Magic Lantern firmware 1.2.3 released for Canon 5D Mark III

Alex from the Magic Lantern team has announced that the custom Magic Lantern firmware is now available for Canon 5D Mark III cameras with firmware 1.2.3, bringing multiple video quality improvements.

Installing a custom firmware is not so common among photographers. Smartphone and tablet users do it all the time, but one could argue that lensmen are much more careful with their prized possessions.

Either way, custom firmware for DSLRs does exist and Canon users are the ones who benefit the most. Magic Lantern is probably the most popular of its kind for cameras and the latest model to “fall victim” to the third-party developers is the Canon 5D Mark III.

The latest firmware update for the EOS 5DMK3 stands at 1.2.3 and it has been released in the fall of 2013 to address some issues affecting all of the cameras.

Magic Lantern had been available for the DSLR prior to this update, but everything was lost when Canon issued the 1.2.3 version. Nevertheless, the ML team has been working tirelessly to make its firmware compatible with the Canon 5D Mark III once again and the team has finally delivered.

Magic Lantern now available for Canon 5D Mark III cameras with firmware update 1.2.3

Magic Lantern firmware 1.2.3 is now available for Canon 5D Mark III DSLR cameras.

Owners of the EOS camera can now install Magic Lantern and take advantage of all the cool features, such as RAW video support.

Another notable enhancement consists of fixing the bootflag issue, meaning that users no longer have to mod it.

Furthermore, Alex has mentioned that the installation process is much easier than before and the uninstall procedure is also very easy to perform.

Custom firmware comes packed with some issues, install at your own risk

Still, there are some issues that you need to be aware of before installing. First of all, Alex says that this is a “bleeding edge” version, which means that it is not the final build so users may encounter some issues.

To put it in simple terms, you are flashing this firmware on your Canon 5D Mark III at your own risk and nobody else can be held responsible if things go wrong.

Other than the usual stability issues, there are some problems when using the HDMI port, while some frames might get corrupted during video recording. Moreover, the contrast, brightness, and saturation cannot be adjusted as the registers have been altered.

The full details are available at the Magic Lantern forums, where you can also find some statements from the people who have tested the firmware.