New Life In An Old DSLR

Canon introduced the EOS 7D in the Fall of 2009. They gave it new life with the introduction of a major firmware upgrade in the Summer of 2012. Some of the features added in firmware v2 are:

• Improved maximum burst for RAW images (up to 25)
• In-camera RAW image editing
• In-camera Image Rating
• In-camera JPEG resizing
• Maximum Auto ISO setting (ISO 400-6400)
• Manual audio level adjustment in movie recording
• GPS compatibility
• File name customisation
• Time zone settings
• Faster scrolling of magnified images
• Quick control screen during playback

This past week I ventured into the add on software field by loading Magic Lantern software onto one of my 7D bodies. My primary reason was to be able to bracket more than three images for HDR processing purposes. Magic Lantern allows bracketing up to 12 files and even has an auto setting, which I haven't tried, which automatically determines how many files the scene requires.

Loading Magic Lantern required that I take the 7D back from firmware 2.0.5 to 2.0.3, an easy process once I found the 2.0.3 file. Magic Lantern requires that its files be on the root directory of the CF card in the camera but you don't have to load it each time the camera is turned on. I just have to remember not to format the card in the camera.

Here are some of the features Magic Lantern adds to the Canon software (click to read):

So, with this software, I'm now able to exposure bracket more than three images on my 7D as you can with the newer 7D Mark II and 70D bodies. Here's a five file Peebles Island trail shot from my testing yesterday: