In some cases, cameras from manufacturers have had features or capabilities restricted solely by the firmware they are running. Most cameras are a lot more capable and powerful than you may think. You may be asking why anyone would want to use Magic Lantern and mess around with their camera to change how it performs. Why use Magic Lantern? 4K RAW recording option for the 5D Mk III It doesn’t cost anything to download or use. Each time the camera is started, there is an option to disable Magic Lantern. The camera checks a “boot flag” in its re-writable memory, and if set, reads from a memory card to get the additional firmware routines. Magic Lantern was and still 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.Įssentially Magic Lantern opens up functionality that is technically possible to run on Canon DSLR cameras.īecause 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 only modification Magic lantern created was the ability to run software from the memory card. Each time you start your camera, Magic Lantern is loaded from your memory card. Magic Lantern is not a “ hack“, or a modified firmware, it is an independent program that runs alongside Canon’s own software. Magic Lantern created an open framework, licensed under GPL, for developing extensions to the official firmware. Magic Lantern is a software enhancement that offers increased functionality to Canon DSLR cameras. Magic Lantern was originally written by Trammell Hudson in 2009 for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II after he managed to reverse engineer the camera’s firmware. It quickly became the go-to tool for budget filmmakers and it wasn’t long till people wanted to get more out of their cameras. It was the first affordable full frame sensor camera capable of capturing video. In 2008 the Canon 5D Mark II changed everything.

The first public post from ten years ago about my homebrew firmware for the Canon 5D Mark 2 DSLR marks the very humble beginning of the Magic Lantern project: /UfcCd8bD0w- Trammell Hudson ⚙ A bit of history

Magic lantern canon sl1