Magic Lantern :: The Leap of Faith

T

TimB

Well-known member
So, I've been reading up a tonne more regarding Magic Lantern firmware for the 60D. it all seems like a very good deal, they give it to us, but with the price of "it may destroy your camera (and your livelihood if you dont have a backup camera about).

My questions are the following (as Im writing a piece on it for Uni);

1 - How do you decide whether to take the risk
2 - Has anyone experienced the massive issue of a dead camera, and what did you do
3 - Why dont these issues affect all cameras of the same make/model
4 - Are there any countermeasures to ensure this doesn't happen, or if it does, ways to counteract it and reboot to "Factory Settings"

Thank you for your help.

Tim
 
there are not a lot of threads saying "magic lantern killed my camera" here on dvxuser, are they? :)

my reading of that statement is that, even if there's nearly no risk, they have to say that, otherwise some nuthead who tried to install ML with a screwdriver and a hammer might sue them
it's up to you to take that risk, though, however small it may be

I had some issues with the first versions (the camera would freeze, I had to take the battery out and restart), but for over a year it's been really smooth - the Xmas version that I'm dong now looks really well polished


edit:
I can't imagine shooting on a canon without ML anymore
I've recently been excited about new camera announcements (most recently, the pentax K01), but then I always think: "but what about my lovey waveform? and my cropmarks!"
if I go for a camera without ML, I'm afraid I'm going to have to buy an external monitor
 
Unlike most firmware hacks, if you remove the card containing the ML firmware the camera resets back to the factory software. This GREATLY reduces the risk, and like Norman said, it's very hard to find someone who has permanently damaged their camera with ML.
 
It's like going to the doctor's to have a mole removed.
Sure, 99% chance nothing is going to go wrong, but they can't guarantee 100% because of the guy who will pick it and give himself gangrene in the process!

I highly, HIGHLY doubt you will have trouble.
Follow the Wiki to the letter and ask any questions you have beforehand.
Make sure your battery has plenty of juice and you should be sweet to go.

If you're really worried about it, make sure there're features in there that you'll actually find useful before risking your camera!
 
HDkilledFILM. said:
It has happened though, just not with more recent builds. Ask Philip Bloom.
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HDkilledFILM. said:
http://alantravers.com/index.php/2011/12/03/dslr-workshop-with-philip-bloom/

Ask him for yourself, he's a mod here on this forum (DVXuser).
Click to expand...

I spoke to A1ex (lead dev of Magic Lantern on the 550D), and his comment was that it Phil's camera was damaged due to the way he was using it. I'm not 100% clear on the details, but something about it being used with an intervolameter kept the sensor active for too long and burnt it out. He claims it would have happened to any camera in that situation, and if you follow the directions it wouldn't happen.

But that's the real danger of Magic Lantern- following directions. As with anything of this nature (homebrew mods), they are more about functionality than user friendliness. Unlike official Canon software, which has to go through rigorous quality assurance committees to be fool proof (just imagine how many people pick up the camera without ever looking at an instruction manual), Magic Lantern isn't designed for people who will just dive in without reading and understanding what works and what doesn't. This is true of any after market modification... almost every Android user I know is at least rooted, if not running a custom rom on their mobile, but if you don't follow the directions exactly, or skip a step here and there, you will end up with a bricked phone. As long as you read and understand the process and how it works / what it does, I think the danger of damaging your device is very minimal.

That being said, A1ex is extremely responsive to bug reports and is very quick to fix user's problems with new updates. I dare say the current versions seem rather difficult to break, and have reached nearly an OEM-level of fool proof. That's just my opinion, however. As always, be sure to read everything as it is always possible to do something wrong. Heck, I know folks who have gotten adapters for lenses that were too long and it crashed against the mirror. I'd say using Magic Lantern is about as safe as using a non-Canon lens. Knowing what you are doing is always important. Be responsible about what you are doing and you should be fine.


Additionally, I'd say this thread really belongs in the APS-C section of the forum (which includes the 60D specifically), so I'm going to go ahead and move it for you.
 
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I used ML on my t2i for almost a year with no problems. HOWEVER, like you just said, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING. I had a friend who installed ML on their t2i use it, have it lock up and never removed the battery. It burnt out their LCD... But that is their fault, not A1ex's because it's widely known that if you have a lock up the first thing you have to do is remove the battery. Also the risk of a bad firmware flash happening can occure everytime you try and update your camera's firmware, even with FACTORY FIRMWARE, the difference is that if your installing a hacked firmware to your camera your voiding the warranty. I have two hacked gh1's and a hacked gh2 and I know that if I ever have a problem with them that the warranty is out of the question (Unless it's a problem where I can reinstall the factory firmware before I send it for servicing). I don't feel like the risk of ML outweighs it's rewards, if I went back to canon camera's (Which can be hacked with ML) installing it would be one of the first things I did. But the risk is there, maybe not so much for the reasons of it bricking your camera, but for the simple fact that if your camera does brick with it installed good luck getting your warranty honored.
 
Wow! Your scaring me, I just did about 2 hours straight of timelapse in the sun. Maybe I won't do it again. My 5DM2 is my baby.
 
JoeJITSU said:
Wow! Your scaring me, I just did about 2 hours straight of timelapse in the sun. Maybe I won't do it again. My 5DM2 is my baby.
Click to expand...

As long as you do it the way the instructions tell you to, I think its ok. I know A1ex has been shooting all kinds of timelapses just fine, he's even got bulb ramping now.

I'm not 100% sure what the problem was, but I think Phil may have been using his own intervolameter while ML was installed.
 
I think I read that thread about Phil Bloom's problem and I believe it was stated that he had a shutter mechanism problem.
 
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