13 ms·

Magic Lantern Is Back

501 points by felipemesquita 1y ago

WTFnsfw 1y ago
Canon Hack Development Kit for Canon PowerShot cameras https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/FAQ https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/FAQ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45078315 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45078315
aorth 1y ago
> We're using Git now. We build on modern OSes with modern tooling. We compile clean, no warnings. This was a lot of work, and invisible to users, but very useful for devs. It's easier than ever to join as a dev. Very impressive! Thankless work. A reminder to myself to chase down some warnings in projects I am a part of...
- ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
  It’s not too difficult, if you do it from the start, and by habit. I have an xcconfig file[0], that I add to all my projects, that turns on treat warnings as errors, and enables all warnings. In C, I used to compile -wall. I also use SwiftLint[1]. But these days, I almost never trigger any warnings, because I’ve developed the habit of good coding. Since Magic Lantern is firmware, I’m surprised that this was not already the case. Firmware needs to be as close to perfect as possible (I used to write firmware. It’s one of the reasons I’m so anal about Quality). [0] https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_Checkbox/blob/main/Project-Meta/Warnings.xcconfig https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_Checkbox/blob/main... (I need to switch the header to MIT license, to match the rest of the project. It’s been a long time, since I used GPL, but I’ve been using this file, forever). [1] https://littlegreenviper.com/swiftlint/ https://littlegreenviper.com/swiftlint/
  - names_r_hard 1y ago
    It's not firmware :) We use what is probably engineering functionality, built into the OS, to load and execute a file from disk. We run as a (mostly) normal program on the cam's normal OS. We build with: -Wall -Wextra -Werror-implicit-function-declaration -Wdouble-promotion -Winline -Wundef -Wno-unused-parameter -Wno-unused-function -Wno-format Warnings are treated as errors for release builds.
    - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
      Awesome! Great work, and good luck!
      - names_r_hard 1y ago
        Thanks, and for what it's worth, I didn't downvote you (account is too new to even do so :D ), and I agree with your main point - it's not that hard to avoid all compiler warnings if you do it from the start, and make sure it's highly visible. You only add one at a time, so you only need to fix one at a time, and you understand what you're trying to do. It is, however, a real bitch to fix all compiler warnings in decade old code that targets a set of undocumented hardware platforms with which you are unfamiliar. And you just updated the toolchain from gcc 5 to 12.
        ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
        Oh, don't worry about the downvotes. Happens every time someone starts talking about improving software Quality around here. Unpopular topic. I talk about it anyway, as it's one of my casus belli. I can afford the dings. BTW: I used to work for Canon's main [photography] competitor, and Magic Lantern was an example of the kind of thing I wanted them to enable, but they were not particularly open to the idea -control freaks. Also, it's a bit "nit-picky," I know, but I feel that any software that runs on-device is "firmware," and should be held to the same standards as the OS. I know that Magic Lantern has always been good. We used to hear customers telling us how good it was, and asking us to do similar. I think RED had something like that, as well. I wonder how that's going?
        names_r_hard 1y ago
        Okay, good, just making sure :) Fun to hear that at least some photo gear places are aware of ML! I have done a stint in QA, as well as highly aggressive security testing against a big C codebase, so I too care a lot about quality. And you can do it in C, you just have to put in the effort. I'd like to get Valgrind or ASAN working with our code, but that's quite a big task on an RTOS. It would be more practical in Qemu, but still a lot of effort. The OS has multiple allocators, and we don't include stdlib. Re firmware / software, doesn't all software run on a device? So I suppose it depends what you mean by a device. Is a Windows exe on a desktop PC firmware? Is an app from your phones store firmware? We support cams that are much more powerful than low end Android devices. Here the cam OS, which is on flash ROM, brings the hardware up, then loads our code from removable storage, which can even be a spinning rust drive. It feels like they're firmware, and we're software, to me. It's not a clearly defined term. The main reason I make the distinction is because we get a lot of users who think ML is like a phone rom flash, because that's what firmware is to most people. Thus they assume it's a risky process, and that the Canon menus etc will be gone. But we don't work that way.
  - aorth 1y ago
    Great, thanks for sharing the links. By the way, rift valley software? I'm writing to you from Kenya, one of the homes of the great rift valley. It is truly remarkable to drive down the escarpment just North of Nairobi!
    - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
      I used to live in Uganda. Visiting the Rift Valley in Southwest Uganda was one of the most awesome experiences of my childhood. My other company, Little Green Viper, riffs on that, too. I was born in Africa, and spent the first eleven years of my life, there. Had to leave Uganda in a hurry, though (1973).
cassonmars 1y ago
From a security mindset, I was thinking this had made a return: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware) I was pleasantly surprised to find out this was something very different.
- Mistletoe 1y ago
  I thought it was Magic Leap, the AR scam company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Leap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Leap > As of December 2024, the Magic Leap One is no longer supported or working, becoming end of life and abruptly losing functionality when cloud access was ended. This happened whilst encouraging users to buy a newer model. Ah, that’s about how I thought that would end up.
  - Cthulhu_ 1y ago
    Its demise seems to have completely passed me by; I read about its enormous funding and unrealistic expectations, then a v1 came out which was mediocre/disappointing, then... nothing. Apple's thing overshadowed it, but that too has passed - unless they're going to announce a new model at a fraction of the price soon, supposedly their UI redesigns follow its concepts so it's not buried yet.
fitsumbelay 1y ago
This is good news One of those projects I wanted to take on but always back logged. Wild that they've been on a 5 year hiatus -- https://www.newsshooter.com/2025/06/21/the-genie-is-out-of-the-bottle-magic-lantern-returns-after-a-5-year-hiatus/ https://www.newsshooter.com/2025/06/21/the-genie-is-out-of-t... -- that's the not-so-happy side of cool free wares.
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  No time like the present :) It is actually easier to get started now, as I spent several months updating the dev infrastructure so it all works on modern platforms with modern tooling. Plus Ghidra exists now, which was a massive help for us. We didn't really go on hiatus - the prior lead dev left the project, and the target hardware changed significantly. So everything slowed down. Now we are back to a more normal speed. Of course, we still need more devs; currently we have 3.
bambax 1y ago
Fantastic news! Congrats to the new team!
leducw 1y ago
This is such excellent news! I was extremely sad when progress was halted, lost hope my 80D would ever get cfw.
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  The 80D has Magic Lantern code available. We haven't released a build to the public as it has such minimal features available there's no real point yet. But if you were thinking of doing dev work for it, it's in a good place to start: ML GUI works, debug logging works.
freeqaz 1y ago
I was trying to understand what this project is. It's some sort of open firmware for Canon camera that you put on the flash card (SD). The home page has info: https://www.magiclantern.fm/ https://www.magiclantern.fm/
- ioma8 1y ago
  Yes its truly noteworthy project. They exploited Canon cameras by first managing to blink red charging LED. Then they used the LED blinks to transmit the firmware out. Then they built custom firmware which boots right from SD (thus no posibility to break the camera). The Magic Lantern firmware for example allows many basic cameras to do RAW 4K video recording (with unlimited length) - feature which is not even in the high-end models. But it has much more features to tinker with.
  - names_r_hard 1y ago
