Magic Lantern is a

firmware In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, h ...

add-on for various Canon digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras and the EOS M.Unlock hidden features on your Canon dSLR
. Lexy Savvides, CNET, 12 December 2014. Accessed 31 August 2017 It adds features for DSLR filmmaking and still

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

, and is

free and open-source Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a Software license, license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term ...

. Magic Lantern was originally written for the Canon EOS 5D Mark IITransform Your DSLR into a Supercharged, Professional Video Camera
. Adam Dachis,

Lifehacker ''Lifehacker'' is a weblog about life hacks and software that launched on 31 January 2005. The site was originally launched by Gawker Media and is owned by Ziff Davis. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including Microsoft Windows, M ...

, 1/10/2011. Accessed 31 August 2017 by Trammell Hudson in 2009 after he reverse engineered its firmware. He ported it to the

Canon EOS 550D The Canon EOS 550D is an 18.0-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera, announced by Canon Inc., Canon on 8 February 2010. It was available since 24 February 2010, and to US dealers from early March. It is known as the EOS Kiss X4 in Japan, a ...

in July 2010. There are now versions for many other Canon DSLRs and the current principal developer is known as A1ex. Since installing Magic Lantern does not replace the stock Canon firmware or modify the ROM but rather runs alongside it, it is both easy to remove and carries little risk. The camera checks a "

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

" in its re-writable memory, and if set, reads from a

memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices, such as digital cameras as well as in many early games conso ...

to get the additional firmware routines. Each time the camera is started, there is an option to disable Magic Lantern.

History

Magic Lantern

was originally written for the Canon EOS 5D Mark IIMagic Lantern Firmware Supercharges Canon 5D MkII
. Charlie Sorrel,

Wired (magazine) ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and Online magazine, online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in public ...

, 24 June 2009. Accessed 31 August 2017 by Trammell Hudson in 2009 after he reverse engineered its firmware. He ported it to the

Magic Lantern team finally cracks the Canon EOS 7D
Gizmag. Accessed 31 August 2017 in July 2010. Starting in September 2010, a person using the name "A1ex" on the

CHDK Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit (often styled as "DiG!C") is Canon Inc.'s name for a family of signal processing and control units for digital cameras and camcorders. DIGIC units are used as image processors by Canon in its own digital imagi ...

(Canon Hack Development Kit) website forum and other people ported Magic Lantern to the Canon EOS 50D, 60D,Magic Lantern firmware adds HDR video to Canon DSLRs
. T.C. Sottek,

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...

, 21 December 2011. Accessed 31 August 2017 500D and 600D. As of August 2017 support for the

Canon EOS 5D The Canon EOS 5D is a 12.7 megapixel digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera body produced by Canon. The EOS 5D was announced by Canon on 22 August 2005, and at the time was priced above the EOS 20D but below the EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1Ds ...

, 5D Mk III, 6D, 7D, 60Da, 650D, 700D, and 1100D DSLRs and the mirror-less EOS M had also been added. Later mirrorless cameras are not supported because they use a codebase similar to

Canon PowerShot PowerShot is a line of consumer and wikt:prosumer#Etymology_2, prosumer grade digital cameras, launched by Canon (company), Canon in 1996. () In 1996 the first model was introduced to the market, the PowerShot 600, which came shortly after Canon ...

cameras rather than Canon EOS cameras; therefore CHDK ports are planned. Originally developed for DSLR filmmaking, Magic Lantern's features have expanded to also include those for still

Features

* Firmware and source code is released under the

GNU General Public License The GNU General Public Licenses (GNU GPL or simply GPL) are a series of widely used free software licenses, or ''copyleft'' licenses, that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, or modify the software. The GPL was the first ...

