5D Mark III + Magic Lantern In-Depth Tutorial

An in-depth tutorial on how to set Magic lantern using the different modes and resolutions, how to downgrade the firmware, how to install Magic Lantern, working with an external HDMI monitor.
Footage samples of the main resolutions:
1080P 16:9 ⎮ Open Gate ⎮ High Frame Rates 45, 48, 50 and 60FPS ⎮5.7k Anamorphic ⎮ 3k, 3.3k, 3.5k
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00:36 Firmaware Downgrade
04:43 Magic Lantern Installation
07:27 1080 16:9 and Open Gate Settings
10:26 High Frame Resolutions
15:32 Anamorphic Modes 5.7K
18:53 3k.3.3k, 3.5k Resolutions
26:24 HDMI External Monitor
Download 5DIII Firmware v1.3.6: www.canon.es/s...
Download 5DIII Firmware v1.1.3 or v1.2.3: drive.google.c...
Download Magic Lantern Danne’s version 5DIII: bitbucket.org/...
SD and CF cards:
Sundisk Extreme Pro SDcard: amzn.to/4dl4KJ8
Sundisk Extreme Pro CFcard: amzn.to/4dgSVna
(There are links in the description that may be affiliate links allowing me to earn a small commission in order to keep the channel going. There is no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!)
#5dmarkiii #magiclantern #canoneosm

[@billybobthorton2026]

Thank you for this video. I had purchased a MkIII last year for magic lantern, and in pivotal moments had recording issues. This will help me understand the whole system better. Excellent

[@russo-filmmaking]

I hope the video could help in your process. Any doubt don’t esitate to contact me.

[@MercuriMedici]

Between the EOS M, 700D and 5D Mark iii, what is the best value to performance for multi purpose video work?

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@MercuriMedici my next video is just on this topic. A comparison between de 5D markIII and the EOS M. The 700D is identical to the EOSM regarding quality and functionalities. The only difference is the flip screen and the lens mount.

[@MercuriMedici]

@@russo-filmmaking Awesome work as always, can't wait!

[@cosmashono7665]

An interesting video. It's funny how I have always enjoyed watching ML related videos, especially from people who know how to squeeze the most out of it, but whenever I get to have a good deal on ebay, I always back out. I am a very lazy man, and there's nothing like picking a camera up and shooting without the headaches that are well associated with ML. Very detailed video Sergio. I pushed back the urge from Zeek, Cole, and now I have to deal with you. 🤣

[@russo-filmmaking]

Thank you!!

[@marthacolin4423]

deep explanation

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@marthacolin4423 thanks!! I think there is a lot more to say. But this is a good starting point .

[@logbearphotography]

I noticed you keep your bit depth at 14 lossless! Do you always keep it there or do you switch to regular 14bit?

[@russo-filmmaking]

14bit uncompressed will give only a few seconds of filming. 14 bit lossless has the same quality and takes less space

[@logbearphotography]

@@russo-filmmaking this changes everything 👌🏽 I’ve been doing everything uncompressed

[@russo-filmmaking]

try it, you’ll get more stability and continuos recording

[@SongTown]

I tried ML on a 60D but it wasn't nice. The recording time was less than 10s and preview was choppy. I was recording 1920X1080 at 10 bit on a pro SD card.

[@russo-filmmaking]

The EOS 60D has an obsolete and old version of magic lantern, it doesn’t was developed has for the EOS M, EOS M2, 700D, 650D, 100D or 5D

[@FrogMotionStudios]

Hi Sergio, right now i am filming on an 600d, but it can't really do raw video for a decent amount of time without lowering the resolution to like 960 by 300. Should I buy an 650/700d with crop mood or should I save some more money and buy an 5d miii? But thanks for the video!

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@FrogMotionStudios I own a EOSM, a 700D and the 5DIII. I'm gonna sell my 700D, I preffer to work with the EOSM over it. You can choose a EOSM because there are more lens options, with almost any type of mount; crop mood is very stabile on the EOSM and all the modes are in realtime. If you already own full frame lenses, then 5D is an excellent option.