    There's a fun step you're missing - it's not firmware. We toggle on (presumably) engineering functionality already present in Canon code, which allows for loading a file from card as an ARM binary. We're a normal program, running on their OS, DryOS, a variant of uITRON. This has the benefit that we never flash the OS, removing a source of risk.
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  Hi - I'm the current lead dev. It's not firmware, which is a nice bonus, no risk of a bad rom flash damaging your camera (only our software!). We load as normal software from the SD card. The cam is running a variant of uITRON: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITRON_project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITRON_project
miguehm 1y ago
Magic Lantern Devs are GOAT < 3
joatmon-snoo 1y ago
For folks who don't know what Magic Lantern is: > Magic Lantern is a free software add-on that runs from the SD/CF card and adds a host of new features to Canon EOS cameras that weren't included from the factory by Canon. It also backports new features to old Canon cameras that aren't supported anymore, and is generally just a really impressive feat of both (1) reverse engineering and (2) keeping old hardware relevant and useful.
- hypercube33 1y ago
  it also has a scripting system and is damn fun to mess with.
- nottorp 1y ago
  Funny, when i saw it uses a .fm TLD i thought it's some online radio.
  - names_r_hard 1y ago
    They were trendy at the time :D I think possibly someone thought it sounded a bit like firmware?
  - xwowsersx 1y ago
    Same :) I had in mind Groove Salad from soma.fm
  - esafak 1y ago
    last.fm
    - mxmilkiib 1y ago
      sub.fm
    - barnas2 1y ago
      "Scrobbles" will always be a funny word to me.
- 1y ago
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
andrewstuart 1y ago
[flagged]
- aspenmayer 1y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(firmware) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(firmware)
- slacktivism123 1y ago
  The linked page explains: Magic Lantern is a free software add-on that runs from the SD/CF card and adds a host of new features to Canon EOS cameras that weren't included from the factory by Canon. I also found this concise, human-written readme on the project page. Since it's not AI slop churned out by a startup, it's worth reading! :-))) https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified/blob/dev/README.md https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified/... Magic Lantern ============= Magic Lantern (ML) is a software enhancement that offers increased functionality to the excellent Canon DSLR cameras. It's an open framework, licensed under GPL, for developing extensions to the official firmware. Magic Lantern is not a *hack*, or a modified firmware, **it is an independent program that runs alongside Canon's own software**. Each time you start your camera, Magic Lantern is loaded from your memory card. Our only modification was to enable the ability to run software from the memory card. ML is being developed by photo and video enthusiasts, adding functionality such as: HDR images and video, timelapse, motion detection, focus assist tools, manual audio controls much more. For more details on Magic Lantern please see [http://www.magiclantern.fm/](http://www.magiclantern.fm/) There is a sibling repo for our patched version of Qemu that adds support for emulating camera ROMs. This allows testing without access to a physical camera, and automating tests across a suite of cameras. https://github.com/reticulatedpines/qemu-eos https://github.com/reticulatedpines/qemu-eos/tree/qemu-eos-v4.2.1 (current ML team supported branch)
shrx 1y ago
Thanks to all contributors to the project, ML is an amazing feat of work. I've been running it on my Canon 6D since I got it in 2016, very useful for timelapses.
privatelypublic 1y ago
Unfortunately, they're not using a github organization- leaving it to fail again if that account disappears. Continuity is hard. > git clone https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified
- ekianjo 1y ago
  Why would it fail if the code is available?
  - privatelypublic 1y ago
    If it's github.com/magiclantern/magiclantern ownership can change hands via organizational user changes.
ZiiS 1y ago
This news is probably my excuse to buy my forth EOS; the first three were 100% only because of Magic Lantern. Can't understand why manufacturers make this hard as it sells hardware.
- i_am_proteus 1y ago
  Magic Lantern is fantastic software that makes EOS cameras even better, but I understand why manufacturers make it hard: Camera manufacturers live and die on their reputation for making tools that deliver for the professional users of those tools. On a modern camera, the firmware and software needs to 100% Just Work and completely get out of the photographer's way, and a photographer needs to be able to grab a (camera) body out of the locker and know exactly what it's going to do for given settings. The more cameras out there running customized firmware, the more likely someone misses a shot because "shutter priority is different on this specific 5d4" or similar. I'm sure Canon is quietly pleased that Magic Lantern has kept up the resale value of their older bodies. I'm happy that Magic Lantern exists-- I no longer need an external intervalometer! It does make sense, though, that camera manufacturers don't deliberately ship cameras as openly-programmable computational photography tools.
  - ratmeadow 1y ago
    You have an interesting point about consistency and I'd like to provide a counterargument. While control consistency is very important, the actual image you get from a camera varies significantly between models as the manufacturers change tone curves, colour models, etc. JPGs from the camera are basically arbitrary and RAWs are not much better. The manufacturers don't provide many guarantees, it's just up to you and downstream software to figure out what looks good. Funny that so much thought goes into designing the feel of a camera yet the photo output is basically undefined... Also another thing, Magic Lantern adds optional features which are arbitrarily(?) not present on some models. Perhaps Canon doesn't think you're "pro enough" (e.g. spent enough money) so they don't switch on focus peeking or whatever on your model.
    - i_am_proteus 1y ago
dsmurrell 1y ago
Magic Lantern is amazing... I used it with a custom C script to do auto ISO in Av mode (setting minimum shutter speed based on focal length) before that was built into the newer camera models. It's good to see it back!
teamonkey 1y ago
An alternative to Magic Lantern is CHDK. Unfortunately that also feels somewhat abandoned and at the best of times held together with string* so I’m glad ML is back. *No judgement, maintaining a niche and complex reverse-engineering project must be a thankless task https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK
thot_experiment 1y ago
CHDK and Magic Lantern are fantastic, I really wish there was a Nikon equivalent.
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  There is, but it's more limited: https://www.dslrbodies.com/cameras/general-nikon-camera-info/nikon-camera-hacks.html https://www.dslrbodies.com/cameras/general-nikon-camera-info...
andy_ppp 1y ago
Would love it if camera manufacturers were forced to open source their firmware after say 5 years of a camera’s release. The longevity of devices would be vastly improved. In fact make this all devices with firmware, printers, streamers etc.
- can16358p 1y ago
  I don't think forcing a company to open source their IP is a good move, but perhaps there might be some encouragement implemented for opening up their bootloader so the device is more hackable. But forcing is never a right thing.
  - names_r_hard 1y ago
    The entire copyright and patent system is built on the principle of forcing the release of IP; it is time delayed in exchange for the legal protections you gain if you opt in to the system. That is the encouragement! Extending this to enable software access by 3rd parties doesn't feel controversial to me. The core intent of copyright and patent seems to be "when the time limit expires, everyone should be able to use the IP". But in practice you often can't, where hardware with software is concerned.
names_r_hard 1y ago
Thanks to all who are sharing their appreciation for this niche but cool project. I'm the current lead dev, so please ask questions. Got a Canon DSLR or mirrorless and like a bit of software reverse engineering? Consider joining in; it's quite an approachable hardware target. No code obfuscation, just classic reversing. You can pick up a well supported cam for a little less than $100. Cams range from ARMv5te up to AArch64.
- Vagantem 1y ago
  Just wanted to say thanks for keeping this alive! I used magic lantern in 2014 to unlock 4K video recording on my Canon. It was how students back then could start recording professional video without super expensive gear
- archerx 1y ago
  I use magic lantern on my canon 650D to get a clean feed for my blackmagic ATEM. The installation was easy and everything works well. Thank you and the magic lantern team!
- GranPC 1y ago
