Magic Lantern: Dynamic Range to 14 EV with Canon 5D Mark II and 7D - Dphoto

Category: Digital Canon

Into Into

Magic Lantern – open platform for the development of new video features for Canon SLR – does magic and more. The latest invention relates to the increase in dynamic range, both for photos and for videos, with the Canon 5D Mark III (photo and video), and with the Canon 7D (video only). Now reaches a value of 14 EV, an increase of around 3-4 stops (DxOMark, in the test dedicated to the car, gives the Mark III 11 EV dynamic range at ISO 100, EV 10 at ISO 1600).
The ‘trick’ is the new Dual ISO This latest version of the firmware: half the pixels of the sensor are exposed to a sensitivity of ISO 100 (to collect the details in the highlights), the other of 1600 (for areas darkness in the picture), to interlace. Then spoke a complex phase of post-production that leads to the final result with the increase in dynamic range.

There is, of course, the downside: you have to give up part of the vertical resolution, moiré accept an d ‘aliasing’ over and under exposed areas, but in situations where you want to achieve maximum dynamic range (more details in the shadows), is a price that you can accept.

Who developed the function – ‘A1ex’ – has also prepared a PDF document that describes in detail the operation of the process, the strengths and also the possible drawbacks.

E ‘option at an early stage and therefore needs to take for that, and maybe even wait for further developments before they stick their hands (ie working on the firmware of the reflex). It ‘still an interesting experiment. Magic Lantern should however be handled with care at their own risk and peril.

Magic Lantern – Info

= http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic 7139

The video below was shot with the sensitivity to ISO 100, to preserve the highlights: