Questions to Canon
On Sunday I mentioned on my Facebook page that I was visiting Canon this week and asked for any questions I should put to them.
There were a few questions about bagging some freebies but most of the questions raised were about future Canon cameras, lenses and features. Understandably Canon were very tight lipped about that kind of thing so I can’t tell you when the 7D2 will be announced.
However there were lots of questions Canon were happy to help with. Please note this shouldn’t be read as official Canon policy but my interpretation of our conversations.
Will Magic Lantern firmware invalidate my warranty?
Possibly yes, possibly no. Magic Lantern is 3rd party firmware for Canon cameras and adds some very useful video / photography features. I got the feeling that Magic Lantern firmware was a grey area with no official company line but there was a firm feeling of “use it at your own risk”.
The impression I got was if the firmware runs just off the Memory Card you should be OK but if the Canon firmware is replaced, modified or added to in anyway whatsoever don’t expect Canon to be willing to help if you run in to trouble. For the record I run Magic Lantern on my 60D and have no plans to stop using it anytime soon.
Can Canon fix rolling shutter issues on DLSR’s
As far as I could tell the answer is no. Rolling shutter is a phenomenon seen in videos. When the camera pans suddenly to the side, upright things will bend or go diagonal. If it’s a problem that you can’t live with then Canon’s Cinema bodies is the way to go.
Is it true that DSLRs are on their way out?
Again Canon aren’t going to tell me about their future plans but similarly they didn’t show any signs of ditching DLSR’s anytime soon.
Why don’t they incorporate a time-lapse function in their cameras.
No reason given but no comment if it will be ever added. To me it seems like an easy add to the firmware and I for one would like to see it.
Time-lapse is part of Magic Lantern firmware (see above regarding warranty issues) but bare in mind if you take 1000 images in your time-lapse that might be 1% or more of the life expectancy of the shutter. 100 timelapses and your shutters is dead… which is why I rarely do time-lapse with my DSLR.
Is there a Spot Meter button on the 5D Mark3?
There’s no single button but it’s all part of the meter mode button. If you need a fast way of switching between spot metering and standard metering then consider setting up a custom profile of the mode dial. EG set C3 as spot and C2 as standard.
I would imagine that if Magic Lantern were the cause of any failure Canon wouldn’t cover it.
For the record, I *never* use Magic Lantern. Ever. No.
So, er, Canon, if you’re reading this, if my 7D fails it couldn’t possibly be because of ML…
is ther an other way to do time -lapse without DSLR..???
You can do it with Canon compacts, if you download CHDK, which is basically the same sort of thing as ML, but for compacts.
I highly recommend using a GoPro for time lapse photography or if you just want to experiment a little bit get a app for your iPhone or iPad and have a play until the novelty wears off.
Thanks for commenting. Both are great ways to explore the world of timelapse.
haw to youse video-sequense for time-lapse..?
Hey Gavin:
Many thanks for these Friday Freebies .
A couple of related comments…
1) it is possible to do time lapse controlling the camera via a computer. The software supplied with the camera has a very efficient routine that will allow you to set the number and frequency of images. Potentially, this could be done using a pad provided it has USB compatability though i don’t know of any current apps to do it. I use a webbook which is fully windows and USB compatible.
2) The Canon software has a number of other features including the ability to control the camera remotely (well the length of a USB lead anyway) with full control over all functions. Very useful for wildlife shots.
3) one issue with using your DSLR both for time lapse and remote is that. In both cases,you will quite quickly run the battery down. A mains adapter. Is good when you’re in reach of mains electricity.
4) One more advantage of using computer control is that your images can be saved directly to computer memory, meaning you can take a virtually unlimited number of images.
Robin
Thanks for the detailed comment Robin.
Although I haven’t used them myself I think there’s a few apps in the android market that will control a Canon DSLR to do a variety of things including timelapse.
Time lapse? Just follow one of Gavin’s tutorial! There’s a good one using templates in Lightroom…