Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Would anyone NOT recommend using Magic Lantern?

MasterHowl

MasterHowl

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 3, 2010
1,067
182
North of England
I'm looking to start experimenting with time lapse photography and astrophotography.

I've done some reading around the MacRumours Forum, and Magic Lantern gets mentioned an awful lot. I looked on the Magic Lantern website and it said installing Magic Lantern has the potential to brick a camera, and/or do some serious damage...

Would anyone recommend NOT installing it? I know companies have to say things like that (eg. a list of horrific side effects on a cough sweet packet), but the thought of having a bricked camera scares the hell out of me.

I use a Canon 600D.

Thanks a lot!
 
MasterHowl said:
I'm looking to start experimenting with time lapse photography and astrophotography.

I've done some reading around the MacRumours Forum, and Magic Lantern gets mentioned an awful lot. I looked on the Magic Lantern website and it said installing Magic Lantern has the potential to brick a camera, and/or do some serious damage...

Would anyone recommend NOT installing it? I know companies have to say things like that (eg. a list of horrific side effects on a cough sweet packet), but the thought of having a bricked camera scares the hell out of me.

I use a Canon 600D.

Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...

I would never take the risk to brick my camera, unless you need your find yourself a reason to upgrade! :rolleyes:
 
ChrisA said:
Why not simply use a remote shutter release? Some of them have the features you want.
Click to expand...

good answer... I didn't even read the fiist sentence. sorry OP, well done Chris for making the suggestion. ebay is full of knock offs on the very cheap side.

You can also do time lapse photography via usb with EOS Utility. Not sure about your model, but most probably you can, though for outdoor you will definitely be constrained by the laptop's battery life, and potentially following a rail can be a big hassle.

Again, Chris' solution is the both the safest, most efficient & cheapest for that particular activity.

It's useful anyway to have one on cam for when mounted on a tripod.
No cam movement while both time efficient and less moment capture failures by not using the 2sec delay shutter release on cam.
 
Last edited:
I put ML on a 5D Mark II for the focus peaking feature (video). The risk of bricking is really low. Miniscule. They just put that disclaimer on there simply as a CYA for themselves.

You can brick your camera with an official firmware update, and they warn you of that, too.

I have friends who put ML on X-series Rebels and 5D Mark II's without issue.
 
ChrisA said:
Why not simply use a remote shutter release? Some of them have the features you want.
Click to expand...

I agree with Chris here. If you don't want to shell out the money for the Canon brand intervalometer, you can buy a third party one for half the price. While I have heard some good things about Magic Lantern, I don't think I would ever install it on my 5D3.
 
iv used magic lantern for over a year now and im now shooting RAW video on my 600D, you have more chance of getting run over than your camera bricking.. and to note i used raw shooting continously for around 3 hours.

your camera becomes much more than its worth once you install it, id say go for it, its the easiest thing in the world to do.

as a safety note, use an official canon battery when installing, also theres a limit on the card size you can use i believe (i only use 8gb and 16gb).

i havent met or heard of one person who has used it and then removed it.
 
Thanks for all your responses everyone.

As I kind of expected, there are some very mixed responses...

I'm going to buy a third party intervalometer off Amazon and see if it suits my needs. If not, I may reconsider installing ML but for now I'll be cautious and not use it.

Thanks again
 
fwiw I installed ML on my 4 year old Canon T1i (500D) 4 months ago, no issues.
I mainly wanted to know # shutter clicks, 55k now.

I've used this intervalometer for 3 years now, around $35.
It will suit your needs, I like the fact that you can set a time delay before taking the multiple image, so if you set-up after sunset but want say 60 minutes for darker skies that is so easy to dial it in.
http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Control-Digital-Powershot-cameras/dp/B001CCH2MO/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1389233630&sr=1-2&keywords=intervalometer+canon+T1i
41Qv-XPZQ2L._AA160_.jpg


Now I expect to see some of your images in this thread:
Misc Astrophotography (Shoot the ISS, etc) besides moon shots...
A%2520Summer%2520Night%2527s%2520Dream%2520-%2520%2520APOD%2520Final%2520%25281%2529.jpg
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
mtbdudex said:
fwiw I installed ML on my 4 year old Canon T1i (500D) 4 months ago, no issues.
I mainly wanted to know # shutter clicks, 55k now.

I've used this intervalometer for 3 years now, around $35.
It will suit your needs, I like the fact that you can set a time delay before taking the multiple image, so if you set-up after sunset but want say 60 minutes for darker skies that is so easy to dial it in.
http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Control-Digital-Powershot-cameras/dp/B001CCH2MO/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1389233630&sr=1-2&keywords=intervalometer+canon+T1i
Image

Now I expect to see some of your images in this thread:
Misc Astrophotography (Shoot the ISS, etc) besides moon shots...
Image
Click to expand...

wow are those fireflies in the shot? superb!!!
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
mtbdudex said:
fwiw I installed ML on my 4 year old Canon T1i (500D) 4 months ago, no issues.
I mainly wanted to know # shutter clicks, 55k now.

I've used this intervalometer for 3 years now, around $35.
It will suit your needs, I like the fact that you can set a time delay before taking the multiple image, so if you set-up after sunset but want say 60 minutes for darker skies that is so easy to dial it in.
http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Control-Digital-Powershot-cameras/dp/B001CCH2MO/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1389233630&sr=1-2&keywords=intervalometer+canon+T1i
Image

Now I expect to see some of your images in this thread:
Misc Astrophotography (Shoot the ISS, etc) besides moon shots...
Image
Click to expand...

Very informative thread! Thanks for linking it
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
MasterHowl said:
I'm looking to start experimenting with time lapse photography and astrophotography.

I've done some reading around the MacRumours Forum, and Magic Lantern gets mentioned an awful lot. I looked on the Magic Lantern website and it said installing Magic Lantern has the potential to brick a camera, and/or do some serious damage...

Would anyone recommend NOT installing it? I know companies have to say things like that (eg. a list of horrific side effects on a cough sweet packet), but the thought of having a bricked camera scares the hell out of me.

I use a Canon 600D.

Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...

Being as you have an iPhone and Pad, have a look at the Triggertrap app and website. I have bought the cable for my XE-1 and it works wonderfully.

http://triggertrap.com/products/triggertrap-mobile/

Also some good stuff on YouTube for Triggertrap and Astro.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back