. * Audio controls, on-screen audio meter, audio monitoring via A/V cable * HDR video,

bitrate In telecommunications and computing, bit rate (bitrate or as a variable ''R'') is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. The bit rate is expressed in the unit bit per second (symbol: bit/s), often in conjunction ...

control, FPS control, auto-restart * Precise ISO, White Balance, and Shutter Speed controls *

Zebras Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped Animal coat, coats. There are three Extant taxon, living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and t ...

false color False colors and pseudo colors respectively refers to a group of color rendering methods used to display images in colors which were recorded in the visible or non-visible parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. A false-color image is an im ...

histogram A histogram is a visual representation of the frequency distribution, distribution of quantitative data. To construct a histogram, the first step is to Data binning, "bin" (or "bucket") the range of values— divide the entire range of values in ...

waveform In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its Graph of a function, graph as a function of time, independent of its time and Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude Scale (ratio), scales and of any dis ...

, spot meter,

vectorscope A vectorscope is a special type of oscilloscope used in both audio and video applications. Whereas an oscilloscope or waveform monitor normally displays a plot of signal vs. time, a vectorscope displays an X-Y plot of two signals, which can ...

* Focus peaking, 'magic zoom', trap focus,

rack focus A focus puller or first assistant camera (1st AC) is a member of a film crew's camera department whose primary responsibility is to maintain the camera lens's optical focus on whatever subject or action is being filmed. "Pulling focus" refers t ...

follow focus A follow focus is a focus control mechanism used in filmmaking with film cameras and in television production with professional video cameras. It helps the camera operator be more efficient and precise. It is usually operated by a focus puller ...

motion detection In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an obser ...

* Automatic Exposure Bracketing,

focus stacking Focus stackingalso called focal plane merging, z-stacking, focus bracketing or focus blendingis a digital image processing technique which combines multiple images taken at different Focus (optics), focus distances to give a resulting image with ...

Intervalometer An intervalometer, also called an interval meter or interval timer, is a Machine, device that measures short intervals of time. People commonly use such devices to signal, in accurate time intervals, the operation of some other device. The inte ...

, bulb timer (up to 8 hours), bulb ramping * Custom cropmarks/on-screen graphics * On-screen focus and DOF info, CMOS temperature, clock * Customizable menus and scripting * Customizable "P" Program mode * 14-bit raw video on some DSLRsYou Can Now Record 4K on a Canon 5D Mark III
.

Photo District News ''Photo District News'' (or ''PDN'') was an American monthly trade journal, trade publication for professional photographers, published from 1980 to January 2020. The publication took its name from New York City's photo district, an area of photo ...

, 4 April 2017. Accessed 31 August 2017 * Dual-ISO for increased dynamic rangeMagic Lantern firmware boosts dynamic range of Canon 5D III, 7D
. Digital Photography Review, 17 July 2013. Accessed 31 August 2017 up to about 3 EV, with trade-off of somewhat less resolution and more complicated post processing involving cr2dng * Auto-Dot-Tune on some DSLRs for automatic micro-focus-adjustment to calibrate lens and body (5D Mk II, 6D, 50D, 5D Mk III and 7D)

Selected screenshots of advanced functions

Canon-EOS-100D-Magic-Lantern-Screenshot-Display-with-ML-Info-17-02-2023.png, Main screen with additional information Canon-EOS-100D-Magic-Lantern-Screenshot-Expo-Screen-12-02-2023.png, Expo menu with advanced exposure functions Canon-EOS-100D-Magic-Lantern-Screenshot-Advanced-Bracket-Options-17-02-2023.png, Advanced bracket options with up to 11 images Canon-EOS-100D-Magic-Lantern-Screenshot-Modules-Menu-24-02-2023.png, Extensibility via modules and Lua scripts Canon-EOS-100D-Magic-Lantern-Screenshot-Menus-Screen-12-02-2023.png, Overview screen of all functions Magic Lantern liveview overlay.jpg, Overlays on the live view screen Magic Lantern audio menu.jpg, Audio menu on the Canon 5D Mark II

Original Canon warranty

Because installing Magic Lantern does not replace the stock Canon firmware or modify the ROM but rather runs alongside it, it is both easy to remove and carries little risk. Canon has not made any official statements regarding the add-on firmware, either on the subject of warranty or on the features. In response to emails Canon has stated that while their warranty doesn't cover damage caused by third party firmware, it will cover unrelated issues such as malfunctioning buttons even if third party firmware has been installed.

References

External links