Canon 7D Mark I

[Audionut]

dfort continued development work on 7D over here.

[mblackshore]

I got that the 7D records at almost 1080P

1728 x 972 = 1679616 Pixels in total 16:9

I would like it to run 1920 x 874 which is  a aspect ratio of  2.2:1 a total pixels: 1678080 (a bit lower than the settings above at 16:9)
Is this possible without  entering crop mode?

[Walter Schulz]

Easy! Just replace 7D's sensor (+processing units +firmware) with one having at least 1920x3=5760 pixels horizontal.

[mblackshore]

Easy! Just replace 7D's sensor (+processing units +firmware) with one having at least 1920x3=5760 pixels horizontal.

AHA, it's a hardware limitation! Got it!

[Wlad81]

I would like it to run 1920 x 874 which is  a aspect ratio of  2.2:1 a total pixels: 1678080 (a bit lower than the settings above at 16:9)
Is this possible without  entering crop mode?

You can easily make Full HD out of what you have now by upscaling the video using MLV App. No one will notice the difference between the true 1080p and the upscaled one.

[reddeercity]

.... make Full HD out of what you have now by upscaling .... using MLV App. No one will notice the difference between the true 1080p and the upscaled one.

Yes you can , it looks really badddd !
Line skipping sensor don't up scale very well at all , it create more artifact then the original file .
Best to use Crop_Mode and record @ 2k(or 1080p) it's non line skipping (even line used)
You just need to use a 15mm-24mm lens to get the same framing as a 50mm for example .

[mblackshore]

Yes you can , it looks really badddd !
Line skipping sensor don't up scale very well at all , it create more artifact then the original file .
Best to use Crop_Mode and record @ 2k(or 1080p) it's non line skipping (even line used)
You just need to use a 15mm-24mm lens to get the same framing as a 50mm for example .

Your suggiesten about the lens was brilliant idea acually.
If I would upscale I would do it in post with Resolves SuperScale using neural network.

BTW does that mean that the built in video recording function with H.264 us upscaled output since sensor does not cover the size? Or is it that ML only can use X amount of the sensor?


How do you deal with noise artifacts when recording with raw? I seem to get allot more artifacts when recording with raw than not. There are artifacts that looks similar to chromatic abberation but not really. I will try to post some tests I have done tomorrow for you guys to see.

[Wlad81]

Best to use Crop_Mode and record @ 2k(or 1080p) it's non line skipping (even line used)
You just need to use a 15mm-24mm lens to get the same framing as a 50mm for example .

One not only just needs a wide angle lens, but also a lot of light, and this is not always possible.

[Walter Schulz]

Are you trying to say crop and non-crop mode behave different in regard of lens aperture or sensor photosite sensitivity?

[Wlad81]

Yes, that's it. The lesser crop is and the more lens aperture is, the lesser noise we would have. Considering the fact that the sensors that were used in those Canon cameras are quite old and aren't backlit sensors - the BSI increases the sensor's sensivity.

[Walter Schulz]

Sorry, only valid to lens aperture but crop has no influence on exposure. Easy task: Print a pic. Print a crop of a pic. Same exposure.
Proof or I'm calling BS.

A lens' T-number doesn't change if a smaller or bigger area is exposed to light.

[Wlad81]

The crop of a finished pic is not a whole picture taken with a smaller part of a sensor. The more is the crop, the more light and/or the more sensitive sensor we need to achieve the same s/n as with no crop.

[Walter Schulz]

BS.

[Wlad81]

I've got a lot of noise in the shadows when shot with crop 1080p mode.

[Walter Schulz]

I get a lot of noise in dark areas with all kind of sensors, lenses, apertures, focal length, exposure durations, crop factors.
Proof your point or I call BS.
At the moment you carry a load of BS.

First call: You are trying to tell there is a difference if a pic is cropped in post or if the area is cropped during aquisition. Total BS.

EDIT: Maybe it is beyond your comprehension how a sensor works: Imaging yourself as a photosite. And you are looking into the sky. And around you are several millions other people. Now tell all the people more than 500 meters away from you to close their eyes. Does your vision gets darker? Nope. Because it doesn't affect your eyes if other people far away from you have their eyes open or not.
If you believe otherwise: Give proof or I call it BS again.

[theBilalFakhouri]

I've got a lot of noise in the shadows when shot with crop 1080p mode.

In none-crop 1080p mode more pixels are being used (more photons are being captured), there is a horizontal pixel binning in this mode, resulting in less noise.

[Wlad81]

theBilalFakhouri, this is what I'm trying to tell.

[reddeercity]

In none-crop 1080p mode more pixels are being used (more photons are being captured), there is a horizontal pixel binning in this mode, resulting in less noise.

If you are talking about Line skipping sensor's I disagree , the that's what cause the noise , the pixel binning
https://thedailynathan.com/demosaic/algorithms.php?algorithm=pixelbinning&image=raw.png

Pixel binning is the most straightforward way to combine the color information across multiple photodetectors.
We simply assume a larger size for each pixel (each pixel is now an aggregate of information from multiple photodetectors rather than just one) and combine the color information

So yes you have more pixel , but the color/RGGB data  is not the same as a single pixel RGGB , It's being combine and that's where the noise being produce.
I done many noise level test and the cleanest is crop_mode on D4(5d2 & 50D) .
but you don't have to take my word for it ,  test it for your self .

On the 5d3 there's not line skipping so this doesn't apply , just cams like 7d , 5d2 , 50d etc. .... 
 

