Slashdot Mirror
GPL Firmware For Canon 5D Mk II Adds Features For Filmmakers
tramm writes "I've released an extension for the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR's video mode to enable functions that are useful for independent film makers. While the camera produces a great movie out of the box, the audio is a severely limited. My code adds features that should have been in the software, like on-screen stereo audio meters, live audio monitoring, reduced audio noise and crop marks for different formats. An introductory video shows the new features in use and an audio evaluation compares it to the stock firmware with very good results. It's similar to the incredibly flexible CHDK software for Canon's point-and-shoot cameras, but targeted at the film makers using the 5D. The Magic Lantern firmware is GPLed and new features will be written to make the camera even more useful on set. There is a wiki for documentation and development."
Sounds complicated and admittedly, I know very little about this, but congrats anyway.
Laughter is the best medicine, except if you have a broken rib.
If somebody is going to hack together a custom firmware with all kinds of interesting features, and offer it to all of us for no money, it's really hard for me to get upset at them. Empty bravado is useless; but I'd take less humility and more software any day.
Why would anyone use this camera to make an independent film? It's an SLR still camera that only has a video mode thrown in as an afterthought (meant for taking a few minutes of video). You could get a real HD video camera, much better suited for filmmaking, for the same price.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Wow, sounds like you've added some great functionality. Interesting read.
I have a T1i- the little brother to the 5d Mark II. Any thought on firmware for this model?
Aside from not being full frame, it also only does 1080P video @ 20FPS... I understand that it *can* do 30 but Canon crippled it as to not encroach on the 5D market. Has anyone seen any "updated" firmware to crank the frames for the T1i? :)
This GPL'd firmware sounds cool and the 5D2 is a cool camera. However, people who are interested in getting one solely for video should also look at the Panasonic GH1: it has stepless aperture control (with the right lens) and is in general made for video, unlike the 5D2 which has half-afterthought video.
The reason I mention the GH1 is that it's really the first digital system camera that's 1) Made for video 2) Costs below 1500-2000 euros. It would be nice if the firmware hack people could do it for some other brands than Canon too though...
The models won't matter soon though: all of this points to high quality video soon being available from lots of companies for anyone with 1000 euros to spend. Essentially, anyone with a decent income can soon only blame themselves for their video footage sucking.
This wasn't automatically picked up by slashdot's "related story" thingy:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/06/2032216
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
Why not?
It's possible, they can do it, so why not do it? I, for one, welcome custom camera firmwares. The more the merrier - I know I had a reply on Slashdot before where I asked if there was a programmable camera; lo and behold, there is.. and there's some very fun projects coming out of it. Why let the camera maker dictate what you can do with the camera, when you know that it is physically capable of so much more? E.g. why limit exposure times to 2 seconds, when there's no physical reason you couldn't keep the shutter open for an hour? )
As for HD.. an HD camera, 1080i/p, is 1920x1080.
The 5D Mark 2 is 5616x3744. That's larger than 4K cinema. Let me put it differently.. that's larger than practically every single movie you see on 'the big screen' today (which are often finished at 2K, or post-effected at 2K and upressed to 3K).
Sure, a consumer might not exactly -need- 4K. I'm not so sure they need HD - non-'HD' youtube resolution seems to be just fine for most people. But, again, it's possible.. so why not?
RED, at one point, decided that movies could he shot all-digital and made their behemoths based around fairly expensive sensors... now Canon, Nikon, Kodak, SONY, etc. are realizing that their sensors are getting fast enough to do movies as well.. and they're taking full advantage of it.
Yup it's cool, but...
if you are a indie film maker, why are you using a DSLR instead of a HD video camera that will shoot better video for less money?
I'd rather have XLR mic in and record real audio than use a DSLR as a video camera.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
If you a 5D-II forum with a lot of activity, see http://www.cinema5d.com/search.php?search_id=newposts
Because there are no HD video cameras that shoot better video for less money? Indeed, to even be on par you'd need to spend quite a bit more.
Until you get close to the 6 figure range you won't get a sensor as large as the one in the 5D. Even if you forego sensor size and just want decent optics to resolve the kind of detail HD video is capable of showing you'll more than double the price of the 5D and attendant L lenses.
You are right that the audio is lacking, and while this firmware allows some control, it can't address the cause directly.
"Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
There is a XLR adapter for the EOS 5D Mark II. It's made by Beachtek.
Well, the red beats this thing handily and it can be had for under twenty grand.
The thing is that when you do video you don't get the full sensor. These cameras->video tricks do a sort of reverse interleaving. The chips themselves don't run more than 10fps. So the camera uses line 1 for frame 1, line 2 for frame 2, line 3 for frame 3, line 1 for frame 4, and so on. The practical upshot is that the 5k sensor gets knocked down to a thousand lines of resolution rather quickly. But then, because you're literally moving boundaries each frame, these weird aliasing artifacts appear. The quickest way to see them on the 5D is to take the camera and pan it right/left quickly, you'll see the image going all wavy. Some of the effect is the rolling shutter but it exposes the how the software is actually making the image.
So, you can't move the camera unless you're very very careful. You might as well shoot slates and sync audio in post as deal with the onboard stuff. The camera can't record longer than five minute takes because of a provision under Japanese export law that would make it officially a video camera. None of these problems are insurmountable but they're certainly there.
That being said, I have a friend who's planning on shooting a feature this fall on one of these things. I think he's crazy, but it's the crazy people who change the world. :P
You can also make some videos with stills.
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2fNQppJqXw&feature=PlayList&p=F3C868A21F33E198&index=0
(do get the HD videos, they're MUCH better)
I recall the slashdot story saying that many of us can't see the Milky Way at night, but that's not true - we can see it on Youtube.
And we can even see beautiful sunrises from our basements ;).
FWIW those camera sensors and lenses are better then my eyes in terms of quality of picture.
Yup it's cool, but...
if you are a indie film maker, why are you using a DSLR instead of a HD video camera that will shoot better video for less money?
I don't think there is any "HD video camera that will shoot better video for less money". Do you know of any that costs $2,500 and has a sensor even close to as big and good-in-low-light as the Canon 5D Mark II? Or as many affordable lens choices?
I recently particpated in the 48 Hour Film Project in Washington, DC. A few of the submitted films were shot on the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR. The image quality was phenomenal, blowing away MiniDV and as good as some of the groups that had $10k+ of pro equipment.
Personally, I'm a Pentax guy, and really excited about the new Pentax K7 DSLR with HD video capability. Unlike the Canon 5D, it allows aperture control during filming... which should allow for some cool effects. And it only costs about $1,200 for a 14 megapixel weather-sealed camera with 720p and 1080i movie modes, half the price of the 5D.
I'd rather have XLR mic in and record real audio than use a DSLR as a video camera.
I'm not enough of an A/V aficionado to really appreciate the advantages of XLR, but it looks like this issue has already been addressed. There's an add-on unit ($375, it ain't cheap) to add XLR and all kind of other audio gizmos to the Canon 5D. I wouldn't be surprised if we see DSLRs with built-in XLR in a year or two.
My bicyles
Yes, that was my 'more than double the price' option. And my 100k option beats a Red, handily.
People keep mentioning Red cameras but I doubt they've ever used one. As a former owner of an early Red 1 I can tell you it was nice, but only when it worked, which wasn't nearly often enough. If they (ever) launch their new models the same way you won't be hearing much from them any more. Or, if established players like Canon and Nikon seriously target their market, same deal.
"Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
And companies won't make products like that unless they're willing to abandon their business strategy and relinquish control. A company makes products for the company's sake. Its the same thing that governs the product's features (implemented, locked in and otherwise). If a company was willing to create a product for the product's sake, they would have no control of it because it would be so many different things to so many different users. How many companies do you know that are willing to take that risk? That's open source's niche and that's what makes it so amazing. Its a meritocracy.
Find a job you like and you will never work a day in your life.
There are only 2 advantages to using XLR mic inputs.
1. XLR mics usually have a balanced output, helping with noise cancellation on long cable runs,
and giving twice the effective signal voltage of an unbalanced mic. This really is only an advantage with long runs of cable.
2. Condenser XLR mics can be powered from 48V phantom power which is possible due to haveing 2 signal conductors. Otherwise the mic must be run off a battery giving much less output.
I have at times had to use balanced XLR mics with
an unbalanced input, and whilst needing a little more gain, performance was virtually the same.