  What's the situation re: running on actual hardware these days? I was experimenting around with my 4000D but when it came to trying to actually run my code on the camera rather than the emulator, a1ex told me I needed some sort of key or similar. He told me he'd sign it for me or something but he got busy and I never heard back. Is this situation still the same? (Apologies for the hazy details -- this was 5 years ago!)
  - names_r_hard 1y ago
    That must have been a few years back. I think you're talking about enabling "camera bootflag". We provide an automated way to do this for new installs on release builds, but don't like to make this too easy before we have stable builds ready. People do the weirdest stuff, including trying to flash firmware that's not for their cam, in order to run an ML build for that different cam... Anyway, I can happily talk you through how to do it. Our discord is probably easiest, or you can ask on the forum. Discord is linked from the forum: https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/ https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/ Whatever code you had back then won't build without some updates. 4000D is a good target for ML, lots of features that could be added.
Brajeshwar 1y ago
This is not about the key logging spyware Magic Lantern. I thought this would be an interesting read with whatever is happening around the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware)
heliographe 1y ago
Yes! As a software developer in the photography space, we are deeply in need of projects like this. The photography world is mired in proprietary software/ formats, and locked down hardware; and while it has always been true that a digital camera is “just” a computer, now more than ever it is painful just how limited and archaic on-board camera software is when compared to what we’ve grown accustomed to in the mobile phone era. If I compare photography to another creative discipline I am somewhat familiar with, music production - the latter has way more open software/hardware initiatives, and freedom of not having to tether yourself to large, slow, user-abusing companies when choosing gear to work with. Long live Magic Lantern!
- waz0wski 1y ago
  Agreed cries in .x3f & Sigma Photo Pro
  - shrinks99 1y ago
    If you don't know about it already and are a macOS user, you may appreciate https://x3fuse.com/ https://x3fuse.com/
keyle 1y ago
Around 2020, our old lead dev, a1ex, after years of hard work, left the project. The documentation was fragmentary. Nobody understood the build system. A very small number of volunteers kept things alive, but nothing worked well. Nobody had deep knowledge of Magic Lantern code. Sounds like a bit of a dick move. Part of being a lead dev is making sure you can get hit by a bus and the project continues. That means documentation, simple enough and standard build system (It's C after all), etc. As a lead dev you should ensure the people on the project get familiarity with other part than their niche too, so that one can succeed you.
- bibabaloo 1y ago
  Uh, sure, maybe in a professional setting where you’re getting paid. But this was unpaid volunteer work. If, as a community, we start enforcing professional grade standards on people who are just contributing their free time to give us neat toys and tools, I kinda worry it makes the whole thing the whole thing less fun or sustainable. And if that happens, we probably stop getting these free toys altogether.
  - keyle 1y ago
    I heart-fully disagree. Being professional crosses the bounds of paid work and unpaid work. It doesn't take much work to not leave a gigantic pile of trash behind you. If anything, it's an even more a self-responsible thing to do in the OSS world, as there isn't a chain of command such as in the corporate world, enforcing this. It's selfish to engage in group relation with other people building something without the conscious decision of continuity. A job worth doing is a job worth doing well. Maybe I'm just a gray beard with unrealistic expectations, or maybe I care about quality.
  - bux93 1y ago
    It's not like this kind of thing doesn't happen in the professional world - in fact, quite the opposite. The incentives to cut corners in a company are if anything greater than in open source, with pressure from management to meet the next deadline. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor
BLKNSLVR 1y ago
I was hoping it was these guys: https://youtu.be/x3Y1dAcHK5Y https://youtu.be/x3Y1dAcHK5Y But this is actually really cool because, as it turns out, I've got an old Canon Eos DSLR that I haven't used for a long time and didn't know this thing existed before.
IshKebab 1y ago
> The main thing you need is knowledge of C, which is a small language that has good tutorials. Heh, a little like saying "the main thing you need is to be able to play the violin, which is a small instrument with good tutorials".
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  I stand by my statement! Compare the length of the C standard to JS / ECMAScript, or C++! :) Maaaaybe I'm hiding a tradeoff around complexity vs built-in features, but volunteers can work that out themselves later on. You honestly don't need much knowledge of C to get started in some areas. The ML GUI is easy to modify if you stay within the lines. Other areas, e.g., porting a complex feature to a new camera, are much harder. But that's the life of a reverse engineer.
  - Etheryte 1y ago
    Conversely, the terseness of the C standard also means there's many more footguns and undefined behaviors. There are many things C is, but being easy to pick up is not one of them. I loved C all the way up until I graduated uni, but it would be a very hard sell to get me to pick it for a project these days. To me, working with C is akin to working with assembly, you just feel that you're doing real programming, but realistically there's better options for most scenarios these days.
    - ptero 1y ago
      Undefined behaviors -- yes. But being able to trigger undefined behavior is not a huge foot gun by itself. Starting with good code examples means you are much less likely to trigger it. Having a good, logical description of supported features, with a warning that if you do unsupported stuff things may break, is much more important than trying to define every possible action in a predictable way. The latter approach often leads to explosion of spec volume and gives way more opportunities for writing bad code: predictable in execution, but instead with problems in design and logic which are harder to understand, maintain and fix. My 2c.
    - 1y ago
lofaszvanitt 1y ago
The nifty thing would come from opening up the high end cameras, so why not go there? Of course Canon's legal team gonna crack down on the project, as they've previously said.
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  Canon's legal team have never said anything about Magic Lantern in any context that I'm aware of. The high end cams need ML less, they have more features stock, plus devs need access to the cam to make a good port. So higher end cams tend to be less attractive to developers.
  - lofaszvanitt 1y ago
    Of course they did. They explicitly said, that if ML team touches their high end cameras lawyer team gonna push their shit in.
    - names_r_hard 1y ago
      I don't believe they did. Where did they say that?
    - WalterSchulz 1y ago
      No, they explicitly never said that. This is the origin: https://www.canonrumors.com/inside-the-canon-eos-1d-c https://www.canonrumors.com/inside-the-canon-eos-1d-c Quote: I was told by someone at Canon that they would “bring the might of its legal team” to anyone that attempts to modify at the software level, the features of an EOS-1 camera body /Quote "Someone"'s name was never revealed. ML was never mentioned directly.* ML team was never contacted by any Canon official or anyone speaking in their regard. * Of course it is logical to assume there is a connection to ML.
iLoveOncall 1y ago
I've been waiting for Magic Lantern for my 6D Mark II for years now, checking the homepage every 6 months or so for an update, so this is great news!
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  6D2 is a nice cam, and one I happen to own. This cam is under active development. Locally I have ~FHD raw video working.
- syrgian 1y ago
  Same boat. I have a 6D Mark II since 7 years ago now, and I misguidedly was counting on ML to be released within 3 years of my purchase. But luckily, it's still a fantastic camera.
MartijnBraam 1y ago
Magic lantern is amazing. I'm still hoping a project grows for the other camera brands since I only have Nikon and Panasonic cameras.
larodi 1y ago
If I’m to get a secondhand camera to run MM which would your recommend? 200D or 600D?
