Canon blocking Magic Lantern on latest 5D Mark III bodies

[Andrew Reid]

Canon look to have blocked Magic Lantern and new 5D Mark III bodies which won't roll back to older firmware.

Users are presented with an error saying "firmware older than 1.3 on the card, update using newer version".

Read the full article

[Taranis]

And there are no details at all about this new firmware. Could it be that they just raised the version number to block ML?

[Andrew Reid]

It's likely they also added some form of encryption.

BTW Canon - having to send off the 1D C to a service centre for a firmware update is a real PITA for customers!

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

A bit premature to say Canon is blocking ML on their latest cameras. It's just a new firmware version just not available for download at this moment, I am sure it will be very soon, and ML would be developed for it like all new firmware versions in the past.

It does look worrying but it's just not clear yet. Let's hope they don't really block ML (it's extremely easy for them to do for the past 5 years btw!)

[Taranis]

A bit premature to say Canon is blocking ML on their latest cameras. It's just a new firmware version just not available for download at this moment, I am sure it will be very soon, and ML would be developed for it like all new firmware versions in the past.

It does look worrying but it's just not clear yet. Let's hope they don't really block ML (it's extremely easy for them to do for the past 5 years btw!)

You could downgrade earlier, now you can't. And even if this new firmware becomes downloadable, there is a possibility it might not get ML, since 5D3's ML hasn't been updated lately. But I still have hopes, we'll see.

[Roee Tuval]

What makes the most sense is that Canon made some running change on the 5D MKIII hardware (not necessarily something major or affecting performance; could be changing some chip due to supply problems or becoming obsolete, etc) and this requires the new firmware to support. 

I very much doubt Canon did that to block ML.

 

[Andrew Reid]

Magic Lantern remains blocked as per the article so the reasons behind it are pretty academic at the moment.

Don't buy a new body if you want to use ML.

[Andrew Reid]

Hardware component changes this late in the age of the product are unheard of and wouldn't affect firmware anyway.

[mtheory]

This is a potential signal that 5D4 is going to be unhackable. It is rumored to be announced in about a month, and I'm pretty sure many video users will be holding off on a 5D4 purchase until ML hacks it. I know I will. So they could be trying to pre-emptively neutralize 5D3 to leave people no choice once everyone realizes the RAW party is over... 

[Andrew Reid]

This is a potential signal that 5D4 is going to be unhackable. It is rumored to be announced in about a month, and I'm pretty sure many video users will be holding off on a 5D4 purchase until ML hacks it. I know I will. So they could be trying to pre-emptively neutralize 5D3 to leave people no choice once everyone realizes the RAW party is over... 

​Hopefully it won't need any add-on software, because it will just do what we want it do out of the box. 4K, proper focus aids, crop modes, nice codec, 422 colour sampling, articulated screen.

But it won't because it's not a Cinema EOS camera.

[jgharding]

Talking about shooting yourself in the foot...

There's no reason to remove Magic Lantern, it actually sells camera bodies. Those who don't want it ignore it.

Those who would install it go elsewhere if they can't install it. For Canon, blocking it would be lose/lose.

[CarlMiller]

Don't be a troll, Andrew. What's Canon suppose to do, notify ML and let them know they have a new firmware coming out, and then wait until they have a compatible version?

[Andrew Reid]

Don't be a troll, Andrew. What's Canon suppose to do, notify ML and let them know they have a new firmware coming out, and then wait until they have a compatible version?

​A strange opinion Carl.

"The news" is not trolling.

And no of course Canon isn't supposed to notify Magic Lantern of anything (although working with them and communicating to their customers would be a start), but the blocking tactic is there for all to see - the inability to take the camera back to V1.2.3. Unless you don't understand the situation Carl.

[CarlMiller]

​A strange opinion Carl.

"The news" is not trolling.

And no of course Canon isn't supposed to notify Magic Lantern of anything (although working with them and communicating to their customers would be a start), but the blocking tactic is there for all to see - the inability to take the camera back to V1.2.3. Unless you don't understand the situation Carl.

All that is known is 1. One individual has a new firmware on their camera (there are many buying Mark III's at the moment who aren't getting it), and 2. It doesn't allow roll-back. Additionally, since it references TWO unheard of firmware versions (1.3.0 AND 1.3.3), I'm inclined to think this individual might have received a developer test unit somehow. Based on that data, I would've gone with the title "New 5d Mark III Firmware?" instead of your impulsive "Canon blocking Magic Lantern." ​Just a tip if you'd like to be more objective and avoid jumping to conclusions - a prerequisite of being considered "news."  

[Andrew Reid]

Nice stretch Carl.

Come back in a month and see what has transpired.

[jcs]

While potentially unfortunate, it's pretty simple folks. If Canon releases a crappy 5D4, vote with your wallet and don't buy it. It's one of the reasons I spend so much time learning how to make the GH4 and A7S work well. If we collectively can help each other figure out how to make skin tones, for example, competitive using the GH4 and A7S, the 5D4 becomes less relevant. While I hope that Canon releases a decent 5D4 (for video), if they don't we're not blocked as there are other great options out there.

The mass market is where the big money is, so a great 5D4 will make them the most money. Their analytics may show that the 5D4's primary market is for stills, and that they'll lose money from the much smaller professional market if they provide all the features video/filmmakers are looking for in the 5D4. Everyone at all levels is sensitive to cost. We're living in a world of "good enough", especially for video/film production. The GH4, A7S, D750/810, etc. are all good enough. Competition and sharing our knowledge how to get the most from our gear will offset any reliance on any one camera manufacturer.

[fuzzynormal]

The Japanese really do protect their intellectual property rather tightly.  Unfortunately, it's very reasonable to assume Canon blocked their firmware.

But, you know, ML is giving attention to an open source camera --which might ultimately be one of the best things to happen to indy film makers.  

If Canon doesn't want to sell you a cheap motion picture camera that competes with their cinema line, I suppose that's their prerogative.

[tyger11]

I fully support Canon's right to not make products I want to buy. 

[theSUBVERSIVE]

Canon could very well look at ML and think like Panasonic did about hacking and then make their products better, listen to their consumers and then the hack would no longer be needed, they could use that in their favor addressing a lot of things that would make their cameras more wanted and better but then, they would contradict everything that they have done lately. So they possibly choose to look at it as a liability, as something that could harm them, something that they feel the need to protect themselves from, something that makes consumers demand things that they do not want to provide since they already have to protect their much more expensive EOS-C, as such, they may have decided to be in the way of ML. I'm not saying it's that since it's too early and there is no proof of what are their true intentions BUT, it sounds pretty plausible, unfortunately.

[jcs]

Canon could cash in by creating an app store. They could sell apps internally or open an SDK for third party developers and take a percentage, as Apple does with iOS. RAW and/or advanced tools/effects could then be offered for additional revenue. Sony has an app store for the A7S (primitive at this stage but a good sign for the future).