BIG NEWS - Hands on with CONTINUOUS raw recording on Canon 5D Mark III

[Oscar M.]

I can't quite wrap my head around the workflow. Is it spitting out a bunch of still frames, or is it a video file of some sort? 

 

It writes to a single large raw file. You then have to use raw2png.exe to extract the individual frame stills. Then, you can process the stills in Lightroom or Photoshop and then import in After Effects to render a video file like ProRes 422.

[Oscar M.]

My camera gets warm and the CF card is warm too.  Getting me worried since this is my main camera for stills.  I haven't had it get warm before when recording H.264 files.  I'm trying it out but I'm always checking to make sure it doesn't melt down on me...

 

 

What card are you using? You got to use the fastest CF card you can afford . . . 1000x at this point.

[Sean Cunningham]

What are you on about? There is no 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 when going raw. 

 

What the ML hack writes out is 14bit 4:2:2 YUV.  It's already been transformed to a sub-sampled YUV color space.  The thread at Magic Lantern's own forum breaking the news is very clear about this.

 

 

edit: here's an explanation from earlier in this very thread...

http://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/2696-big-news-hands-on-with-continuous-raw-recording-on-canon-5d-mark-iii/?p=33856

[vulgatron]

This looks very nice, after switching to sony I was decided to go back to m4/3 and was debating between the new g6 or an old gh2,

but this hack made me think if it may be worth it to go for a 650D, apparently uses the same processor as the MarkIII, does someone know if ML is working in adding this function to the APSC series?

If so, I might go with either a 600D or 650D which are on the budgets I can afford.

[HurtinMinorKey]

So it's basically safety: if you get it really wrong with an even higher dynamic range sensor and have to push four stops, the Nikon is better.

 

I suppose it's best not to get it four stops wrong!

 

It's not just if you get it wrong, it allows you to compress the full dynamic range into whats visible too.

[PeterF]

What card are you using? You got to use the fastest CF card you can afford . . . 1000x at this point.

The fastest card available at this moment is Toshiba Exceria Pro - 1066x - 150MB/s write, 160MB/s read speed.
In Europe you can buy it here - https://www.card-discount.de/32gb-cf-compact-flash-toshiba-exceria-pro-udma7-1066x-160mb-s/speicherkarten/compact-flash/a-815/

 

In US - http://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85Z%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=compact%20flash%201066x

 

Please note that you'll need 32 or 64GB, not 16GB. 16GB has only 95MB/s write rate.

[yupmouthteeth]

This is all well and good, but my main two questions are 1) How LONG can you continuously record for? and 2) Any chance it'll come to the 5D Mark II or 6D and work near as well? 

 

These little 15 second clips are cool and all, but if I'm gonna go out and shoot a movie with it, I need it to be able to record for at the VERY least 2-3 minutes so I can capture performances from actors. And how long will cool down be in between clips? 

[Bruno]

One request would be: APSC/S35 crop mode. I have some old cinema glass that wasn't designed for 135 frame. Is this possible?

 

Also, a 16mm sized crop would be great. Full frame, 35mm and 16mm crop modes would give us the best of three worlds, leave no lens unused!

[TC]

The raw video looks really, really impressive.  The difference is so great compared with the factory video mode you really have to ask again, what did Canon have to do to make the default video so bad?  

It is not an accident.  

It is not the result of compression (because we now have an HDMI out).

It is unlikely to be line-skipping, because the camera shows no moire or fringing.  

 

As I have suspected since the 5D mark III's release, it seems like they have deliberately softened up the image in the camera's firmware.  I can't think of any other explanation.

[Sean Cunningham]

This is all well and good, but my main two questions are 1) How LONG can you continuously record for? and 2) Any chance it'll come to the 5D Mark II or 6D and work near as well? 

 

 

To at least some degree it appears possible with just about any Canon DSLR.  You can already find tests shot on the mkII though the one I saw was something like 1880x720 resolution.  If it could do 1920x(some crop factor) and not have to be wider than 2.35:1 you'll see the used market get really active soon (or more so than it is already).  

