M. Gilden
Canon DSLR Moderator
For the record, yes, using ML can void the warranty from Canon. But guess what? I'm pretty sure that SO DOES USING A NON-CANON LENS.
Have you ever used a Sigma, Tamron, or Nikon adapter? You voided your warranty. Does this matter? Not usually, no. Unless using an aftermarket lens somehow is responsible for breaking your camera (for example, using an EF-S lens modified to work on a full frame camera can cause the mirror to smash into the lens), Canon does not know or care that you did that.
The same is true of Magic Lantern. Magic Lantern exists on your storage card, not the camera's memory. If you want to switch back to not having ML, all you must do is take out that SD card. Ok, that's not entirely true- There is one persistent change on the camera: a single flag is changed to allow it to look for system software on the card in the first place. If you send in your camera for warranty repair, chances are that Canon won't know or care about that flag being set.
For example: I had an old HTC phone that I hacked to put on a custom ROM. One of the keys stopped working, I brought it in to the store for a warranty replacement. I put the original rom back on it first to prove it wasn't something I broke in the software, but the tech could still tell it had a custom bootloader when it starts (because it says so in the text on boot). He didn't care, because it had nothing to do with the physical button breaking, and warranty replaced my phone.
If you are nervous, however, you can always reset the flag on the canon back to its original state, and have your camera 100% the way it was before ML touched it. Yes, Magic Lantern is 100% removable.
Now, you could say that Canon does not have to honor their warranty because you technically broke their rules, even if they don't know. Perhaps this is considered fraud. However I find it very unlikely that everyone who uses their Canon warranty never touched an aftermarket accessory in the life of their camera. I think Canon knows this, too. Heck, my car says only Nissan DC adapters are allowed in the cigarette lighter port, but they'll still honor my warranty, even if I bring it in with my non-Nissan cell phone charger hanging off the port. As long as that wasn't the cause of the problem, Nissan doesn't really care. The specific wording in the terms of the warranty are to protect companies like Nissan and Canon from people doing something deliberately harmful.
Does Magic Lantern carry any risks? I'm not going to say it doesn't, just like anything non-canon sanctioned (heck, using a non-canon flash can void your warranty). There is a remote chance you could make a mistake and cause the camera to stop responding. I've only heard of this happening once to my knowledge, and it was because the user wasn't paying attention and tried to run the incorrect version for their camera.
If you are intelligent enough to be here, asking questions and taking all this in, I'd say you're intelligent enough to do it.
But, again, if you're not comfortable doing it, no one will think any less of you. The decision is yours, and the users of this forums will respect either choice you make.
Have you ever used a Sigma, Tamron, or Nikon adapter? You voided your warranty. Does this matter? Not usually, no. Unless using an aftermarket lens somehow is responsible for breaking your camera (for example, using an EF-S lens modified to work on a full frame camera can cause the mirror to smash into the lens), Canon does not know or care that you did that.
The same is true of Magic Lantern. Magic Lantern exists on your storage card, not the camera's memory. If you want to switch back to not having ML, all you must do is take out that SD card. Ok, that's not entirely true- There is one persistent change on the camera: a single flag is changed to allow it to look for system software on the card in the first place. If you send in your camera for warranty repair, chances are that Canon won't know or care about that flag being set.
For example: I had an old HTC phone that I hacked to put on a custom ROM. One of the keys stopped working, I brought it in to the store for a warranty replacement. I put the original rom back on it first to prove it wasn't something I broke in the software, but the tech could still tell it had a custom bootloader when it starts (because it says so in the text on boot). He didn't care, because it had nothing to do with the physical button breaking, and warranty replaced my phone.
If you are nervous, however, you can always reset the flag on the canon back to its original state, and have your camera 100% the way it was before ML touched it. Yes, Magic Lantern is 100% removable.
Now, you could say that Canon does not have to honor their warranty because you technically broke their rules, even if they don't know. Perhaps this is considered fraud. However I find it very unlikely that everyone who uses their Canon warranty never touched an aftermarket accessory in the life of their camera. I think Canon knows this, too. Heck, my car says only Nissan DC adapters are allowed in the cigarette lighter port, but they'll still honor my warranty, even if I bring it in with my non-Nissan cell phone charger hanging off the port. As long as that wasn't the cause of the problem, Nissan doesn't really care. The specific wording in the terms of the warranty are to protect companies like Nissan and Canon from people doing something deliberately harmful.
Does Magic Lantern carry any risks? I'm not going to say it doesn't, just like anything non-canon sanctioned (heck, using a non-canon flash can void your warranty). There is a remote chance you could make a mistake and cause the camera to stop responding. I've only heard of this happening once to my knowledge, and it was because the user wasn't paying attention and tried to run the incorrect version for their camera.
If you are intelligent enough to be here, asking questions and taking all this in, I'd say you're intelligent enough to do it.
But, again, if you're not comfortable doing it, no one will think any less of you. The decision is yours, and the users of this forums will respect either choice you make.
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