[@FrogMotionStudios]

​@@russo-filmmaking thank you for your response, i already own some EF/EFs lenses so if i bought an eos m i would have to buy an adapter. I also have a cage and batteries for the 600d, which also fit the 650/700d. So is the eos m really better than the 650/700d?

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@FrogMotionStudios EOSM and 700D are the same. In the EOSM you have the possibility to adapt almost any lens, and there are a lot of high quality lenses at very low price in the used market, while for the 700D the choice is limited. The 700D has a flip screen while the EOSM doesn’t. These are the only two factors you have to consider to make your decision. Check my video on EOSM vs 700D.

[@skyscraperphilosopher8476]

Thanks for great content. I'm curious about a comparison between 5D Mark III and the BMPCC 4K. My only camera at the moment is the eos-m, but if I was going to upgrade it would be one of those two. If the image quality is the same I guess the 5D Mark III would win on price and that you also get a good photography camera. But I really miss being able to use real video playback on the eos-m, so a Blackmagic camera with everything working smoothly is tempting...

[@russo-filmmaking]

Probably I’ll do a comparison between the 5D and the Blackagic 6k FF

[@skyscraperphilosopher8476]

@@russo-filmmaking That would be great!

[@gianlucalanevecine]

I have a canon 6D and a BMPCC 6k Pro. If you put the raw file on the MLV APP you can get the arri-log profile on the video and it's very very similar to the blackmagic quality and color-science. Of course the resolution and DOF isn't the same 6k (APS-c) vs Full HD /FF), but it's impressive how it's similar in quality. I have just more noise on sahdow with the 6D and I can't push the sensor over 800 iso, but I shoot on 12bit becouse the 6D have a buffer memory very slow. The 5D mark III is better to perform full hd 14bit with arri-log on MLV APP.

[@JacobdelaRosa]

I'll tell you right now. Image quality is very close but just buy a pocket 4K if you want a properly functioning cinema camera that works out of the box. Doing all of these hack on the eos M and Mark III is fun but the money you save is lost on convoluted workflow and reliability issues. Again, I own both the Mark III/EOS M with magic lantern and have shot with the pocket 4K for several years. The canon cameras are for fun projects with nothing serious on the line.

[@St0nice]

EOS M and 650/700D can shoots in higher res using 1x3 with correct preview, up to 1504x2538. 5DMKIII can do "just" 1080p with correct preview

[@russo-filmmaking]

Correct. In 1x3 modes 5D as the correct framing but live view is choppy. When filming live view is grayscale but enough smooth. It’s not ideal but I can work with it. I’ll do a comparison between the 1x3 modes in the eoM and the 5DIII to see if some difference in the image quality

[@ramxtreme]

Sergio, me compré una 5d3 este año con 49.000 disparos por unos 650 dólares en Uruguay. Estoy esperando que me lleguen unas memorias de eBay, y espero estar filmando algo pronto; me vino excelente encontrar tu canal. Espero sigas trabajando con ella y compartiendo resultados. Actualmente tengo una BMPCC6k G2 pero no hay como sentir una réflex robusta de buenos materiales. Compré la 5d para filmar trabajitos chicos que no requieran tanto equipamiento. Un placer conocerte!

[@russo-filmmaking]

Muchas gracias!! el placer es mio,. próximamente estaré publicando mas contenido filmado con la 5D

[@g.theredkitern.686]

Thank you for this comprehensivie guide, makes shooting with ML so much accessible, great work!

[@russo-filmmaking]

Thank you!!

[@marmoterorebelde]

Thank you so much. Incredible video...as allways.

[@russo-filmmaking]

thanks for watching!!

[@molagamer]

Is the HDR video tab still a thing with this build of ml? I didn't see it in your video but in some older videos I saw people talking about HDR or Dual Gain Output to get more dynamic range.

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@molagamer I don’t talked about dual iso because I tried it with the EOSM and I didn’t like it. So I never use the dual iso función. I achieve better results and a better quality in Davinci Resolve. Moreover I like to grade my clips in Raw which is far superior to any other compressed códec when make color grading . When you use dual ISO, to get some benefit out of this function you can’t export the MLV files as raw , you have to make your exposure adjustments in the MLV app and then export the clips as compressed files .

[@molagamer]

Okay, that sounds like a big disadvantage. Is it still an option though in the build of magic lantern that you used?

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@molagamer yes you can use it in the 5D with the Danne 1.2.3 ML build. The function is under the expo tab. When filming you’ll see in your display the image flickering. Then in MLV app you have to switch on the dual iso function . Other problem is that after exporting it from MLV a lot of times the image has some kind of aliasing flickering effect on some edge of the image

[@fabriziogomez1705]

Finally another video Sergio! Great to see you again.

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@fabriziogomez1705 thank you!! I’ll try to be more consistent with my videos

[@Lostinthemoors]

Hi Sergio, at 10.27 how come in the 5D can shoot exact 1920x1080 raw, but the EOS m can only shoot at that 1756x 970 resolution?

[@russo-filmmaking]

yes the EOSM can only shoot at 1756x979 1.6x crop, it’s not a real 1080P. The 5DIII can shoot in 1920x1080 with no crop.

[@Lostinthemoors]

@@russo-filmmakingguess I’ll have to invest in the 5D mkiii then😂

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@Lostinthemoors Wait, I’ll do a comparison between the EOSM and the 5D, then you’ll decide.

[@Lostinthemoors]

@@russo-filmmaking I'm sure there's pros and cons for both.

[@MeOrNotMeWhoKnows]

A great video about Magic Lantern would be comparing a camera like 5D3 to a somewhat affordable APS-C/FF body that can shoot 10-bit LOG. Cause whenever I start thinking about buying something like 5D3 - I end up with the conclusion that it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. From my (limited) experience with RAW video it seems that there's very very few use-cases for Magic Lantern RAW these days. A used Panasonic S5 can be bought for $850-950. Used 5D3s are all over the place, and the ones in still decent condition regularly go for $500-600, so quite a lot cheaper, but when we add a few (necessary) fast SD+CF card pairs to it (plus extra HDDs for storing the footage on the computer) - both cameras get a lot closer to each other in terms of the total price. But S5 destroys 5D3 in pretty much ever aspect, however you look at it... dynamic range, noise, resolution, stabilization, storage requirements, post processing workflow etc etc. The only somewhat reasonable argument for 5D3 that I've ever heard of was that its 14-bit RAW video might be better than 10-bit LOG for extreme VFX work, like a lot of green screen stuff. But then again, no one seems to have posted any proof, like side to side comparisons showing the difference. ML RAW seems like a toy these days, just something to play with if you have nothing better to do. And most videos on KZbin about ML RAW are complete garbage, the same dumb small DOF footage of foliage, whacked colors with awful aliasing, obnoxiously called "cinematic". 😆 So if you have access to an older APS-C/FF 10-bit LOG-capable body - this could be an interesting video to make: an unbiased comparison between "ancient hacked sensor, but 14-bit RAW" vs "newer technology, not much more expensive, but 10-bit LOG".

[@russo-filmmaking]

Sure the 5S is a better camera compared to the 5DIII. Unfortunately I don’t have a 5S . Probably I’ll do a comparison between the BlackMagic 6K FF and the 5D. Even with a big difference in dynamic range video noise and resolution, If well handle during shootings and in post, the 5D can delivery impressive results.

[@wilkiek9988]

@MeOrNotMeWhoKnows you should get a hand of both S5 and 5D3. Compare ML RAW and other camera's 10-bit LOG yourself AND share with us your own experience and 2 cents. We will be much appreciated. Calling and criticizing other users's ML videos garbage is harsh. Do you even use ML and graded with its 14bit colors?

