> We're using Git now. We build on modern OSes with modern tooling. We compile clean, no warnings. This was a lot of work, and invisible to users, but very useful for devs. It's easier than ever to join as a dev.
Very impressive! Thankless work. A reminder to myself to chase down some warnings in projects I am a part of...
I was trying to understand what this project is. It's some sort of open firmware for Canon camera that you put on the flash card (SD). The home page has info: https://www.magiclantern.fm/
> Magic Lantern is a free software add-on that runs from the SD/CF card and adds a host of new features to Canon EOS cameras that weren't included from the factory by Canon.
It also backports new features to old Canon cameras that aren't supported anymore, and is generally just a really impressive feat of both (1) reverse engineering and (2) keeping old hardware relevant and useful.
Thanks to all contributors to the project, ML is an amazing feat of work. I've been running it on my Canon 6D since I got it in 2016, very useful for timelapses.
This news is probably my excuse to buy my forth EOS; the first three were 100% only because of Magic Lantern.
Can't understand why manufacturers make this hard as it sells hardware.
Magic Lantern is amazing... I used it with a custom C script to do auto ISO in Av mode (setting minimum shutter speed based on focal length) before that was built into the newer camera models. It's good to see it back!
An alternative to Magic Lantern is CHDK. Unfortunately that also feels somewhat abandoned and at the best of times held together with string* so I’m glad ML is back.
*No judgement, maintaining a niche and complex reverse-engineering project must be a thankless task
Would love it if camera manufacturers were forced to open source their firmware after say 5 years of a camera’s release. The longevity of devices would be vastly improved.
In fact make this all devices with firmware, printers, streamers etc.
Thanks to all who are sharing their appreciation for this niche but cool project.
I'm the current lead dev, so please ask questions.
Got a Canon DSLR or mirrorless and like a bit of software reverse engineering? Consider joining in; it's quite an approachable hardware target. No code obfuscation, just classic reversing. You can pick up a well supported cam for a little less than $100. Cams range from ARMv5te up to AArch64.
Yes! As a software developer in the photography space, we are deeply in need of projects like this.
The photography world is mired in proprietary software/ formats, and locked down hardware; and while it has always been true that a digital camera is “just” a computer, now more than ever it is painful just how limited and archaic on-board camera software is when compared to what we’ve grown accustomed to in the mobile phone era.
If I compare photography to another creative discipline I am somewhat familiar with, music production - the latter has way more open software/hardware initiatives, and freedom of not having to tether yourself to large, slow, user-abusing companies when choosing gear to work with.
Around 2020, our old lead dev, a1ex, after years of hard work, left the project. The documentation was fragmentary. Nobody understood the build system. A very small number of volunteers kept things alive, but nothing worked well. Nobody had deep knowledge of Magic Lantern code.
Sounds like a bit of a dick move. Part of being a lead dev is making sure you can get hit by a bus and the project continues. That means documentation, simple enough and standard build system (It's C after all), etc. As a lead dev you should ensure the people on the project get familiarity with other part than their niche too, so that one can succeed you.
But this is actually really cool because, as it turns out, I've got an old Canon Eos DSLR that I haven't used for a long time and didn't know this thing existed before.
The nifty thing would come from opening up the high end cameras, so why not go there? Of course Canon's legal team gonna crack down on the project, as they've previously said.
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[ 2.1 ms ] story [ 47.3 ms ] threadI was pleasantly surprised to find out this was something very different.
Very impressive! Thankless work. A reminder to myself to chase down some warnings in projects I am a part of...
One of those projects I wanted to take on but always back logged. Wild that they've been on a 5 year hiatus -- https://www.newsshooter.com/2025/06/21/the-genie-is-out-of-t... -- that's the not-so-happy side of cool free wares.
> Magic Lantern is a free software add-on that runs from the SD/CF card and adds a host of new features to Canon EOS cameras that weren't included from the factory by Canon.
It also backports new features to old Canon cameras that aren't supported anymore, and is generally just a really impressive feat of both (1) reverse engineering and (2) keeping old hardware relevant and useful.
> git clone https://github.com/reticulatedpines/magiclantern_simplified
*No judgement, maintaining a niche and complex reverse-engineering project must be a thankless task
https://chdk.fandom.com/wiki/CHDK
In fact make this all devices with firmware, printers, streamers etc.
I'm the current lead dev, so please ask questions.
Got a Canon DSLR or mirrorless and like a bit of software reverse engineering? Consider joining in; it's quite an approachable hardware target. No code obfuscation, just classic reversing. You can pick up a well supported cam for a little less than $100. Cams range from ARMv5te up to AArch64.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(spyware)
The photography world is mired in proprietary software/ formats, and locked down hardware; and while it has always been true that a digital camera is “just” a computer, now more than ever it is painful just how limited and archaic on-board camera software is when compared to what we’ve grown accustomed to in the mobile phone era.
If I compare photography to another creative discipline I am somewhat familiar with, music production - the latter has way more open software/hardware initiatives, and freedom of not having to tether yourself to large, slow, user-abusing companies when choosing gear to work with.
Long live Magic Lantern!
But this is actually really cool because, as it turns out, I've got an old Canon Eos DSLR that I haven't used for a long time and didn't know this thing existed before.
Heh, a little like saying "the main thing you need is to be able to play the violin, which is a small instrument with good tutorials".