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  I wouldn't recommend the 600D if you want to do video. For stills it's perfectly acceptable. Auto-focus will feel slow compared to a modern cam. If you're going for an old / budget cam, try and reach to the 650D or 700D, those are a newer generation of hardware. 200D is much newer, but less well supported by ML. I own this cam and am actively working on improving it. 200D has DPAF, which means considerably improved auto-focus, especially for video. Also it can run Doom. Are there any ML features in particular you're interested in?
  - larodi 1y ago
    I'm interested in using all kinds of devices for streaming live video from live (think music) events via OBS with minimal effort. Current setup is with a device (just an old iPhone can do) which provides WiFi connectivity, then another (or the same device) runs DroidCAM which them streams into a nearby laptop with OBS (typically capturing the audio needed) and this is then sent to wherever we decide (twitch, RSTP, etc). We've tried this setup with as many as three droidcam phones, and it is just fine on... a legacy MacBook Pro with Intel + 1500MB Iris card. So ideally I'd imagine getting a second-hand 600D or 200D and having a similar setup. We did have a setup (previously) where a GoPro or mini-HDMI campera is captured and then processed by a RBPi 2/3/4, but this seems an overkill compared to the DroidCAM Setup. And, of course, the optics on the 600D/200D are expected to be much more correct than those on an iPhone or similar phone/mobile device. Thanks for your kind attention.
    - WalterSchulz 1y ago
      With 600D you are stuck to 1620x912 in video mode embedded in 1080i59.94 8-bit. Black borders around and you have to crop and - maybe - scale up. 200D HDMI stream with ML is clean with MF but AF will still draw a focus rectangle. But at least true FHD via HDMI. AF with 600D in liveview: Phase detection only. Focus hunting galore. 200D comes with usable DPAF. I prefer 250D for streaming. Dual display support, no 30 minute limit for HDMI out (but cam display will go dark until some button action).
namibj 1y ago
I have fond memories of squeezing so deep exposure stacking out of the auto/adaptive-HDR-bracketing script in CHDK on my old "IXUS 100IS", that the AFAIK still CCD had severe blooming around the window in the scene. Still great though!
abdusco 1y ago
Are there modded firmware for Sony or Lumix cameras?
- acid303 1y ago
  Sony has https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Tweak https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Tweak The developer disappeared but it still works I think.
dannyfritz07 1y ago
I just got my T2i out a few months ago and the first thing I did was check for new magic lantern versions. haha. Really cool to see this project is still living.
Spacemolte 1y ago
Cool! Am i the only one who has a really hard time finding what models are supported? It says on the frontpage that it's on the downloads page, but I can't seem to find anything? EDIT: It's on the builds page https://builds.magiclantern.fm https://builds.magiclantern.fm
raffael_de 1y ago
What would be something you can achieve using ML that you couldn't do with the stock firmware and postprocessing?
- mikepurvis 1y ago
  I don't know if modern cameras are better for this, but a big one historically was getting a clean, realtime HDMI output so that high quality cameras can be used with a capture card for broadcast purposes as a replacement for a webcam. Manufacturers understand that that's a "pro" level need/feature and have intentionally segmented the market so that lower-tier devices can't do it even though the hardware is obviously all present.
- dylan604 1y ago
  The list is so long. My favorite is the internal intervalometer + ETTR. Canon has always been laughed at for not having an internal intervalometer, and ML proves how lame it is to not have one. ETTR (Expose To The Right) is an auto metering mode that allows the camera to keep the histogram pushed as far to the right (better exposure) automagically by increasing shutter time and/or increasing ISO. This is essential for doing holy grail timelapse of sunset/sunrise where the exposure is constantly changing. This feature alone is worth it's weight in gold. However, a lot of the features exposed are more video oriented. The Canon bodies were primarily photo cameras that could shoot video in a cumbersome way. ML brings features a video shooter would need without diving into the menus like audio metering. The older bodies also have hardware limitations on write speed, so people use the HDMI out to external recorders to record a larger framesize/bitrate/codec than natively possible. Also, that feed normally has the camera UI overlay which prevents clean recordings. ML allows turning that off. There are just too many features that ML unlocks. You'd really just need to find the camera body you are interested in using on their site, and see what it does for that body. Different bodies have different features. So some effort is required on your part to know exactly what it can do for you.
- dokimus 1y ago
  The big one for me was always focus peaking when using vintage lenses or doing IR photography. The extended White Balance settings were nice to have for IR, as well.
pavel_lishin 1y ago
I should give this a shot. I used to use CHDK so I could use my old crappy Canon into something that would take good time-lapse videos by snapping a photo every X seconds; I miss doing that, though now it's harder because I live in the 'burbs, and there's no particularly spots for that nearby, and anywhere that is a good spot likely doesn't have a power outlet for me to use. I wonder how long I could power my camera from a portable charger?
- gattr 1y ago
  I used to do it as well with a cheap second-hand IXUS 230 HS. It could run (at least) 48 h off a 7.2 Ah 12 V AGM battery, snapping a photo every 3 s (I used a fake-battery power adapter and a small DC-DC converter.)
  - pavel_lishin 1y ago
    > I used a fake-battery power adapter and a small DC-DC converter. Same here. I used to live in a fairly tall building in Manhattan, so found my way to the roof, found an outlet, and would set it up to do timelapses of sunsets over the Hudson. The camera lens was pretty dirty, so they weren't great, but I enjoyed them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVpOgP-8c9A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVpOgP-8c9A
    - names_r_hard 1y ago
      Nearly all Canons have a small access port as part of the battery door, which you can put a power supply cable / through, by design. Don't buy too cheap a dummy battery, the really cheap ones may have very bad voltage regulation. You can get ones designed to work from a USB power bank, or mains.
christiangenco 1y ago
Looks like there's still no support for the M50. I hope with the revitalized development it's on the roadmap!
- WalterSchulz 1y ago
  Nothing published. But just few hours ago I was asked to test its raw video capture mode ...
nobleach 1y ago
For a look at some of the amazing output from an "ancient" EOS, you can look at Magic Lantern's Discord. It's rather shocking how far this little camera could be pushed. It is definitely a fun hobby project to fool around with these things. After awhile I stopped having the time and moved over to Sony APS-C with vintage lenses. I was able to maintain some of the aesthetic without getting frustrated by stuttering video. Still it's really a cool project.
neya 1y ago
I still have my 600D - it's hand down the most user-friendly DSLR I've ever owned, thanks to Magic Lantern. I also have a Sony A7S2. But, it is nowhere near the ease of use of my 600D. 12 years ago or so, I discovered Magic Lantern and I was blown away. It literally turned my camera into a high-end unit (for its time). What blows me away is that, my 600D can capture RAW video after installing ML. My Sony still can do only 10-bit video, 12 years later. The team deserves so much more funding and credit than they receive. I'm extremely grateful to the project and the people behind. I still haven't sold my 600D - only because of Magic Lantern. Thank you team :)
MDGeist 1y ago
It has been many moons since I used Magic Lantern. Has anamorphic desqueeze ever been a feature or could it be in the future? That's one missing feature that bums me out about shooting videos on Canon.
- WalterSchulz 1y ago
  Support for anamorphic lense ML has for ages: 5:4 (1.25); 4:3 (1.33); 7:5 (1.4); 3:2 (1.5); 5:3 (1.66); 9:5 (1.8); 2:1 (2)
  - MDGeist 1y ago
    Awesome thanks for the heads up! I wasn't using anamorphic lenses back when I tried ML so I'll have to give it another try now.
arnaudsm 1y ago
I absolutely love Magic Lantern, and I wish similar initiatives existed on Sony and Nikon! I was forced to upgrade my Sony camera purely because of software limitations. Firmwares should be open-source by law. Especially when products are discontinued.
AbraKdabra 1y ago
Very happy to see ML return, used it in my T2i for 10 years at least, this year I bought a R6 Mark II so no need but I'd be very happy to see it someday with support for ML. Congratulations on the return!
sails 1y ago
Amazing to see this, I haven’t thought about this since 2013. This turned my very basic entry level 550D into a crazy powerful camera for time lapse photography, I loved it!

