speeds) If not, you should provide a lot more info, like what exactly are the shutter speeds and ISOs it's choosing (also try different lighting conditions) and what are your settings?

[Santo]

Hello.

could you tell me if it takes a minimum speed of the card to run magic lantern?

thanks

[Walter Schulz]

Literally: No, no minimum speed required.
If you want to shoot RAW video for more than a few seconds: Yes, there are issues.

[dpjpandone]

Hello.

could you tell me if it takes a minimum speed of the card to run magic lantern?

thanks

if you want to record the highest resolution that the 7D is capable of, don't bother with anything less than 1000X

[C7D203]

Replacement:
Overwriting a given firmware (equivalent to "Operating System" (Windows 7, Mac OS X, Linux ...)) with another one. Like in "Replacement".

Imagine ML as a program running on top of a given Operating System. Just like Notepad is running with Windows serving as platform. Or Photoshop, Lightroom on Windows/Mac OS. Or GIMP on Linux.

ML doesn't replace Canon's firmware.

You don't have to use a small card to initialize your cam for ML (aka: setting cam's bootflag).

Format card using a cardreader.
Insert card into cam and format again.
Insert card into cardreader
Download nightly build and extract contents
Copy extracted contents to card
Insert card into cam and run Canon's firmware update.
Follow instructions and restart *before* timeout runs off.

Thank you for explaining it to me.
BTW, can't I just change the timeout to something ridiculous and not worry about it?

Yes, sortof!

With ML installed the 7D can shoot H.264 and raw video in two modes - regular and crop. Regular video uses the full area of the sensor but only samples some of the pixels (called line-skipping) - this is what introduces the nasty moire/aliasing. In crop mode, the camera only uses the center portion of the sensor and samples every pixel, so the skipping problem goes away (in theory it's as good as a still photo). You cannot shoot full-HD (1920x1080) RAW in non-crop mode, it's a limit of the way the sensor is read, so if you're after 1080p footage you either have to shoot in crop mode (which creates a very narrow field of view, similar to using the "5x" zoom button in Live View), or stick with H.264. Until very recently we had no fps control for crop mode raw recording, so the data rates being sent to the card were so high it was impossible to shoot full-resolution for more than a couple of seconds. Even now, you need the fastest possible cards (1000x or above) to record at the larger sizes. You're OK with a 64G card on the 7D, but a 533x speed rating will limit what you can shoot in raw video. These days the 'workhorse' card is Komputerbay's 64GB 1000x.

Your mention of 'further control' is a little different for raw video - yes, you do get to change your white balance and push the exposure much more in post-production, and as it's basically a series of still photos the quality is far higher, but the price you pay is needing to do that post-production; which involves extracting the footage, color grading in Resolve or Speedgrade, then rendering out a new file. Unprocessed, the raw file is flat and often has messed-up black and white values, plus it'll be a long while before you can upload an MLV file to YouTube! If you've never done grading before, that's a big leap from "copy from card and press upload". Raw video is rightly something that we're all passionate about, but some days you're just hoofing a clip of your cat onto Facebook, and plain old H.264 recording is the way to go. ML doesn't stop you from doing that.

ML's very stable in photo mode these days - occasionally you can crash the firmware by pushing some of the obscure features too far (like focus stacking with motor speeds too high) but you just pull the battery and restart. If you have a fast card the raw video recording is also pretty stable, nobody's blown up their 7D yet, but you're at the limit of what's possible so even things like attaching an HDMI field monitor can mess up the recordings, so you need to play with it and learn what works with your methods - don't install it the day before a commercial job! Personally I think raw video is good enough for B-cam work and personal projects, I don't know of anyone who'd rely on it to A-cam a one-off event like a wedding; but then the same was true in the early days of RED.

Adding a VAF filter from Mosaic will reduce the aliasing in regular mode only - it has no benefit in crop mode, if anything it'll make the image a bit worse. It's also designed for dedicated video shooting, you remove it to take stills as the filter wedges the mirror up, making your viewfinder useless (it's possible to shoot stills via Live View, but that's a real pain and there will be a slight blurring of the image). The filter will work for both raw and H.264 footage, indeed with the huge increase in fidelity you get from raw files, having a filter is arguably much more important. I've been using one since they launched, but if you're doing mixed-media location work you need a second body for stills. Anything that ships with a set of tweezers isn't going to be installed in a field!

ML has made a huge difference to the 7D's video performance, and while it doesn't alter still image files the focus/exposure/automation tools are a massive help to folks shooting macro, timelapse, etc. The thing to remember is you don't have to use it even if it's installed - ML doesn't remove any of the 7D's factory features, it simply adds more.

I won't presume to fully understand what wrote but thank you for writing it!

Honestly, though, after reading it... I'm not sure what benefits ML has for me.
It might just be that I have no experience using it and comparing it to Canon's firmware or that I don't understand the technical aspects well enough to appreciate it.

Since I've never done any post-production video editing it's all alien to me... for now.

But I must learn it either way.

I need to shoot myself for youtube videos but part of what I'll use the 7D is "an extra camera" to my brother's 5D Mii when we do serious documentary work. Will probably use the 7D for close-ups from a different angle, etc.

All that aside, in September my sister is getting married and I wanted to be proficient enough to capture the ceremony itself in video and follow up by shooting stills for the rest of the evening.
The whole thing will likely be outside, at night, in dark(er) conditions.

I was wondering if ML allows for better ISO performances because as much as I love my 7D and as much as it is a huge upgrade to my previous 20D (!!) I'm not impressed by it's high ISO shooting at all. Anything above 800 is meh at best.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



So, for the record (and I'm sorry to repeat myself)...

It is safe.
It's only an add-on.
I CAN do everything with my 64gig card (and require no additional cards).
I simply format the card, put the ML files and update the firmaware and follow up by entering ML via long pressing the SET button.

Correct?