Introducing Magic Lantern "FilmGate" for the EOS-M: Presets based on real film standards
I have to say that I am pretty excited about this one.
Magic Lantern and more recently Crop Mood have turned the diminutive Canon EOS-M into a really interesting proposition for indie filmmakers. But for me, something has always been missing: resolution presets that are based on real film standards, and not some arbitrary number.
I want to be able to take a lens that was made for 35mm or 16mm or 8mm film and put it in front of a sensor that is the exact size of the motion picture film that it was designed for. I’ve hounded the talented Magic Lantern developers for years about this, but it never materialized. Until now.
I’ve never coded anything in my life. But using an AI chatbot**, I was able to “remix” Amit Kattal’s excellent Slim GUI build into something that I think is truly special. I’m calling it “FilmGate”, and it transforms the M into perhaps the first camera ever to have the ability to shoot in every common motion picture film format: Academy 35mm*, Super16, 16mm, Super8, and 8mm. Some offer a full range of 4:3, 16:9, 1.85:1, and 2.35:1 aspect ratios. Others are more limited, based on buffer limits.
Additionally, my build allows for black and white monitoring, real 18fps recording in the Super8 and 8mm modes, and has a consistent 1080i output over HDMI to help with monitoring. It also has a refreshed interface, with a new font and a color palette inspired by the Aaton Penelope Delta.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of A1ex, Danne, Bilal, Amit, and everyone who has made the Magic Lantern Community what it is for years.
If you have an EOS-M and are curious, this build only works with firmware 2.0.2. It has not been thoroughly tested yet. Try at your own risk!
*Super35 is not supported, because the EOS-M’s sensor isn’t as wide as the S35 standard.
**Since this build contains a substantial amount of AI generated code, it is not intended for inclusion in any of the main Magic Lantern builds, in accordance with the Magic Lantern LLM policy.