# Any experience using Magic Lantern for a Canon intervalometer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2023, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-using-magic-lantern-for-a-canon-intervalometer/987375 "2023-07-22T07:12:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2023, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-using-magic-lantern-for-a-canon-intervalometer/987375/1 "2023-07-22T07:12:41Z")
I’ve a Canon EOS 600D and have been searching for an intervalometer to start getting into photographing star trails. I’m not in a position to upgrade to a more modern camera, but understand that this should be good enough for a beginner. I’ve a Tamron 10-24mm lens as well, so fine for the required wide angles. As an alternative to a cable-based system, I found that Magic Lantern offers a firmware upgrade that does the same job: [Magic Lantern](https://magiclantern.fm/) I presume I just download this to an SD card, pop that in the camera and… does it run automatically? Will I need to select something? And most importantly - is it safe (won’t irreversibly damage the camera) and fit for purpose? Any suggestions welcome. That includes recommendations for best editing software (on a Mac) to stitch images together, but getting the interval timer is the first step. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2023, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-using-magic-lantern-for-a-canon-intervalometer/987375/2 "2023-07-24T11:55:15Z")
Since this thread hasn’t gotten any responses yet regarding Magic Lantern, I’ll give some info on what I use to do star trails. I use Canon’s wired intervalometer: [https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/164271-REG/Canon\_2477A002\_Timer\_Remote\_Controller\_TC\_80N3.html](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/164271-REG/Canon_2477A002_Timer_Remote_Controller_TC_80N3.html) It’s like most wired ones, in that it’s kind of a pain to use in the dark, but eventually you get used to it and only have to turn a flashlight on every 3rd or 4th time. For stacking star trails, I used to use [StarStaX](https://markus-enzweiler.de/software/starstax/) but lately I’ve just been doing them directly in Photoshop. Just open each image as a layer in the same document (this is easy to do if you also use Lightroom), and set each layer’s blend mode to “Lighten”. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-using-magic-lantern-for-a-canon-intervalometer/987375/3 "2023-07-24T16:38:22Z")
When using external, wired shutter releases/intervalometers I like the [Vello](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/840098-REG/Vello_rc_c2ii_Shutterboss_Version_II_Timer.html/overview) ones; this one doesn’t specifically mention your model but it is $100 less than what **Turek** listed; that’s worth a couple minutes of research to see if it’s compatible. For software, I use [Sequator](https://sites.google.com/view/sequator/download) on a PC (in case someone else reads this thread) ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2023, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-using-magic-lantern-for-a-canon-intervalometer/987375/4 "2023-07-25T02:11:03Z")
Thanks both - I did see both those wired intervalometers and wasn’t 100% sure of compatibility with my camera. It is about 12 years old, after all. I’d seen some other good articles on using layers in Photoshop so if and when I get sorted on the hardware, I’ll likely go down that route. And since opening the thread I discovered that Magic Lantern’s website has a forum which answers a lot of questions I had about installing and safety. My research continues but I’m inclined to set aside an afternoon to install it and test the result. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2023, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-using-magic-lantern-for-a-canon-intervalometer/987375/5 "2023-07-25T09:24:53Z")
> [@Ferris](#): > > My research continues but I’m inclined to set aside an afternoon to install it and test the result. If you do, please post your results.