Hello everyone

I want wondering if anyone here shoots videos with a DSLR camera? I have a Canon camera and I was told there was a video software program called Magic Lantern that you can download onto the camera which will allow you to shoot raw video footage. I was wondering if anyone here has this program and if so do you have any tips or suggestions for using it.

Thanks

Magic lantern expands the control of the camera, and more importantly allows you to shoot in a "flat" raw format. There are tons of tutorials on youtube that could explain it better than it could be taught through text on this site.

One thing to consider is your experience level. Many of the controls are really advanced, and shooting in a "flat" raw format demands that you know how to color correct and grade the footage after.

there are "flat" picture style's that are available for canon cameras without installing magic lantern, if you are concerned about getting maximal control of color in post.

Canon camera's shoot video really well and the difference in shooting raw would be missed by most people, as was demonstrated I think by freddiew on one of the rocket film school videos.

A little late to reply, but here goes:
The one thing I would be aware of is that Magic Lantern CAN brick your camera, that is, cause it to shut down unexpectedly. I've used ML on every DSLR I've owned since it came out without much issue, but I know plenty of folks that have had the opposite experience. In a professional's hands, Magic Lantern is a really useful tool that will help deliver good video and is worth the occasional hard reset, but for someone without a lot of experience, it would likely just be an unnecessary annoyance.

Good luck!

~Dave

I totally agree with Davdo.

If you need the features it adds (and it adds a LOT of features), it's brilliant.

I used to use it in order to get focus peaking. 95% of the time it was fine, but it once crashed on me while I was interviewing someone - I only had three minutes with the subject and I lost one of those doing a camera reset. It's a really clever bit of firmware, but I'd only use it in non-critical situations when you've got plenty of time and can re-shoot if required.

I now go without it and use a magnifying loupe to help me focus. But it's free, and has a ton of cool features, so worth having a play. (I've never known anyone to have their camera *permanently* bricked, although Magic Lantern do say it can happen.)

I use it on my 550d. A lot of really modern cameras have fixed many of the issues magic lantern was made to fix e.g. record level autoadjusting. If you don't know much about it you most likely don't need it. and RAW is really hard to process.

I have used magic lantern for years too... It really adds the features that canon have not... I have never bricked a camera but you do need to be a little tech savvy to do it.. Good instructions though.. There is a version for most of canons DSLR Range.