Canon Hack Development Kit for Canon PowerShot cameras https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/FAQ https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/FAQ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45078315 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45078315

aorth 1y ago

> We're using Git now. We build on modern OSes with modern tooling. We compile clean, no warnings. This was a lot of work, and invisible to users, but very useful for devs. It's easier than ever to join as a dev. Very impressive! Thankless work. A reminder to myself to chase down some warnings in projects I am a part of...

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
It’s not too difficult, if you do it from the start, and by habit. I have an xcconfig file[0], that I add to all my projects, that turns on treat warnings as errors, and enables all warnings. In C, I used to compile -wall. I also use SwiftLint[1]. But these days, I almost never trigger any warnings, because I’ve developed the habit of good coding. Since Magic Lantern is firmware, I’m surprised that this was not already the case. Firmware needs to be as close to perfect as possible (I used to write firmware. It’s one of the reasons I’m so anal about Quality). [0] https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_Checkbox/blob/main/Project-Meta/Warnings.xcconfig https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_Checkbox/blob/main... (I need to switch the header to MIT license, to match the rest of the project. It’s been a long time, since I used GPL, but I’ve been using this file, forever). [1] https://littlegreenviper.com/swiftlint/ https://littlegreenviper.com/swiftlint/
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  It's not firmware :) We use what is probably engineering functionality, built into the OS, to load and execute a file from disk. We run as a (mostly) normal program on the cam's normal OS. We build with: -Wall -Wextra -Werror-implicit-function-declaration -Wdouble-promotion -Winline -Wundef -Wno-unused-parameter -Wno-unused-function -Wno-format Warnings are treated as errors for release builds.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
    Awesome! Great work, and good luck!
    - names_r_hard 1y ago
      Thanks, and for what it's worth, I didn't downvote you (account is too new to even do so :D ), and I agree with your main point - it's not that hard to avoid all compiler warnings if you do it from the start, and make sure it's highly visible. You only add one at a time, so you only need to fix one at a time, and you understand what you're trying to do. It is, however, a real bitch to fix all compiler warnings in decade old code that targets a set of undocumented hardware platforms with which you are unfamiliar. And you just updated the toolchain from gcc 5 to 12.
      - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
        Oh, don't worry about the downvotes. Happens every time someone starts talking about improving software Quality around here. Unpopular topic. I talk about it anyway, as it's one of my casus belli. I can afford the dings. BTW: I used to work for Canon's main [photography] competitor, and Magic Lantern was an example of the kind of thing I wanted them to enable, but they were not particularly open to the idea -control freaks. Also, it's a bit "nit-picky," I know, but I feel that any software that runs on-device is "firmware," and should be held to the same standards as the OS. I know that Magic Lantern has always been good. We used to hear customers telling us how good it was, and asking us to do similar. I think RED had something like that, as well. I wonder how that's going?
        names_r_hard 1y ago
        Okay, good, just making sure :) Fun to hear that at least some photo gear places are aware of ML! I have done a stint in QA, as well as highly aggressive security testing against a big C codebase, so I too care a lot about quality. And you can do it in C, you just have to put in the effort. I'd like to get Valgrind or ASAN working with our code, but that's quite a big task on an RTOS. It would be more practical in Qemu, but still a lot of effort. The OS has multiple allocators, and we don't include stdlib. Re firmware / software, doesn't all software run on a device? So I suppose it depends what you mean by a device. Is a Windows exe on a desktop PC firmware? Is an app from your phones store firmware? We support cams that are much more powerful than low end Android devices. Here the cam OS, which is on flash ROM, brings the hardware up, then loads our code from removable storage, which can even be a spinning rust drive. It feels like they're firmware, and we're software, to me. It's not a clearly defined term. The main reason I make the distinction is because we get a lot of users who think ML is like a phone rom flash, because that's what firmware is to most people. Thus they assume it's a risky process, and that the Canon menus etc will be gone. But we don't work that way.
- aorth 1y ago
  Great, thanks for sharing the links. By the way, rift valley software? I'm writing to you from Kenya, one of the homes of the great rift valley. It is truly remarkable to drive down the escarpment just North of Nairobi!
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
    I used to live in Uganda. Visiting the Rift Valley in Southwest Uganda was one of the most awesome experiences of my childhood. My other company, Little Green Viper, riffs on that, too. I was born in Africa, and spent the first eleven years of my life, there. Had to leave Uganda in a hurry, though (1973).

cassonmars 1y ago

From a security mindset, I was thinking this had made a return: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware) I was pleasantly surprised to find out this was something very different.

Mistletoe 1y ago
I thought it was Magic Leap, the AR scam company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Leap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Leap > As of December 2024, the Magic Leap One is no longer supported or working, becoming end of life and abruptly losing functionality when cloud access was ended. This happened whilst encouraging users to buy a newer model. Ah, that’s about how I thought that would end up.
- Cthulhu_ 1y ago
  Its demise seems to have completely passed me by; I read about its enormous funding and unrealistic expectations, then a v1 came out which was mediocre/disappointing, then... nothing. Apple's thing overshadowed it, but that too has passed - unless they're going to announce a new model at a fraction of the price soon, supposedly their UI redesigns follow its concepts so it's not buried yet.

fitsumbelay 1y ago

This is good news One of those projects I wanted to take on but always back logged. Wild that they've been on a 5 year hiatus -- https://www.newsshooter.com/2025/06/21/the-genie-is-out-of-the-bottle-magic-lantern-returns-after-a-5-year-hiatus/ https://www.newsshooter.com/2025/06/21/the-genie-is-out-of-t... -- that's the not-so-happy side of cool free wares.

names_r_hard 1y ago
No time like the present :) It is actually easier to get started now, as I spent several months updating the dev infrastructure so it all works on modern platforms with modern tooling. Plus Ghidra exists now, which was a massive help for us. We didn't really go on hiatus - the prior lead dev left the project, and the target hardware changed significantly. So everything slowed down. Now we are back to a more normal speed. Of course, we still need more devs; currently we have 3.

bambax 1y ago

Fantastic news! Congrats to the new team!

leducw 1y ago

This is such excellent news! I was extremely sad when progress was halted, lost hope my 80D would ever get cfw.

names_r_hard 1y ago
The 80D has Magic Lantern code available. We haven't released a build to the public as it has such minimal features available there's no real point yet. But if you were thinking of doing dev work for it, it's in a good place to start: ML GUI works, debug logging works.

freeqaz 1y ago

I was trying to understand what this project is. It's some sort of open firmware for Canon camera that you put on the flash card (SD). The home page has info: https://www.magiclantern.fm/ https://www.magiclantern.fm/

ioma8 1y ago
Yes its truly noteworthy project. They exploited Canon cameras by first managing to blink red charging LED. Then they used the LED blinks to transmit the firmware out. Then they built custom firmware which boots right from SD (thus no posibility to break the camera). The Magic Lantern firmware for example allows many basic cameras to do RAW 4K video recording (with unlimited length) - feature which is not even in the high-end models. But it has much more features to tinker with.
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  There's a fun step you're missing - it's not firmware. We toggle on (presumably) engineering functionality already present in Canon code, which allows for loading a file from card as an ARM binary. We're a normal program, running on their OS, DryOS, a variant of uITRON. This has the benefit that we never flash the OS, removing a source of risk.
names_r_hard 1y ago
Hi - I'm the current lead dev. It's not firmware, which is a nice bonus, no risk of a bad rom flash damaging your camera (only our software!). We load as normal software from the SD card. The cam is running a variant of uITRON: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITRON_project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITRON_project

miguehm 1y ago

Magic Lantern Devs are GOAT < 3

joatmon-snoo 1y ago

For folks who don't know what Magic Lantern is: > Magic Lantern is a free software add-on that runs from the SD/CF card and adds a host of new features to Canon EOS cameras that weren't included from the factory by Canon. It also backports new features to old Canon cameras that aren't supported anymore, and is generally just a really impressive feat of both (1) reverse engineering and (2) keeping old hardware relevant and useful.

