The Return of Magic Lantern -- New Developer Team

[PannySVHS]

I think GX85 design is great and I would shock you with a bigger grip if I was a Panny engineer. Stay strong! 🙂 @eatstoomuchjam

[Ty Harper]

On 6/26/2025 at 8:06 PM, EduPortas said:

Different technologies.

Just wait a few years for Gen Alpha to discover old used DSLRs are almost indestructible and take even better pictures than newer more expensive MILCs and phones that break more frequently.

The R50 in its different itinrations is cute, but it will never outlast a 5D. 

Does if offer better video quality? Yes, but only if you know what you're doing from the get go and that knowledge is becoming scarcer every day.

Yes, there has always been those who gravitate to a piece of kit for other reasons than the prudent ones that revolve around basic specs and price point - but if you're a beginner looking for an affordable/pocketable cam that will let you tell stories by capturing photos/videos with reasonably solid IQ and the standard bells/whistled (like DPAF, Digital IS, exposure tools and a camera mount for vertical-friendly shooting), there is no reason to go beyond a used R50V at the moment. Especially bcuz it is being marketed to that younger YouTube generation - and there are a number of comprehensive videos on setup/settings etc by guys like Josh Sattin. Again, this is coming from someone whose career was launched thanks in no small part to ML, and will not sell my 5D MKIIIs, still has an OG 7D that my little cousin tinkers with, has two R5Cs that are my future proof workhorses - but that is still seriously eyeing the R50V+RF 16mm combo as a fantastic pocketable travel/walk around option. In fact the only thing stopping my from picking one up now is the fact that I don't actually need one, but that I'm also waiting to see if Canon will be releasing a higher end version later this year. 

But also, we're forgetting the elephant in the room - which is AI and the way it might change what it means for younger generations to capture/tell visual stories.

 

[Ty Harper]

23 hours ago, zlfan said:

i doubt r50 has better video quality than 5d3 ml raw. 

I could be wrong that I feel like we've arrived at a place where video quality is technically pretty solid across the board in new gen mirrorless cams. But if we're talking about R50V vs 5D MKIII ML RAW, it's less about better and more about 'different'. The 5D MKIII ML RAW definitely offers something aesthetically different than the R50V, but all things considered, I don't know that it offers better video quality, overall. 

[zlfan]

On 6/27/2025 at 2:14 AM, stephen said:

Those are urban legends. Every blind test I personally witnessed and those we know from youtube shows exactly the opposite. Color science, micro contrast and any other  superiority claims falls short. Even professionals can't distinguish between different cameras and lenses. 
Like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZjIz8sB2vg

Or even older and much more professional Zakuto Great Shootout from 2011. Does anybody still remember it ?

those photogs are veterans with 30+ years experience, all have best nikon, canon, pentax, etc lenses. been there. 

 

On 6/27/2025 at 2:14 AM, stephen said:

Canon 5D Mark III is outdated compared to modern cameras. It is OK for fun and experimenting but that's it. 1080р is line skipped, so real resolution is somewhere around 1600px not 2K. Rolling shutter 21-22ms is OK but again far from modern standards and  dynamic range is around 10.5 stops. It is a DSLR, so no EVF, you have to use external monitor. Workflow is not optimal as you need to transcode first from mlv to Cinema DNG. Compared to the low resolution, files are relatively big and take a lot of space. 

I don't see any reason for Magic Lantern project to exists when now we have so many cameras with internal 4K RAW Video recording. 

ml raw on 5d3 can do 10 bit uhd raw. ml raw at 10 bit and above especially at 14 bit, is vert different from typical mirrorless raw or 10 bit preres h.265. been there. 14 bit raw itself is unparalleled even now. 

 

[EduPortas]

On 6/28/2025 at 12:44 AM, Ty Harper said:

[...] there is no reason to go beyond a used R50V at the moment. 

[...]

But also, we're forgetting the elephant in the room - which is AI and the way it might change what it means for younger generations to capture/tell visual stories.

I agree 100%, it is technically perfect for a beginner to grow into the system, both in photo and video terms. 

Now about the AI stuff I don't know. I have my reservations for it as a tool for human expression. As of this moment there is a stark difference between going out into the world and shooting with your own hands and eyes and soul vs. prompting lines into a machine.

[Ty Harper]

3 hours ago, EduPortas said:

As of this moment there is a stark difference between going out into the world and shooting with your own hands and eyes and soul vs. prompting lines into a machine

You're absolutely right, but the creator of the future will likely be wired differently than us. Specifically when it comes to how we perceive/capture/synthesize/translate the real world into different visual/audio mediums for the purpose of telling/expressing a story/POV. So it is understandably hard for us to fathom how AI will change things. 

But that could be the "difference" you're sensing. But that doesn't mean the core thing(s) that drive humans to create will change. But I could also be completely wrong too, so there's that, lol.

[Clark Nikolai]

3 hours ago, Ty Harper said:

You're absolutely right, but the creator of the future will likely be wired differently than us. Specifically when it comes to how we perceive/capture/synthesize/translate the real world into different visual/audio mediums for the purpose of telling/expressing a story/POV. So it is understandably hard for us to fathom how AI will change things. 

But that could be the "difference" you're sensing. But that doesn't mean the core thing(s) that drive humans to create will change. But I could also be completely wrong too, so there's that, lol.

I dunno. I think people have a good sense of when some art just doesn't have any soul. Many won't care but a lot will, enough to cause a reaction and a different direction. Look at other art movements in history, most of them were a reaction to a status quo establishment that was no longer interesting.

[Ty Harper]

2 hours ago, Clark Nikolai said:

I dunno. I think people have a good sense of when some art just doesn't have any soul. Many won't care but a lot will, enough to cause a reaction and a different direction. Look at other art movements in history, most of them were a reaction to a status quo establishment that was no longer interesting.

But, imo, you/me/we are only capable of looking at this from our particular idea of art and what it means for art to have a soul. The next couple generations of kids will have different reference points for that same idea/measurement.

This is why the big corps pushing AI don't care how we feel about it - bcuz they're looking at the long game. So they understand that we are not their target audience (bcuz we'll be dead, lol). Their target audiences are the generations coming up who will be born into a world where AI, etc is just the norm.

So you're absolutely right that there will still be people who value art that has a soul - but again, what will prob be different is the criteria they use to decide what art with a soul looks/feels like. It will be different - but just as essential to their existence as it has always been throughout human history. 

There is no technological advancement that will ever result in humans losing their desire to make/consume art with soul. What can and is happening is that we are losing our ability to monetize/exploit/make a living off art with soul on a large commercial scale. But that really only matters bcuz we currently live/work/exist within a capitalist system that is exploitative by design.