Is Magic Lantern reliable enough for production at DVinfo.net

Francis Rene · July 22nd, 2009, 07:37 PM

Hi there!
First of all, I want to thanks Tramm for his success in adding controls to the MK2. I've been following the development since day one and I'm really impress.
Now that I receive my camera, I think it's time to get into the real thing and try the amazing firmware. The thing is I'm a bit scared to use it for production because of all the warning on the download page.
I'm aware of the bugs like camera lock up and so on but those are things I can live with. What I'm afraid of is things you don't notice until post production like drop frames.
The main features I want to use with the Magic Lantern is the zebras and crop marks. I'm not using the gain control as we capture the sound on an external recorder.
So my question is does anybody had problems regarding the use of the firmware that made their movies unusable?
Thanks!
Francis

Samuel Tatsuo Phibbs · July 23rd, 2009, 05:07 PM

Maybe have a look around at Dan Chung's clips, and test it out for yourself.

Jon Fairhurst · July 23rd, 2009, 05:26 PM

Magic Lantern can give you zebras today, but the crop marks are not adjustable in the current release. Also, it disables the internal mic, so you'll really need an external mic.

The upsides are these:
* Zebras allow you to set exposure quickly and confidently. They're not semi-transparent, but if you set them to 100%, you know exactly what it being blown out.
* An external mic gets rid of focus and IS noise. Since you're only using it for sync, you could use a cheap mic, crank the gain up, and go from there.
* The meters help you know that the external mic is working; if you get a headphone amp, you can monitor by ear.)
* If you send clean audio to the camera, you will have a solid backup. If the sound is good enough, you don't have to bother syncing.
* You can make a custom config file that let you run Magic Lantern without having to touch the menus.

The downsides are these:
* It takes a moment to boot.
* You should remove the battery on occasion to clear out memory
* You have to manage your cards differently - they all need the firmware and config files, so you can't just do a simple camera format and shoot.
* Gotta have the external mic.
* THE BIG ONE: notification of a full card is compromised. It's best if you have large cards and don't run them until the last bit.

Other mentions:
* The crops probably aren't where you want them. (Just turn them off in the config file.)

I'm not sure that I'd bother with Magic Lantern just for the zebras. Once crops can be adjusted and the built-in mic can be re-enabled, then it would almost certainly be worth it, given the shoot that you described.

Jeremy Nicholl · July 27th, 2009, 07:13 AM

I'll have my Juicedlink this week so I'm looking forward to playing with Magic Lantern. But:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

Other mentions:
* The crops probably aren't where you want them. (Just turn them off in the config file.)

I'm confused. Do you mean the crops aren't accurate? I assumed that the crops simply mark off an equal area top and bottom of the full image, leaving the 2:35 frame in the centre. Is something different happening?

Jon Fairhurst · July 27th, 2009, 10:23 AM

I'm not sure if the crops are accurate, but they are intended to be 2.35:1, as I recall.

The next version of the firmware will allow you to add your own bitmap to the CF card that will give any crop ratio that you could ever want. I would guess that within a week of release, a variety of crop bitmaps will be available for download.

Francis Rene · August 2nd, 2009, 05:41 PM

Thanks guys for your replies.
I did a shooting last week without the firmware and it turns out great. So I think I will wait to have the final version of Magic Lantern before using it.
Thanks again!

Chris Barcellos · August 3rd, 2009, 12:04 PM

My assumption is there will be no "final" version of Magic Lantern. Trammel Hudson has a list of potential additions that line up for some time down the road. The periodic releases are to provide major additions, as they are incorporated into Magic Lantern. 0.1.6 will have some nice new features and other that he thought could be folded in are still problematic, and may be held out until the next release. I have nothing but admiration for his attack on these various issues.

Jon Fairhurst · August 3rd, 2009, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

My assumption is there will be no "final" version of Magic Lantern...

I would agree. I think the decision to use ML in the field depends on the feature and bug list of any particular release - as time goes on, you might find a given, older release that works for you and just stick with that.

With 0.1.5, I find that the key is to set up the config file as you want it, start Magic Lantern, and just start shooting. With 0.1.4, I had to set up things manually with the (previously) tiny menus, and it really added stress to an already stressful shoot. With 0.1.5 and the config files, you get the features without the stress, and without the risk of setting things incorrectly.

I'm using it in production, and it will only get better from here...

July 22nd, 2009, 07:37 PM	#1
Francis Rene New Boot Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Gatineau, Canada Posts: 9	Is Magic Lantern reliable enough for production Hi there! First of all, I want to thanks Tramm for his success in adding controls to the MK2. I've been following the development since day one and I'm really impress. Now that I receive my camera, I think it's time to get into the real thing and try the amazing firmware. The thing is I'm a bit scared to use it for production because of all the warning on the download page. I'm aware of the bugs like camera lock up and so on but those are things I can live with. What I'm afraid of is things you don't notice until post production like drop frames. The main features I want to use with the Magic Lantern is the zebras and crop marks. I'm not using the gain control as we capture the sound on an external recorder. So my question is does anybody had problems regarding the use of the firmware that made their movies unusable? Thanks! Francis

July 23rd, 2009, 05:26 PM	#3
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Magic Lantern can give you zebras today, but the crop marks are not adjustable in the current release. Also, it disables the internal mic, so you'll really need an external mic. The upsides are these: * Zebras allow you to set exposure quickly and confidently. They're not semi-transparent, but if you set them to 100%, you know exactly what it being blown out. * An external mic gets rid of focus and IS noise. Since you're only using it for sync, you could use a cheap mic, crank the gain up, and go from there. * The meters help you know that the external mic is working; if you get a headphone amp, you can monitor by ear.) * If you send clean audio to the camera, you will have a solid backup. If the sound is good enough, you don't have to bother syncing. * You can make a custom config file that let you run Magic Lantern without having to touch the menus. The downsides are these: * It takes a moment to boot. * You should remove the battery on occasion to clear out memory * You have to manage your cards differently - they all need the firmware and config files, so you can't just do a simple camera format and shoot. * Gotta have the external mic. * THE BIG ONE: notification of a full card is compromised. It's best if you have large cards and don't run them until the last bit. Other mentions: * The crops probably aren't where you want them. (Just turn them off in the config file.) I'm not sure that I'd bother with Magic Lantern just for the zebras. Once crops can be adjusted and the built-in mic can be re-enabled, then it would almost certainly be worth it, given the shoot that you described. __________________ Jon Fairhurst

July 27th, 2009, 10:23 AM	#5
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	I'm not sure if the crops are accurate, but they are intended to be 2.35:1, as I recall. The next version of the firmware will allow you to add your own bitmap to the CF card that will give any crop ratio that you could ever want. I would guess that within a week of release, a variety of crop bitmaps will be available for download. __________________ Jon Fairhurst

August 3rd, 2009, 12:04 PM	#7
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	My assumption is there will be no "final" version of Magic Lantern. Trammel Hudson has a list of potential additions that line up for some time down the road. The periodic releases are to provide major additions, as they are incorporated into Magic Lantern. 0.1.6 will have some nice new features and other that he thought could be folded in are still problematic, and may be held out until the next release. I have nothing but admiration for his attack on these various issues. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

July 23rd, 2009, 05:07 PM	#2
Samuel Tatsuo Phibbs Tourist Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 4	Maybe have a look around at Dan Chung's clips, and test it out for yourself.

August 2nd, 2009, 05:41 PM	#6
Francis Rene New Boot Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Gatineau, Canada Posts: 9	Thanks guys for your replies. I did a shooting last week without the firmware and it turns out great. So I think I will wait to have the final version of Magic Lantern before using it. Thanks again!