hypercube33 1y ago
it also has a scripting system and is damn fun to mess with.
nottorp 1y ago
Funny, when i saw it uses a .fm TLD i thought it's some online radio.
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  They were trendy at the time :D I think possibly someone thought it sounded a bit like firmware?
- xwowsersx 1y ago
  Same :) I had in mind Groove Salad from soma.fm
- esafak 1y ago
  last.fm
  - mxmilkiib 1y ago
    sub.fm
  - barnas2 1y ago
    "Scrobbles" will always be a funny word to me.
1y ago

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

andrewstuart 1y ago

[flagged]

aspenmayer 1y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(firmware) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(firmware)
slacktivism123 1y ago
The linked page explains: Magic Lantern is a free software add-on that runs from the SD/CF card and adds a host of new features to Canon EOS cameras that weren't included from the factory by Canon. I also found this concise, human-written readme on the project page. Since it's not AI slop churned out by a startup, it's worth reading! :-))) https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified/blob/dev/README.md https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified/... Magic Lantern ============= Magic Lantern (ML) is a software enhancement that offers increased functionality to the excellent Canon DSLR cameras. It's an open framework, licensed under GPL, for developing extensions to the official firmware. Magic Lantern is not a *hack*, or a modified firmware, **it is an independent program that runs alongside Canon's own software**. Each time you start your camera, Magic Lantern is loaded from your memory card. Our only modification was to enable the ability to run software from the memory card. ML is being developed by photo and video enthusiasts, adding functionality such as: HDR images and video, timelapse, motion detection, focus assist tools, manual audio controls much more. For more details on Magic Lantern please see [http://www.magiclantern.fm/](http://www.magiclantern.fm/) There is a sibling repo for our patched version of Qemu that adds support for emulating camera ROMs. This allows testing without access to a physical camera, and automating tests across a suite of cameras. https://github.com/reticulatedpines/qemu-eos https://github.com/reticulatedpines/qemu-eos/tree/qemu-eos-v4.2.1 (current ML team supported branch)

shrx 1y ago

Thanks to all contributors to the project, ML is an amazing feat of work. I've been running it on my Canon 6D since I got it in 2016, very useful for timelapses.

privatelypublic 1y ago

Unfortunately, they're not using a github organization- leaving it to fail again if that account disappears. Continuity is hard. > git clone https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified

ekianjo 1y ago
Why would it fail if the code is available?
- privatelypublic 1y ago
  If it's github.com/magiclantern/magiclantern ownership can change hands via organizational user changes.

ZiiS 1y ago

This news is probably my excuse to buy my forth EOS; the first three were 100% only because of Magic Lantern. Can't understand why manufacturers make this hard as it sells hardware.

i_am_proteus 1y ago
Magic Lantern is fantastic software that makes EOS cameras even better, but I understand why manufacturers make it hard: Camera manufacturers live and die on their reputation for making tools that deliver for the professional users of those tools. On a modern camera, the firmware and software needs to 100% Just Work and completely get out of the photographer's way, and a photographer needs to be able to grab a (camera) body out of the locker and know exactly what it's going to do for given settings. The more cameras out there running customized firmware, the more likely someone misses a shot because "shutter priority is different on this specific 5d4" or similar. I'm sure Canon is quietly pleased that Magic Lantern has kept up the resale value of their older bodies. I'm happy that Magic Lantern exists-- I no longer need an external intervalometer! It does make sense, though, that camera manufacturers don't deliberately ship cameras as openly-programmable computational photography tools.
- ratmeadow 1y ago
  You have an interesting point about consistency and I'd like to provide a counterargument. While control consistency is very important, the actual image you get from a camera varies significantly between models as the manufacturers change tone curves, colour models, etc. JPGs from the camera are basically arbitrary and RAWs are not much better. The manufacturers don't provide many guarantees, it's just up to you and downstream software to figure out what looks good. Funny that so much thought goes into designing the feel of a camera yet the photo output is basically undefined... Also another thing, Magic Lantern adds optional features which are arbitrarily(?) not present on some models. Perhaps Canon doesn't think you're "pro enough" (e.g. spent enough money) so they don't switch on focus peeking or whatever on your model.
  - i_am_proteus 1y ago

dsmurrell 1y ago

Magic Lantern is amazing... I used it with a custom C script to do auto ISO in Av mode (setting minimum shutter speed based on focal length) before that was built into the newer camera models. It's good to see it back!

teamonkey 1y ago

An alternative to Magic Lantern is CHDK. Unfortunately that also feels somewhat abandoned and at the best of times held together with string* so I’m glad ML is back. *No judgement, maintaining a niche and complex reverse-engineering project must be a thankless task https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK

thot_experiment 1y ago

CHDK and Magic Lantern are fantastic, I really wish there was a Nikon equivalent.

names_r_hard 1y ago
There is, but it's more limited: https://www.dslrbodies.com/cameras/general-nikon-camera-info/nikon-camera-hacks.html https://www.dslrbodies.com/cameras/general-nikon-camera-info...

andy_ppp 1y ago

Would love it if camera manufacturers were forced to open source their firmware after say 5 years of a camera’s release. The longevity of devices would be vastly improved. In fact make this all devices with firmware, printers, streamers etc.

can16358p 1y ago
I don't think forcing a company to open source their IP is a good move, but perhaps there might be some encouragement implemented for opening up their bootloader so the device is more hackable. But forcing is never a right thing.
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  The entire copyright and patent system is built on the principle of forcing the release of IP; it is time delayed in exchange for the legal protections you gain if you opt in to the system. That is the encouragement! Extending this to enable software access by 3rd parties doesn't feel controversial to me. The core intent of copyright and patent seems to be "when the time limit expires, everyone should be able to use the IP". But in practice you often can't, where hardware with software is concerned.

names_r_hard 1y ago

Thanks to all who are sharing their appreciation for this niche but cool project. I'm the current lead dev, so please ask questions. Got a Canon DSLR or mirrorless and like a bit of software reverse engineering? Consider joining in; it's quite an approachable hardware target. No code obfuscation, just classic reversing. You can pick up a well supported cam for a little less than $100. Cams range from ARMv5te up to AArch64.

Vagantem 1y ago
Just wanted to say thanks for keeping this alive! I used magic lantern in 2014 to unlock 4K video recording on my Canon. It was how students back then could start recording professional video without super expensive gear
archerx 1y ago
I use magic lantern on my canon 650D to get a clean feed for my blackmagic ATEM. The installation was easy and everything works well. Thank you and the magic lantern team!
GranPC 1y ago
What's the situation re: running on actual hardware these days? I was experimenting around with my 4000D but when it came to trying to actually run my code on the camera rather than the emulator, a1ex told me I needed some sort of key or similar. He told me he'd sign it for me or something but he got busy and I never heard back. Is this situation still the same? (Apologies for the hazy details -- this was 5 years ago!)
- names_r_hard 1y ago
  That must have been a few years back. I think you're talking about enabling "camera bootflag". We provide an automated way to do this for new installs on release builds, but don't like to make this too easy before we have stable builds ready. People do the weirdest stuff, including trying to flash firmware that's not for their cam, in order to run an ML build for that different cam... Anyway, I can happily talk you through how to do it. Our discord is probably easiest, or you can ask on the forum. Discord is linked from the forum: https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/ https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/ Whatever code you had back then won't build without some updates. 4000D is a good target for ML, lots of features that could be added.