[mrflibbles]

I realize this is an old thread, but I have questions specific to the 7d mk1.

A little background info. I have had my 7d for a while, and was using it for photographing birds mainly. Then my shutter started acting up on it. basically it gets stuck after a burst. (I'm not here looking to fix it, this is just my motivation to hack it) I got a new camera, so basically my 7d is rife for experimentation. If it bricks, it will still suck, but at the same time it's already somewhat broken.

Recently I got into astrophotography. So I'm really interested in trying to get a 1:1 pixel ratio. If you aren't familiar here is an overly dumbed down explanation: when shooting planets you take a video of 2-5 minutes and then take the several thousand shots, then stack several hundred to a few thousand of the best frames, and therefore get a much cleaner image. The problem is that The 7d compresses down to 1080 instead of cropping down to 1080.

In the "features page" it says that crop_mode_hack isn't available. Is that because it is buggy, or just not even possible? I can deal with buggy. I can deal with no sound, since I'm using the frames of the video to make an image, so I don't even want sound. If crop hack is possible, just buggy; are builds available?

I am also not even recording to card. I'm actually hooking my camera directly to a laptop and recording live view directly to a HDD. There is a program that records live view and can even record at 5x which gives "close" to 1:1 but having actually 1:1 is ideal. Also RAW video would be even better. I can't figure out if it's possible on the 7d or not.

I have no background in coding, so I don't know what is or isn't possible. I have been sifting through pages and pages here and can't find my answer. Perhaps I'm not using the correct search terms, so I apologize in advance if the question has been answered, but I did try.

Thank you in advance to anyone still out there willing to help. If I didn't explain things properly, don't hesitate to ask for clarification. I'm not the most articulate person.

[Walter Schulz]

7D - as most other ML supported cams - can do cropped RAW recording in 1:1.
Because 7D hosts Digic 4 and ML does not support LJ92 compression on Digic 4 there is no "crop_rec_4k" build available. Which doesn't mean you cannot record 4k.

Don't install Nightly Build (2018) but "experimental" lua_fix build.

EDIT: Crop_mode_hack refers to 600D's electronic movie zoom which is in fact 1:1. Recording is done in native Canon mode (H.264/MOV). This code exists in other cams as well (100D, 650D, 700D, M) but without menu item. ML adds menu item.

[too]

[...]

Recently I got into astrophotography. So I'm really interested in trying to get a 1:1 pixel ratio. If you aren't familiar here is an overly dumbed down explanation: when shooting planets you take a video of 2-5 minutes and then take the several thousand shots, then stack several hundred to a few thousand of the best frames, and therefore get a much cleaner image. The problem is that The 7d compresses down to 1080 instead of cropping down to 1080.

[...]

A kind "Hello" to all 7D astrophotography fellows!

The only reason (for now) I created an account on this ML forum is your post: I want to give you a "heads up" ... you are not alone! 

Being a professional photo journalist, I got my Canon EOS 7D (1st edition) in spring 2010. Over time, newer camera bodies were added and the 7D eked out a shadowy existence in the closet. Having been a visual observer for decades, I only started astrophotography three years ago (2020), but initially wanted to use the cameras and lenses I already had.

Of course I did some research and that's how I found MagicLantern. ML was and is a great help for astrotography with the 7D because it offers very comfortable and flexible settings for long exposure image series in bulb mode. This really inspired me because it allowed me to use a very mobile setup without a lot of additional cables, controls and displays.

~ * ~

When night sky weather allows - which is rarely they case here in the Alps - I love doing deepsky imaging. I also photograph moon phases and sunspots. The longest focal length I have is F=500mm which is way too short to capture planets. It is even too short to capture a highres moon mosaic - which I would like to do.

I get to the point:

In the last few days I've come across indications that it is possible with ML to film the 5x magnifier of the 7D's LiveView, which in my case would correspond to a 5x "Barlow lens": Effective 2500mm focal length!

Unfortunately I can't help analyzing / developing this software feature but rather would need some hints / support what and how to use it with the 7D.

So please count me in as one curiously having this feature in mind.

My 7D with firmware 2.0.3 has ML up and running. How can I add / use this interesting 5x LiveView capture feature? I have no idea ...

Your help is much appreciated!

Clear Skies and thanks to all you bold ML developers,
too

[Walter Schulz]

I'm in some kind of hurry therefore q&d answer only:

Internal crop mode recording in native Canon mode (H.264/MOV) is not possible with 7D. Some older cams have a 640x480 crop mode implemented (550D for example) which was (is?) used by astros. 7-8x crop, btw.
600D has a native electronic zoom/crop recording option allowing 3x crop with FHD resolution and without line skipping (1:1 crop mode). Somehow underrated IMO.
The code is available in 100D/650D/700D/EOS M, too and ML unlocked access to it.

It is in fact possible to use external recording in 5x via HDMI. I gave it a short go but - as expected - output is just horrible.
May provide samples later.

IMO all of 7D options listed above are far from good.
You may want to explore cropped 1:1 recording modes with ML's MLV_Lite module for better results. Load MLV_Lite, enter movie mode, activate RAW recording in movie tab and don't forget to press magnify/5x button to enter crop mode.
Results should be far better than all those line skipping modes with Canon recording.

Use MLVapp to convert raw footage into other codecs or extracting frames for further postprocessing.

And get yourself a decent astro telescope to catch the things you want.