[@MeOrNotMeWhoKnows]

@@wilkiek9988 I'm not a youtuber, why would I spend so much time and money doing comparison if I'm not into content creation? Sergio is a content creator, and Magic Lantern is pretty much the theme of this channel, it's the niche he chose here, so it only makes sense to suggest an idea for a comparison video to someone that makes those public videos. And the comment about most ML RAW videos on youtube being complete crap is also part of the suggestion, that there's an opportunity here to actually make something useful since most of the ML RAW stuff on youtube is not particularly useful. I did play with quite a few 14-bit ML RAW videos from APS-C cameras - EOS-M and 650D. And I wasn't impressed. High bit depth doesn't matter if the data itself is poor. It's like taking a blurry slow shutter handheld photo with a 100 MP camera and praising the high resolution - who cares about those 100 million pixels if they're all just blurry mess? That's one of the main problems with ML RAW cultists, and why I suggested the comparison video idea to Sergio - too many folks just keep raving about "14-bit magic colors" without understanding that it's just a file format, a way to store pixels, and it's often more important what the sensor + lens captured, rather than how many bits the file can support. Cause I get better video from 10-bit LOG Panasonic G9 (the older, original G9 from 2018) than from 14-bit EOS-M. The G9 sensor just captures better data - larger DR, less noise, and higher resolution. And 10 bits in LOG format is enough for even pretty heavy grading. At least with Crop Mood APS-C cameras I couldn't find any advantages compared to 10-bit LOG from MFT. What's the point of 14 bits of data if the data is just mediocre to begin with, if it's low DR, low res and noisy? I don't have any experience with 5D3, so maybe it's noticeably better, hence my suggestion to Sergio to do a comparison video, and actually show if a camera like 5D3 makes sense in 2024. Literally get it head to head against a 10-bit LOG body, shoot a few typical scenes (sunrise/sunset, mid day sunny, mid day overcast, indoors good light and indoors low light), and then work with files in DaVinci/Premiere, do typical color grades and actually show whether those "magical" 14-bit ML RAW files are any better than 10-bit LOG. I'm guessing that in some scenarios (very heavy grading) 14-bit 5D3 might actually win, and in most (typical grades) it will lose, but it's just a guess, and maybe I'm wrong here. I'm not sure whether comparison between 5D3 and BlackMagic 6K FF would be particularly useful though, since that's not what most people looking at 5D3 are concerned with. Those who think about spending $500-600 on 5D3 probably want to see how it compares to somewhat similarly priced cameras in ~ $500-1000 range, rather than $2.5k BlackMagic 6K FF. And those thinking about buying a BlackMagic 6K FF camera most certainly have the budget to look for a ton of alternatives in that price range, as well as workflow requirements (since it's pro-level bodies, thus paid work most likely), so 5D3 is not on their radar at all.

[@kieranboland]

I use Panasonic mostly, Blackmagic occasionally. Panasonic from GH5 onwards is great no question about it. There’s still something about ML footage more than any other can thar resembles photochemical film which is why I keep coming back to it despite the obstacles over the past 10yrs. It has improved substantially in that time too. I picked up a 5D3 in great condition for a low price last year solely for ML. I will note a GH5 with a 0.64x speedbooster will take much better photos. Thank you Sergio for another great video 👍🏼

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@MeOrNotMeWhoKnows As I said I only own a BM 6k FF and a BM 4K and can’t invest in other cameras for comparison, I can use only the one I own. I already did a comparison between the EOS M and the BM 4k. They can be matched easily. I think that bitrate data are not important if the final results are high end. What matter is not the camera but how you use it. So if for example the 5D Mark III could be matched to the BM 6K FF which is a fair superior camera, it means that the 5D even with all its bitrate limitations could be easily matched with other aps-c cameras under de $1000 budget. I’m a analog film aficionado so I honestly don’t mind about bitrate or ultra sharp images, I mainly look to the character, colors and look that a camera can delivery

[@retrothing]

Excellent video, as always! I’m an EOS M shooter, and it’s always interesting to see the differences between models - especially a beefcake powerful one like the mk iii. Thanks for your hard work!