Brajeshwar 1y ago

This is not about the key logging spyware Magic Lantern. I thought this would be an interesting read with whatever is happening around the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware)

heliographe 1y ago

Yes! As a software developer in the photography space, we are deeply in need of projects like this. The photography world is mired in proprietary software/ formats, and locked down hardware; and while it has always been true that a digital camera is “just” a computer, now more than ever it is painful just how limited and archaic on-board camera software is when compared to what we’ve grown accustomed to in the mobile phone era. If I compare photography to another creative discipline I am somewhat familiar with, music production - the latter has way more open software/hardware initiatives, and freedom of not having to tether yourself to large, slow, user-abusing companies when choosing gear to work with. Long live Magic Lantern!

waz0wski 1y ago
Agreed cries in .x3f & Sigma Photo Pro
- shrinks99 1y ago
  If you don't know about it already and are a macOS user, you may appreciate https://x3fuse.com/ https://x3fuse.com/

keyle 1y ago

Around 2020, our old lead dev, a1ex, after years of hard work, left the project. The documentation was fragmentary. Nobody understood the build system. A very small number of volunteers kept things alive, but nothing worked well. Nobody had deep knowledge of Magic Lantern code. Sounds like a bit of a dick move. Part of being a lead dev is making sure you can get hit by a bus and the project continues. That means documentation, simple enough and standard build system (It's C after all), etc. As a lead dev you should ensure the people on the project get familiarity with other part than their niche too, so that one can succeed you.

bibabaloo 1y ago
Uh, sure, maybe in a professional setting where you’re getting paid. But this was unpaid volunteer work. If, as a community, we start enforcing professional grade standards on people who are just contributing their free time to give us neat toys and tools, I kinda worry it makes the whole thing the whole thing less fun or sustainable. And if that happens, we probably stop getting these free toys altogether.
- keyle 1y ago
  I heart-fully disagree. Being professional crosses the bounds of paid work and unpaid work. It doesn't take much work to not leave a gigantic pile of trash behind you. If anything, it's an even more a self-responsible thing to do in the OSS world, as there isn't a chain of command such as in the corporate world, enforcing this. It's selfish to engage in group relation with other people building something without the conscious decision of continuity. A job worth doing is a job worth doing well. Maybe I'm just a gray beard with unrealistic expectations, or maybe I care about quality.
- bux93 1y ago
  It's not like this kind of thing doesn't happen in the professional world - in fact, quite the opposite. The incentives to cut corners in a company are if anything greater than in open source, with pressure from management to meet the next deadline. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor

BLKNSLVR 1y ago

I was hoping it was these guys: https://youtu.be/x3Y1dAcHK5Y https://youtu.be/x3Y1dAcHK5Y But this is actually really cool because, as it turns out, I've got an old Canon Eos DSLR that I haven't used for a long time and didn't know this thing existed before.

IshKebab 1y ago

> The main thing you need is knowledge of C, which is a small language that has good tutorials. Heh, a little like saying "the main thing you need is to be able to play the violin, which is a small instrument with good tutorials".

names_r_hard 1y ago
I stand by my statement! Compare the length of the C standard to JS / ECMAScript, or C++! :) Maaaaybe I'm hiding a tradeoff around complexity vs built-in features, but volunteers can work that out themselves later on. You honestly don't need much knowledge of C to get started in some areas. The ML GUI is easy to modify if you stay within the lines. Other areas, e.g., porting a complex feature to a new camera, are much harder. But that's the life of a reverse engineer.
- Etheryte 1y ago
  Conversely, the terseness of the C standard also means there's many more footguns and undefined behaviors. There are many things C is, but being easy to pick up is not one of them. I loved C all the way up until I graduated uni, but it would be a very hard sell to get me to pick it for a project these days. To me, working with C is akin to working with assembly, you just feel that you're doing real programming, but realistically there's better options for most scenarios these days.
  - ptero 1y ago
    Undefined behaviors -- yes. But being able to trigger undefined behavior is not a huge foot gun by itself. Starting with good code examples means you are much less likely to trigger it. Having a good, logical description of supported features, with a warning that if you do unsupported stuff things may break, is much more important than trying to define every possible action in a predictable way. The latter approach often leads to explosion of spec volume and gives way more opportunities for writing bad code: predictable in execution, but instead with problems in design and logic which are harder to understand, maintain and fix. My 2c.
  - 1y ago

lofaszvanitt 1y ago

The nifty thing would come from opening up the high end cameras, so why not go there? Of course Canon's legal team gonna crack down on the project, as they've previously said.

names_r_hard 1y ago
Canon's legal team have never said anything about Magic Lantern in any context that I'm aware of. The high end cams need ML less, they have more features stock, plus devs need access to the cam to make a good port. So higher end cams tend to be less attractive to developers.
- lofaszvanitt 1y ago
  Of course they did. They explicitly said, that if ML team touches their high end cameras lawyer team gonna push their shit in.
  - names_r_hard 1y ago
    I don't believe they did. Where did they say that?
  - WalterSchulz 1y ago
    No, they explicitly never said that. This is the origin: https://www.canonrumors.com/inside-the-canon-eos-1d-c https://www.canonrumors.com/inside-the-canon-eos-1d-c Quote: I was told by someone at Canon that they would “bring the might of its legal team” to anyone that attempts to modify at the software level, the features of an EOS-1 camera body /Quote "Someone"'s name was never revealed. ML was never mentioned directly.* ML team was never contacted by any Canon official or anyone speaking in their regard. * Of course it is logical to assume there is a connection to ML.

iLoveOncall 1y ago

I've been waiting for Magic Lantern for my 6D Mark II for years now, checking the homepage every 6 months or so for an update, so this is great news!

names_r_hard 1y ago
6D2 is a nice cam, and one I happen to own. This cam is under active development. Locally I have ~FHD raw video working.
syrgian 1y ago
Same boat. I have a 6D Mark II since 7 years ago now, and I misguidedly was counting on ML to be released within 3 years of my purchase. But luckily, it's still a fantastic camera.

MartijnBraam 1y ago

Magic lantern is amazing. I'm still hoping a project grows for the other camera brands since I only have Nikon and Panasonic cameras.

larodi 1y ago

If I’m to get a secondhand camera to run MM which would your recommend? 200D or 600D?

names_r_hard 1y ago
I wouldn't recommend the 600D if you want to do video. For stills it's perfectly acceptable. Auto-focus will feel slow compared to a modern cam. If you're going for an old / budget cam, try and reach to the 650D or 700D, those are a newer generation of hardware. 200D is much newer, but less well supported by ML. I own this cam and am actively working on improving it. 200D has DPAF, which means considerably improved auto-focus, especially for video. Also it can run Doom. Are there any ML features in particular you're interested in?
- larodi 1y ago
  I'm interested in using all kinds of devices for streaming live video from live (think music) events via OBS with minimal effort. Current setup is with a device (just an old iPhone can do) which provides WiFi connectivity, then another (or the same device) runs DroidCAM which them streams into a nearby laptop with OBS (typically capturing the audio needed) and this is then sent to wherever we decide (twitch, RSTP, etc). We've tried this setup with as many as three droidcam phones, and it is just fine on... a legacy MacBook Pro with Intel + 1500MB Iris card. So ideally I'd imagine getting a second-hand 600D or 200D and having a similar setup. We did have a setup (previously) where a GoPro or mini-HDMI campera is captured and then processed by a RBPi 2/3/4, but this seems an overkill compared to the DroidCAM Setup. And, of course, the optics on the 600D/200D are expected to be much more correct than those on an iPhone or similar phone/mobile device. Thanks for your kind attention.
  - WalterSchulz 1y ago
    With 600D you are stuck to 1620x912 in video mode embedded in 1080i59.94 8-bit. Black borders around and you have to crop and - maybe - scale up. 200D HDMI stream with ML is clean with MF but AF will still draw a focus rectangle. But at least true FHD via HDMI. AF with 600D in liveview: Phase detection only. Focus hunting galore. 200D comes with usable DPAF. I prefer 250D for streaming. Dual display support, no 30 minute limit for HDMI out (but cam display will go dark until some button action).

namibj 1y ago

I have fond memories of squeezing so deep exposure stacking out of the auto/adaptive-HDR-bracketing script in CHDK on my old "IXUS 100IS", that the AFAIK still CCD had severe blooming around the window in the scene. Still great though!

abdusco 1y ago

Are there modded firmware for Sony or Lumix cameras?

acid303 1y ago
Sony has https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Tweak https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Tweak The developer disappeared but it still works I think.

dannyfritz07 1y ago

I just got my T2i out a few months ago and the first thing I did was check for new magic lantern versions. haha. Really cool to see this project is still living.

Spacemolte 1y ago

Cool! Am i the only one who has a really hard time finding what models are supported? It says on the frontpage that it's on the downloads page, but I can't seem to find anything? EDIT: It's on the builds page https://builds.magiclantern.fm https://builds.magiclantern.fm

raffael_de 1y ago

What would be something you can achieve using ML that you couldn't do with the stock firmware and postprocessing?

mikepurvis 1y ago
I don't know if modern cameras are better for this, but a big one historically was getting a clean, realtime HDMI output so that high quality cameras can be used with a capture card for broadcast purposes as a replacement for a webcam. Manufacturers understand that that's a "pro" level need/feature and have intentionally segmented the market so that lower-tier devices can't do it even though the hardware is obviously all present.
dylan604 1y ago
The list is so long. My favorite is the internal intervalometer + ETTR. Canon has always been laughed at for not having an internal intervalometer, and ML proves how lame it is to not have one. ETTR (Expose To The Right) is an auto metering mode that allows the camera to keep the histogram pushed as far to the right (better exposure) automagically by increasing shutter time and/or increasing ISO. This is essential for doing holy grail timelapse of sunset/sunrise where the exposure is constantly changing. This feature alone is worth it's weight in gold. However, a lot of the features exposed are more video oriented. The Canon bodies were primarily photo cameras that could shoot video in a cumbersome way. ML brings features a video shooter would need without diving into the menus like audio metering. The older bodies also have hardware limitations on write speed, so people use the HDMI out to external recorders to record a larger framesize/bitrate/codec than natively possible. Also, that feed normally has the camera UI overlay which prevents clean recordings. ML allows turning that off. There are just too many features that ML unlocks. You'd really just need to find the camera body you are interested in using on their site, and see what it does for that body. Different bodies have different features. So some effort is required on your part to know exactly what it can do for you.
dokimus 1y ago
The big one for me was always focus peaking when using vintage lenses or doing IR photography. The extended White Balance settings were nice to have for IR, as well.

pavel_lishin 1y ago

I should give this a shot. I used to use CHDK so I could use my old crappy Canon into something that would take good time-lapse videos by snapping a photo every X seconds; I miss doing that, though now it's harder because I live in the 'burbs, and there's no particularly spots for that nearby, and anywhere that is a good spot likely doesn't have a power outlet for me to use. I wonder how long I could power my camera from a portable charger?

gattr 1y ago
I used to do it as well with a cheap second-hand IXUS 230 HS. It could run (at least) 48 h off a 7.2 Ah 12 V AGM battery, snapping a photo every 3 s (I used a fake-battery power adapter and a small DC-DC converter.)
- pavel_lishin 1y ago
  > I used a fake-battery power adapter and a small DC-DC converter. Same here. I used to live in a fairly tall building in Manhattan, so found my way to the roof, found an outlet, and would set it up to do timelapses of sunsets over the Hudson. The camera lens was pretty dirty, so they weren't great, but I enjoyed them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVpOgP-8c9A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVpOgP-8c9A
  - names_r_hard 1y ago
    Nearly all Canons have a small access port as part of the battery door, which you can put a power supply cable / through, by design. Don't buy too cheap a dummy battery, the really cheap ones may have very bad voltage regulation. You can get ones designed to work from a USB power bank, or mains.

christiangenco 1y ago

Looks like there's still no support for the M50. I hope with the revitalized development it's on the roadmap!

WalterSchulz 1y ago
Nothing published. But just few hours ago I was asked to test its raw video capture mode ...

nobleach 1y ago

For a look at some of the amazing output from an "ancient" EOS, you can look at Magic Lantern's Discord. It's rather shocking how far this little camera could be pushed. It is definitely a fun hobby project to fool around with these things. After awhile I stopped having the time and moved over to Sony APS-C with vintage lenses. I was able to maintain some of the aesthetic without getting frustrated by stuttering video. Still it's really a cool project.

neya 1y ago

I still have my 600D - it's hand down the most user-friendly DSLR I've ever owned, thanks to Magic Lantern. I also have a Sony A7S2. But, it is nowhere near the ease of use of my 600D. 12 years ago or so, I discovered Magic Lantern and I was blown away. It literally turned my camera into a high-end unit (for its time). What blows me away is that, my 600D can capture RAW video after installing ML. My Sony still can do only 10-bit video, 12 years later. The team deserves so much more funding and credit than they receive. I'm extremely grateful to the project and the people behind. I still haven't sold my 600D - only because of Magic Lantern. Thank you team :)

MDGeist 1y ago

It has been many moons since I used Magic Lantern. Has anamorphic desqueeze ever been a feature or could it be in the future? That's one missing feature that bums me out about shooting videos on Canon.

WalterSchulz 1y ago
Support for anamorphic lense ML has for ages: 5:4 (1.25); 4:3 (1.33); 7:5 (1.4); 3:2 (1.5); 5:3 (1.66); 9:5 (1.8); 2:1 (2)
- MDGeist 1y ago
  Awesome thanks for the heads up! I wasn't using anamorphic lenses back when I tried ML so I'll have to give it another try now.

arnaudsm 1y ago

I absolutely love Magic Lantern, and I wish similar initiatives existed on Sony and Nikon! I was forced to upgrade my Sony camera purely because of software limitations. Firmwares should be open-source by law. Especially when products are discontinued.

AbraKdabra 1y ago

Very happy to see ML return, used it in my T2i for 10 years at least, this year I bought a R6 Mark II so no need but I'd be very happy to see it someday with support for ML. Congratulations on the return!

sails 1y ago

Amazing to see this, I haven’t thought about this since 2013. This turned my very basic entry level 550D into a crazy powerful camera for time lapse photography, I loved it!