• LV on 60D/600D: you can configure it to protect or rate images with a single button press.
• SET+Erase: you can configure it to erase images without the confirmation dialog.
Arrow key shortcuts
Arrow keys can be used to quickly adjust the following settings:
• Audio gains and input source;
• ISO (in intermediate steps) and Kelvin WB (press SET for push-button WB);
• Shutter and aperture, in finer steps;
• LCD backlight, saturation and display gain.
You can select what functions you need from Arrow/SET shortcuts submenu, under Prefs.
To enable the shortcut menu, press the following key:
• 550D: the Av button (optionaclass="underline" cover the LCD sensor);
• 60D: the Metering button (near ISO);
• 600D: the DISP button;
• 500D: cover the LCD sensor;
• 50D: the FUNC button;
• 5D Mark II: the Picture Style button.
Besides the shortcuts, arrow keys can also be used for focusing (see Follow Focus).
See also our Shortcuts article.
Misc shortcuts
• SET pressed at startup: loads vanilla firmware (does not load Magic Lantern).
• INFO/DISP in LiveView: change current display preset, if this feature is enabled.
• Zoom In while recording: it does just that:) (Magic Zoom)
• SET in LiveView: center the focus box.
• Activating AF mode dialog when Manual Focus is active will toggle Trap Focus.
Magic Lantern menu
• Press the “ERASE“ button to bring up the Magic Lantern menu.
• Use arrow keys, joystick or scrollwheels to navigate.
• Use SET and PLAY to toggle values.
• Use Q (or equivalent) to open a submenu with more settings.
• Press INFO or DISP button to get help.
• In LiveView, press Zoom In to preview the image behind ML menu.
• Press MENU to hide items that you don’t use (to reduce clutter).
For cameras without Q, use this equivalent button:
• 5D Mark II: press the Picture Style button.
• 50D: press the FUNC button.
• 500D: press the LiveView button.
One-handed menu navigation for 5D Mark II and 50D (optional):
• Open ML menu and submenus with a long press on joystick center key;
• Navigate ML menu with joystick or scrollwheels;
• Close submenus with a short press of joystick center key (use Left and Right to adjust values);
• Close ML menu with a short half-shutter press.
Audio
Manual audio controls.
This menu is not available on Canon 600D / T3i. The 600D/T3i already has manual audio control with Canon firmware, but right now it’s not possible to change audio settings from Magic Lantern. You can only use audio meters during recording.
Analog Gain
Gain applied to both inputs in the analog domain, in dB. If you use an external preamp, set this parameter as low as possible; otherwise, set it as high as possible without clipping (audio meters should be green).
L-DigitalGain and R-DigitalGain
Digital gain applied to left and right channel. Recommended setting: 0.
Input source
Audio input source for recording:
• internal mic
• L:int R:ext
• external stereo
• L:int R:balanced (internal mic on Left, external mic on Right from both external pins as balanced audio)
• Auto int/ext: camera detects if a mic is plugged in. Int is dual mono, ext is stereo.
“Balanced audio allows for very long cable runs without interference. Usually balanced mics have three pin XLR connectors and it is very easy to out together an XLR to Canon mic input cable. Balanced allows us to use such pro mics with our little Canons and this is a very welcome surprise for audio guys.” (source)
Wind Filter
Digital high-pass filter. See AK4646 datasheet p.34.
Mic Power
This is required for internal mic and certain types of external mics, but it reduces input impedance.
See AK4646 datasheet p.31 and the Mic power control thread.
• ON: input impedance is 2 kΩ;
• OFF: input impedance is 30 kΩ.
This setting is always ON when input source is either internal mic or L:int R:ext.
AGC
Enable/disable Automatic Gain Control. AGC is applied only in digital domain (i.e. it overrides digital gains, but you can still adjust analog gain).
Recommended setting: OFF.
Headphone Monitoring
Audio monitoring with headphones, using the A/V cable.
Disable this setting if you are using a SD monitor!
To use audio monitoring, you need a special cable:
• your Canon A/V cable with a RCA – 3.5mm jack adapter;
• a dedicated cable from Sescom;
• or you may solder it yourself (you will have to cut your A/V cable).
Warning: mobile phone cables will not work; even if the connector looks similar, it’s not identical. You must use the original cable which came with your camera.
Output volume
Digital output gain for audio monitoring. It does not have any effect on the built-in speaker.
For best results, you should a pair of low impedance headphones, for example Audio Technica ATH-M50 (38 ohms). With high-impedance headphones, you may have to use a headphone amplifier like FiiO E5.
Audio Meters
Display input audio level, from -40dB to 0dB; meters become yellow at -12dB and red at -3dB.
Audio meters are only displayed in movie mode.
Expo
Adjusting the exposure parameters. Most of these settings only work in Manual (photo and video), and some of them work in P, Av and Tv too.
WhiteBalance
Advanced white balance control. The preferred method is Kelvin white balance (range: 1500…15000K).
Submenu options:
• Kelvin white balance;
• WBShift G/M: Green-Magenta white balance shift. Useful for fluorescent lighting;
• WBShift B/A: Blue-Amber white balance shift. 1 unit = 5 mireks on Kelvin axis, according to this post;
• Custom RGB multipliers: fine-tune custom white balance;
• Black leveclass="underline" this parameter is applied on RAW data, before applying white balance. Adjust it if you have problems with green or magenta shadows;
• Auto adjust Kelvin + G/M: in LiveView, ML will compute the white balance for the current scene, using the center (200x200 pixels rectangle) as reference gray.
ISO
Advanced ISO control.
Color coding:
• orange = Canon ISO with good noise or dynamic range (100, 160, 200, 320… 3200).
• green = ISO with negative digital gain applied via DIGIC (80, 90, 160, 320 – obtained by setting ML digital ISO to a negative value). These can have lower noise and/or better highlight rolloff than their Canon equivalents.
• red = ISO with positive digital gain (avoid these values).
Submenu options:
• Equivalent ISO;
• Analog ISO;
• Canon digital ISO - used for obtaining intermediate ISOs like 160, 320, 640;
• ML digital ISO (DIGIC) – in movie mode: enables ISO 50, ISO 80, ISO 51200 and many other intermediate or astronomical ISOs;