Luke Neumann - Magic Lantern RAW TutorialIf you've been reading these Magic Lantern RAW video posts and watching the clips, and you'd like to get in on the action, we've got just the tutorial for you. Luke Neumann, who has been testing the Canon 5D Mark III with Magic Lantern and recently posted a clip of his own, has put together a great video that runs through some of what you'll need to do to get up and running. We've also got another great test video to whet your whistle, so head on down and check everything out below.

[Update]: cinema5D just launched a workflow video of their own:


This tutorial from Luke will be a good combination with the one posted from cinema5D and the Magic Lantern forum, so head on over there and also watch the video below (you can find the links to the files on Neumann films):

Here is the first video Luke mentions at the beginning about making a bootable CF:

If you missed it, this is the first video Luke shot with the hack:

This is one of the nicest tests I've seen so far, shot by Director of Photography Miguel de Olaso (aka Macgregor), who also lensed Vimeo award-winning short Blinky:

There is definitely some added mojo with the hack that is just simply not there otherwise with internal recording. We already know dynamic range is extended thanks to shooting in RAW, and that helps with highlight roll-off, which is one of the easiest ways film separates itself from digital. This is very often what people are referring to when they talk about a film-like image even if they are having trouble articulating it. Take way more resolution, add some dynamic range, and you've got some seriously nice files to work with in post.

Be sure to head on over to the links, including the Magic Lantern forum itself, to get the latest on everything happening with the early hack. It's important to remember that this is in the very early stages, and glitches and crashing are much more common than in a release version. For this reason if you're uncomfortable messing around with your camera, it's probably best to wait until the firmware is a bit more stable.

As of right now card incompatibilities are tricky, but most 1000x CF cards should get you to 1080p or very close with RAW on the Mark II and Mark III. Right now the maximum RAW resolution on the Mark II is just below 1080. Other cameras are also in the early stages, like the T3i and the 6D. This hack will probably come to all of the Canon cameras, but not all of them will be able to shoot 1080, so there may be some scaling needed in post.

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