Canon 50D Magic Lantern installation tutorial guide for video recording
Canon EOS 50D DSLR camera lets you shoot video using Magic Lantern software. The below steps aim to guide you through the process of installing Magic Lantern on your Canon 50D CF memory card to use your camera for recording videos (although without sound as the camera does not have a microphone).
1 . Ensure your camera has the latest official Canon 50D firmware
Before installing Magic Lantern, check that your camera is running the latest Canon firmware (v1.0.9). If your camera is on an old version, download and update your Canon 50D camera with the latest official Canon firmware (v1.0.9) using the below link (if you already have the latest firmware version i.e. v1.0.9 then you can ignore this step):
The update file which can be downloaded from the above link contains instructions on how to update the firmware on your Canon 50D camera if needed.
2 . Download the latest version of Magic Lantern for Canon 50D using the following link:
- (latest nightly build) https://builds.magiclantern.fm/50D-109.html
- (latest experimental build) https://builds.magiclantern.fm/experiments.html
3 . Ensure your Canon 50D battery is fully charged
This is to ensure that the battery does not run out half way through the process which could leave your Camera in an unusable corrupt state.
4 . Remove any accessories from your camera
Remove all accessories such as battery grip (BG-E2N) or external flash (e.g. 580EX II).
5 . Format the Compact Flash memory card from the camera
You can find the format card option as a menu item on the camera.
The first time you do this you may need to use a card which has 32Gb or less capacity.
6 . Connect your camera to your computer via the USB cable
Alternatively you can use a Compact Flash card reader instead to copy Magic Lantern files onto the CF card. Both approaches work fine (USB cable or card reader).
7 . Copy Magic Lantern files to the CF memory card
Unzip the Magic Lantern archive/zip file and copy Magic Lantern files to the memory card (wait for it to complete before progressing to the next step).
Note: Use a CF card reader for this, as it is not possible to copy the files to the CF card when it is in the camera over USB connection to the camera. So the CF card must be taken out of the camera and inserted into a card reader for the copying to work.
8 . Disconnect your camera from your computer (if it was connected with the USB cable)
If you used a CF card reader to copy the files across to the CF card, then put the card back into the camera before progressing to the next step.
9 . Put the camera’s mode dial to “M” (Manual) and reset all camera settings
10 . Run the Firmware update process from the camera
Select the menu item displayed in the below image and confirm that you want to proceed with the update.
11 . Switch off the camera and turn it back on.
12 . The End ✓
If you go to the camera’s live view option and then press the trash can button (physical button on the camera) you will see the Magic Lantern menu options and can start using your camera with HD video recording and time-lapse capabilities etc.
Additional Information
- It is worth noting that Magic Lantern will run from the CF card i.e. it won’t replace the Canon official firmware on the camera. The only setting which is changed in your camera is the boot order flag which means that the camera will look for an operating system software on the CF card to be loaded instead of directly loading the firmware available on the camera by default. So if you start the camera with a CF card inside the camera that does not have the Magic Lantern files, then your camera will run the regular Canon software.
- I believe the Canon 50D supports CF cards up to 137 Gb which means to have the maximum amount of storage on this camera a 256 GB card will be needed although a large portion of it will be unused (I have not tested this).
- Also, to my knowledge the Canon EOS 50D maximum write speed is 67–70MB/s for continuous video but can burst higher until the buffer overflows. 1080 P raw video requires 80MB/s write speeds. The card controller bus speed of this camera is 133MB/s. So if a CF card with write speed of 133MB/s or higher is used the limitation around write speed and buffer space should be eliminated (I have not tested the camera with CF cards that support the maximum write speed to verify this).
- The below card seems to satisfy both the maximum capacity support as well as the maximum write speed for this camera when recording video however at the time of writing this guide, the cost of this CF card is more than the cost of this camera — if purchased second hand.
- If you intend to shoot videos, you may want to get the Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip for longer battery life, considering recording videos will use up the battery power quicker.
- Alternatively you can get a Fake Battery (ACK-E2 AC Power Adapter Kit) which allows you to plug the camera in the mains power for unlimited battery power and less hassle.
- It appears that the Canon 50D was initially intended to be released with video and audio recording capabilities however prior to release this feature was removed. This explains why it used CF cards instead of SD cards. Also, internally the body has a dedicated location for the microphone which has been left un-utilised (see image below).
- Since the Canon 50D does not record audio, an external audio recorder will be necessary if you intend to record the location audio and sync in post. The Tascam DR-70D is a convenient recorder since it can be mounted on tripods with the DSLR camera sitting on top it. At the time of writing this guide, this audio recorder costs more than a second hand Canon EOS 50D so it might be more feasible to use a cheaper alternative such as your mobile phone for recording audio.
Updating Magic Lantern software/firmware on Canon EOS 50D
