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This is possible by interfacing directly with the sensor MMIO registers. I've always found fascinating how much flexibility hardware provides, compared with the

This is possible by interfacing directly with the sensor MMIO registers. I've always found fascinating how much flexibility hardware provides, compared with the typically rigid functionality the drivers expose to userland. I wonder what we could make out of many high-end cameras if only we had enough patience and motivated people to reverse engineer everything that has been hidden away by comfort abstractions.

bserge 5y ago
Magic Lantern is a firmware mod for Canon cameras and it gives you more features and control over your hardware. I love this kind of low level mods. https://magiclantern.fm/features.html https://magiclantern.fm/features.html
- pstoll 5y ago
  Link is dead.
  - pengaru 5y ago
    works for me
    - thecatster 5y ago
      Dead for me too.
    - cgriswald 5y ago
      Does it work currently? I can't get the domain name to resolve.
      - spijdar 5y ago
        Okay, that's bizarre. When I first clicked the link, the domain name failed to resolve for me too. When I reloaded it, though, it resolved. If anyone else is having trouble, give it a bit and try reloading the page.
        nickphx 5y ago
        the domain magiclantern.fm expired on 12/13/21, it's name servers were updated on 12/27 to EXPIRED.DNAPI.NET DOMAIN.DNAPI.NET 25.0%: Refused at domain.dnapi.net (193.227.117.66) 25.0%: Refused at expired.dnapi.net (194.50.187.66) 25.0%: Query timed out at dns1.idnz.net (108.166.170.106) While querying domain.dnapi.net/IN/A 25.0%: Query timed out at dns1.idnz.net (108.166.170.106) While querying expired.dnapi.net/IN/A Some opendns resolvers have it cached still: 176.9.31.214
      - jandrese 5y ago
        I've tried to resolve the domain via 8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1, 9.9.9.9, 208.67.222.222, and 4.2.2.1 without luck. They all return status: SERVFAIL.
  - lelandfe 5y ago
    https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicLantern/comments/rpvv2n/fyi_site_magiclanternfm_temporarily_not/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicLantern/comments/rpvv2n/fyi_si... They are aware and are working on it. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20211210011209/https://magiclantern.fm/ https://web.archive.org/web/20211210011209/https://magiclant...
  - spondyl 5y ago
    Seems confirmed by the Magic Lantern team: https://old.reddit.com/r/MagicLantern/comments/rpvv2n/fyi_site_magiclanternfm_temporarily_not/ https://old.reddit.com/r/MagicLantern/comments/rpvv2n/fyi_si...
- sidpatil 5y ago
  Also see CHDK [1], a FOSS firmware replacement for Canon point-and-shoot cameras. [1] https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK
- Forgeties79 5y ago
  Magic Lantern basically is the reason my t3i got me into film festivals lol
- pishpash 5y ago
  Ironically, I find the popularity of hardware hacks to be a sign of general stagnation, because there were periods of time in the past when they would not give as much boost in performance as a new version of something in a few months to a year. They were typically not worth the time and would be rendered obsolete, but now more and more they are worthwhile.
helge9210 5y ago
> everything that has been hidden away It's not hidden, it's stripped according to actual product specs. Industrial cameras (Basler/IDS) will give you access to most of the sensor capabilities if you want to prototype something.
- ClumsyPilot 5y ago
  Yeah but for the price of a good systens canera you will get only a basic industrial one with a tiny sensor and no AF
  - helge9210 5y ago
    That's the price of flexibility.
    - coldtea 5y ago
      It's not some inherent price. It's just an arbitrarily imposed one. Older products, even early digital ones from 70s and 80s, were more flexible for the end user (and often came with manuals and schematics) even in their consumer version.
      - hulitu 5y ago
        An industrial product has different requirements compared with a consumer product. I am really curious how many hours of continous operation my camera can sustain.
Forgeties79 5y ago
If you want the answer to that question, look no further than the magic lantern project. It’s not supported like it used to be, but those guys were incredible at unlocking what Canon DSLR’s could really do. I was a legend in my film community when I booted it onto a 5Diii and got it shooting 1080p raw. All I did was follow their instructions lol
- austinpena 5y ago
  Those guys were my intro to tech! I remember shooting RAW on an old 50d and Dual ISO on my 6d!
  - Forgeties79 5y ago
    Was your 50D a smoking just after a minute? Lol
    - austinpena 5y ago
      No it handled it like a champ! It could actually record higher resolution than my much newer 6d. It used a compact flash which was much faster than an SD
      - Forgeties79 5y ago
        Fun stuff! Yeah I did the raw hack on a 5diii. Gorgeous image, couldn’t believe the DR I was getting. Canon should be ashamed for keeping all the firepower under lock and key! Guess that doesn’t help love C-cameras though lol
        austinpena 5y ago
        Fun times! Thanks for bringing me back
- lovelyviking 5y ago
  Last time I've checked there was nothing like that for Nikon? What is the reason? Or there is something?
vhiremath4 5y ago
for anyone wondering, "MMIO registers" stands for "memory-mapped I/O" registers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory-mapped_I/O https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory-mapped_I/O

bserge 5y ago

Magic Lantern is a firmware mod for Canon cameras and it gives you more features and control over your hardware. I love this kind of low level mods. https://magiclantern.fm/features.html https://magiclantern.fm/features.html

pstoll 5y ago
Link is dead.
- pengaru 5y ago
  works for me
  - thecatster 5y ago
    Dead for me too.
  - cgriswald 5y ago
    Does it work currently? I can't get the domain name to resolve.
    - spijdar 5y ago
      Okay, that's bizarre. When I first clicked the link, the domain name failed to resolve for me too. When I reloaded it, though, it resolved. If anyone else is having trouble, give it a bit and try reloading the page.
      - nickphx 5y ago
        the domain magiclantern.fm expired on 12/13/21, it's name servers were updated on 12/27 to EXPIRED.DNAPI.NET DOMAIN.DNAPI.NET 25.0%: Refused at domain.dnapi.net (193.227.117.66) 25.0%: Refused at expired.dnapi.net (194.50.187.66) 25.0%: Query timed out at dns1.idnz.net (108.166.170.106) While querying domain.dnapi.net/IN/A 25.0%: Query timed out at dns1.idnz.net (108.166.170.106) While querying expired.dnapi.net/IN/A Some opendns resolvers have it cached still: 176.9.31.214
    - jandrese 5y ago
      I've tried to resolve the domain via 8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1, 9.9.9.9, 208.67.222.222, and 4.2.2.1 without luck. They all return status: SERVFAIL.
- lelandfe 5y ago
  https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicLantern/comments/rpvv2n/fyi_site_magiclanternfm_temporarily_not/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MagicLantern/comments/rpvv2n/fyi_si... They are aware and are working on it. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20211210011209/https://magiclantern.fm/ https://web.archive.org/web/20211210011209/https://magiclant...
- spondyl 5y ago
  Seems confirmed by the Magic Lantern team: https://old.reddit.com/r/MagicLantern/comments/rpvv2n/fyi_site_magiclanternfm_temporarily_not/ https://old.reddit.com/r/MagicLantern/comments/rpvv2n/fyi_si...
sidpatil 5y ago
Also see CHDK [1], a FOSS firmware replacement for Canon point-and-shoot cameras. [1] https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK
Forgeties79 5y ago
Magic Lantern basically is the reason my t3i got me into film festivals lol
pishpash 5y ago
Ironically, I find the popularity of hardware hacks to be a sign of general stagnation, because there were periods of time in the past when they would not give as much boost in performance as a new version of something in a few months to a year. They were typically not worth the time and would be rendered obsolete, but now more and more they are worthwhile.

helge9210 5y ago

> everything that has been hidden away It's not hidden, it's stripped according to actual product specs. Industrial cameras (Basler/IDS) will give you access to most of the sensor capabilities if you want to prototype something.

ClumsyPilot 5y ago
Yeah but for the price of a good systens canera you will get only a basic industrial one with a tiny sensor and no AF
- helge9210 5y ago
  That's the price of flexibility.
  - coldtea 5y ago
    It's not some inherent price. It's just an arbitrarily imposed one. Older products, even early digital ones from 70s and 80s, were more flexible for the end user (and often came with manuals and schematics) even in their consumer version.
    - hulitu 5y ago
      An industrial product has different requirements compared with a consumer product. I am really curious how many hours of continous operation my camera can sustain.

Forgeties79 5y ago

If you want the answer to that question, look no further than the magic lantern project. It’s not supported like it used to be, but those guys were incredible at unlocking what Canon DSLR’s could really do. I was a legend in my film community when I booted it onto a 5Diii and got it shooting 1080p raw. All I did was follow their instructions lol

austinpena 5y ago
Those guys were my intro to tech! I remember shooting RAW on an old 50d and Dual ISO on my 6d!
- Forgeties79 5y ago
  Was your 50D a smoking just after a minute? Lol
  - austinpena 5y ago
    No it handled it like a champ! It could actually record higher resolution than my much newer 6d. It used a compact flash which was much faster than an SD
    - Forgeties79 5y ago
      Fun stuff! Yeah I did the raw hack on a 5diii. Gorgeous image, couldn’t believe the DR I was getting. Canon should be ashamed for keeping all the firepower under lock and key! Guess that doesn’t help love C-cameras though lol
      - austinpena 5y ago
        Fun times! Thanks for bringing me back
lovelyviking 5y ago
Last time I've checked there was nothing like that for Nikon? What is the reason? Or there is something?

vhiremath4 5y ago

for anyone wondering, "MMIO registers" stands for "memory-mapped I/O" registers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory-mapped_I/O https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory-mapped_I/O