The Most Affordable RAW Cinema Camera
You may be asking yourself why is Stream Semester still talking about a mid-tier camera from 2012? We are going to let you in on one of the best-kept cinematography secrets of the last few years. The Canon EOS M, with the latest version of Magic Lantern, transforms this unassuming little camera into a fully capable cinema camera. It is on par with the Black Magic Pocket Cinema cameras in many regards with a little know-how. The best part is that you can get this camera for under $200.
This is the cheapest raw cinema camera that money can buy. It can shoot uncompressed and lossless RAW video internally up to 14bit. The images that this camera can produce look as if they were shot on a more expensive cinema rig. It is light and small so you can have a filmmaking tool right in your pocket.
With little to no knowledge of Magic Lantern and how it works, we were able to immediately capture some footage, convert it to DNG files, color correct/grade in Davinci Resolve, and export all in one go! Here is some of the test footage we were able to make. Be gentle, we are still learning!
There is a massive community surrounding this camera online which is led by an Australian budget filmmaker named Zeek. He swears by this camera and says “ I grew up watching movies from the 80s like Toy Soldiers, The Never Ending Story, The Goonies, and for a camera that has video capabilities to replicate close to those kinds of looks is an absolute dream come true.”
The camera by itself is nothing to write home about but when you install Magic Lantern on a high-quality SD card, it is transformed into a budget-friendly cinematography solution. However, like all cameras, there are limitations worth noting. There is some aliasing in 1080 mode and it doesn’t support dual pixel autofocus. Sometimes you even get pink frames or dropped frames when you push the software too hard. However, it is by learning to work with limitations that allows you to grow as a cinematographer and to appreciate the gear that you do have.
The Canon EOS M is the first mirrorless camera that Canon made that is can swap lenses. The ability to swap lenses makes this camera extremely valuable. Many users love going to thrift stores and yard sales to purchase vintage “glass” to give their style a personal touch. Most of these lenses work very well to create a professional look.
Although people have been Installing and using Magic Lantern Raw on cameras for years, it is entirely up to you if you want to try it out. We recommend it but there is a very unlikely risk of making your camera a little “sick”.
This is a step-by-step guide on how to install Magic Lantern Raw on the Canon EOS M.
Download the latest version of Magic Lantern for EOS M.
Format an SD card as FAT32 with Disk Utility in macOS Big Sur.
Unzip the Magic lantern Folder and Copy and Paste the contents into the newly formatted SD card and remove the drive.
Place into Canon EOS M (with a fully charged battery).
Place into Still Photo Camera Mode and select P or M. (P worked for me).
Then click Update Firmware in the Last Menu On the right.
“Please Restart Your Camera”
Enter the Magic lantern Menu by holding down the Trashcan or double-tapping the screen.
Switch it to the Movie Mode and then you are done!
Check out just what this camera can do and subscribe to Zeek’s Channel!
Allowing people to pursue their passion for film is something that we at Stream Semester are very passionate about. A setup like this can really help reduce the barriers of entry to filmmaking.