Magic Lantern Makes My EOS M Even More Useful

By Sean Setters

I bought an EOS M back when retailers were slashing prices on Canon's mirrorless kits. Since then, I have really enjoyed having a compact camera capable of capturing high quality images. However, the camera has been relegated to fulfilling the needs of a "vacation camera" in my kit. Last week, that all changed.

That's when I installed a Magic Lantern nightly build on my EOS M. With Magic Lantern installed, the EOS M makes a great time-lapse camera. It's small, easy to set up and quiet. You also don't have to worry about the wear and tear of your mirror mechanism (because, coincidentally enough – there isn't one!). These features make time-lapse shooting with an EOS M ideal; unfortunately, time-lapse photography is not possible with an EOS M without a little help.

The fact is that no Canon DSLRs or mirrorless APS-C sensor cameras have a built-in intervalometer. Instead, Canon offers a wired controller to fill that roll – the oddly named TC-80N3. Unfortunately, the EOS M doesn't have the E3/N3 port necessary for triggering the camera via a wired controller.

But that's where Magic Lantern comes in. It gives you a built-in intervalometer (as well as a boat-load of other features). The intervalometer is fantastic and full of customizable options. On the downside, the nightly build I tried out isn't quite ready for prime time. The Magic Lantern menu sometimes disappears from the screen for no apparent reason while trying to change values or simply navigating the menu. But with a little patience and a little more persistence, the Magic Lantern firmware can really increase the usefulness of Canon's all-but-forgotten entry into the mirrorless market.

Using an EOS M loaded with Magic Lantern, an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, Viltrox EF-M to EF/EF-S Adapter, B+W Circular Polarizer, B+W .6 ND filter and a tripod / ball head, I was able to create the time-lapse for the following video (watch full screen in HD for best results):

For post-processing, I compiled the time-lapse in Panolapse and then created the final video in Adobe Premiere Elements 11.

Yes, I know the video is cheesy. But it's safe to say that a more significant project could easily be augmented by something so simple as a time-lapse captured by an EOS M. If I had installed Magic Lantern on my EOS M a little sooner, I probably wouldn't have wasted 400 shutter clicks on my EOS 7D shooting this behind-the-scenes time-lapse. So even though it might not be stable enough for a final release, it still might be fun (and useful) to play around with in its current state.

Disclaimer: If you install Magic Lantern, you do so at your own risk. The-Digital-Picture.com (or the Magic Lantern team, for that matter) is not responsible for damage due to use of non-OEM firmware.