[@russo-filmmaking]

Tank you!

[@alfredorussogomez6454]

Amazing video 🫶

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@alfredorussogomez6454 thank you!!

[@milenmadzharov1562]

Thank you, man! Your videos are very educational and well explained, learned a lot from it! 🙏

[@russo-filmmaking]

Thank you!!!

[@VietinghoffAlex]

Such a good, in-depth breakdown of all the modes, will definitely be a good resource for many for years to come!

[@russo-filmmaking]

Thanks!! Infact I struggled with this camera when I bought it because I didn’t find much information on the web. For this same reason I decided to make this tutorial.

[@dance.science]

Great video. Thanks. What are the best setting (at 14 bit) for a Remus blazar 1.5 crop anamorphic to get the best results with the highest resolution. Huge thanks again

[@russo-filmmaking]

The ideal is open gate 3:2 14bit which with the Blazar nero adapter will give you a final 2.25:1 aspect ratio. For a wide view you can use 14bit 1080/16:9 or for slow motion 1080/16:9/45FPS, which will give you a final aspect ratio 2.66:1 which you could crop to a more classical 2.39:1 in post. I’ll do a video on the EOSm and 5D paired with the blazer nero 1.5X

[@dance.science]

Amazing. Thanks

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@dance.science you’re welcome

[@dance.science]

I seem to have a different version of magic lantern. I am using the one that does MLV 2. Which version are you using ? Huge thanks again

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@dance.science sorry what do you means for MLV 2? Latest version of the MLV app is the v1.14. If you refer to the Magic Lantern version I use on the canon 5DIII, I said it in the video in the first part: it’s the latest Danne version for 1.2.3 firmware and I put the link in the description too.

[@IselaGómez-g7w]

Wow!! Bravo 👏🏼

[@russo-filmmaking]

gracias!!

[@joseacarrasm]

Did you try the firmware downgrade following the usual process? I had a 5D 3 and I didn't require to turn off the camera for the update.

[@russo-filmmaking]

If you upload there is no problem. But downgrade from 1.3.6 to 1.1.3 or 1.2.3 is possible only with this method ( you can use only one card as I do, or if you have to cards the process is faster because you can change from one card to the other quickly when the firmware actualization start without extract the battery)

[@joseacarrasm]

@@russo-filmmaking I saw a video from other person like two years ago using the EOS utility

[@russo-filmmaking]

ok, I saw a video on how to downgrade with the EOS utility too. But when I tried to use that method the firmware didn't downgrade so I looked for other options

[@kingpossie]

I’m sticking to my IR converted EOS M for now - but a 5D III for a nice enough price and I might pounce on it.

[@russo-filmmaking]

I’ll do a comparison between the EOS M and the 5DIII to see if there are important difference a part from the sensor size

[@marmoterorebelde]

​@@russo-filmmaking I would love it. I have both cameras but since your crop mood Eos M videos I allways ended up using the Eos M because its size. This may change after this video.

[@russo-filmmaking]

@@marmoterorebelde I’ll do a comparison between the 5D and the EOSM to see the differences.

[@mirko734]

Thank you!

[@russo-filmmaking]

Thank you for watching !!

[@irelanddaynight]

ML is such a waste of time. The menus are impossible to make it work and there is no stable, user-friendly build. Steve Jobs' priority in making the iPhone into a good product was user experience. ML is just painful. Also, even if you get it to work you can never trust it 100%.

[@russo-filmmaking]

I love my Canon cameras with ML. I own a BMPCC 4k and a BMCC 6K FF. When I have to shoot something that gives me a cinematic look ( I also film in real 16mm) I prefer ML over Blackmagic. I never had problems with ML and if you know how to use it, it’s very stable.