Photography

Magic Lantern unlocks 4K RAW video on the Canon 5D MkIII

Magic Lantern unlocks 4K RAW video on the Canon 5D MkIII
Magic Lantern has unlocked 4K RAW video recording on the Canon 5D Mk3
Magic Lantern has unlocked 4K RAW video recording on the Canon 5D Mk3
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Magic Lantern has unlocked 4K RAW video recording on the Canon 5D Mk3
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Magic Lantern has unlocked 4K RAW video recording on the Canon 5D Mk3

For nearly a decade now, Magic Lantern has stood alongside the EOS line as a nifty free download that hacks into the camera's operating system and unlocks additional capabilities – RAW video, for one, and a clever HDR video recording technique, as well. And now it seems the venerable Canon 5D MkIII can be made to shoot 4K video at 24 frames per second.

The new capabilities haven't been thoroughly tested yet – this is right on the edge of what the Magic Lantern team can do with the 5D3 hardware – but it's available as a work in progress download for the brave, and it'll soon be rolled in to the regular build.

Here's the resolutions that have been unlocked:

  • 1920x960 @ 50p (both 1:1 crop and full-frame - 3x3 pixel binning)
  • 1920x800 @ 60p (same as above)
  • 1920x1080 @ 45p and 48p (3x3 binning)
  • 1920x1920 @ 24p (1:1 square crop)
  • 3072x1920 @ 24p (1:1 crop)
  • 3840x1600 @ 24p (1:1 crop)
  • 4096x2560 @ 12.5p (1:1 crop)
  • 4096x1440 @ 25p (1:1 crop)
  • Full-resolution LiveView: 5796x3870 at 7.4 fps (128ms rolling shutter).

Mind you, live view on the back of the camera can be messed up by some of these resolutions.
Compressed RAW shooting has been upgraded as well, going from 10- and 12-bit recording options to a 14-bit lossless RAW format that the Magic Lantern team claims reduces file sizes by a massive 58 percent while retaining huge dynamic range and preserving shadow details without adding noise. That's a huge boon since these RAW recording modes chew storage space like you wouldn't believe.

You've got to hand it to these guys. They're pushing these DSLRs way beyond their design brief and getting results you'd need to spend big money on to replicate with Canon's own dedicated video cameras. Canon should be sending these guys a paycheck for all the video users who'd never have bought Canon if it wasn't for Magic Lantern.

Check out the sample below showing 10-bit 3.8K RAW video.

Source: Magic Lantern

5d Mark III 10 bit 3.8K Raw Video Test

1 comment
1 comment
Dziks
For years I've been using ML on my EOS 600D and it is amazing what this software can do. It gave a second youth to the old camera giving it the capabilities available to some latest gadgets. I cannot imagine not to have it in my canon. I can totally recommend Magic Lantern to at least give it a try.