[Chrad]

To at least some degree it appears possible with just about any Canon DSLR.  You can already find tests shot on the mkII though the one I saw was something like 1880x720 resolution.  If it could do 1920x(some crop factor) and not have to be wider than 2.35:1 you'll see the used market get really active soon (or more so than it is already).  

If this takes off, it could be the saviour of DSLR video. People seemed ready to write it off the 'hybrid' movement as over and done with after NAB. I was convinced that Canon, Panasonic, Sony etc would simply ignore products like the BMC pocket. But if this hack takes off, I think they'll be forced to react. It's now readily apparent that any high end DSLR has this ability through its live-view feed, and it's clear that the market is demanding it. Fast enough storage media is now readily available. I think you'll see raw output on the next Panasonic GH, probably the next FF Canon and maybe Nikons. They won't let the DSLR video market go quietly into the night.

 

Or maybe I'm being too optimistic.

[jgharding]

Also, a 16mm sized crop would be great. Full frame, 35mm and 16mm crop modes would give us the best of three worlds, leave no lens unused!

 

Yes +1 to that.

 

Menu structure would be -> Sensor area (135 Full Frame, Super 35, Standard 35, Super 16, 16mm, Super 8, 8mm

 

Then within each of those the available resolutions.

 

Also it looks like it's currently quite buried, it should have the settings in menus, but the START RAW RECORDING button should be assignable to either the body, or top level of menu.

 

It's a huge selling point for the Magic Lantern hack, and as such should be easy to get at when using the camera, and should be the focus of development. No doubt it is already the latter!

[arian]

this is so exciting, can barely believe my eyes. but raw not only involves faster cards (obviously) it also means you have to record the audio separately right?

[Sean Cunningham]

The difference between Super 35mm and "Standard 35mm" is a slim area used for sound.  Not much call for Academy these days.

[Chrad]

Yes +1 to that.

 

Menu structure would be -> Sensor area (135 Full Frame, Super 35, Standard 35, Super 16, 16mm, Super 8, 8mm

 

Then within each of those the available resolutions.

What 16 mm and 8mm glass are you going to use with an EF mount?

[dahlfors]

The footage looks awesome!

 

I'm happy with my D800, but I really wish there'd be some hardcore developers hacking on the Nikon's like Magic Lantern :) The Nikon hacker forum seems quite idle...

 

Great news for 5dmk3 owners now. And it will likely be good news to all others as well. The existence of 5dmk3 with RAW and (soon) the Black Magic Pocket Camera with RAW/Prores will probably push Nikon, Panasonic & others to up the resolution & bitrates in their cameras, and perhaps even add RAW options as well. And perhaps Canon themselves might improve the video features in their new DSLRs to make them closer to 5dmk3 RAW level?

[1tkman]

Does anyone know anything about or have any experience with Ryther Camera?

 

Mark III is offered at $2400 with free shipping.

 

I've always preferred Amazon, but the savings on this site is interesting. Too good to be true?

 

http://www.rythercamera.com/catalog/product_info.php?csv=gg&products_id=42083&gclid=CNSb7bTylbcCFUPc4Aod6mAAdg

[Jon Wolding]

Q: Would it be possible to simultaneously record externally to a Ninja 2/Odyssey 7/Hyperdeck?

 

A fantastic setup would be to record ProRes (easier post workflow, +audio, and playback) to external, but also have a RAW "backup".  Edit on ProRes, then replace the footage with graded RAW/DNG.

 

Who's with me on this?

[jgharding]

The difference between Super 35mm and "Standard 35mm" is a slim area used for sound.  Not much call for Academy these days.

 

Indeed, though there is some cinema glass that is vignetted a little on APSC because it was for slightly smaller circle, rare case , but sometime it'd be nice to get a marginally smaller crop... being greedy really

 

Perhaps a Micro Four Thirds option would be better as it's more current and gives the same benefits?

[blueranger1980]

Does anyone know where I can get the firmware previous to the Newest release(1.1.3)?  I want to experiment with this but need the old firmware....  Hope I didn't screw myself..