EOS Camera Movie Record (ECMR) is a freeware program by Chernov Aleksey that records Live View from Canon DSLR Cameras at a reasonably high framing rate to an AVI file that will open directly in AutoStakkert!, AviStack, Images Plus or RegiStax.

ECMR controls most of the important settings, such as shutter speed, ISO, aperture (of a Canon camera lens), and white balance, through a single USB cable hooked up to your computer. ECMR only records Live View video. It will not control the camera for long-exposure astrophotography.

Three great things about ECMR:

• It's free!

• It records at a relatively high framing rate.

• It is very simple to use.

Figure 1: The EOS Camera Movie Record Interface.

Videos created by ECMR are recorded without audio in an AVI container in MJPEG format with a frame rate of about 22 frames per second, depending on the camera.

ECMR is for Canon cameras only. ECMR will run on a PC and there is also a version for Macs.

ECMR Options 1

• Select Folder - Click the button with the ellipsis to tell ECMR where to store the files on your hard drive (Figure 1, Number 1).

• Write - Click this button to record an AVI movie from Live View (Figure 1, Number 2).

• Mode - Set to "M" for Manual exposure mode (Figure 1, Number 3).

• ISO - Set to adjust brightness of the simulated image (Figure 1, Number 4).

• DOF - Depth of Field Preview button. Stops down a camera lens to the working aperture (Figure 1, Number 5).

• Aperture Value - Select the aperture if you are using a Canon camera lens (Figure 1, Number 6).

• Time Value - Changes the shutter speed to adjust the brightness of the simulated image (Figure 1, Number 7).

• Options - Select "Live" for camera AF mode (Figure 1, Number 8).

Figure 2: ECMR Options.

ECMR Options 2

• Reconnect - Click the button to reconnect to the camera (Figure 2, Number 1).

• Focus Adjust - For use with Canon autofocus camera lenses (Figure 2, Number 2).

• 5x Zoom - Click to zoom in to 5x to get 1:1 pixel resolution (Important!) (Figure 2, Number 3).

• White Balance - Set to Daylight (Figure 2, Number 4).

Figure 3: ECMR Movie Options.

ECMR Options 3

• Time Timer - Check to record a movie with a time length that you specify (Figure 3, Number 1).

• Frames Count Timer - Check to record a movie with a certain number of frames that you specify (Figure 3, Number 2).

For planets with a fast rotation rate and lots of fine detail like Jupiter and Mars it is best to specify a time length for the movie so planetary rotation does not smear detail, as discussed in Chapter 1 Section 8: Planetary Rotation and Detail Smearing.

For planets like Saturn which usually doesn't have any really fine surface detail, you can specify a total number of frames, especially since Saturn is relatively dim and will usually benefit in stacking a larger number of frames.

Step-by-Step Procedure

That may seem like a lot of settings, but ECMR is really easy to use.

• Turn off your camera.

• Turn on your computer.

• Connect the camera to the computer with the Canon USB cable.

• Turn on your camera.

• If Canon's EOS Utility launches, just close it. If another dialog box opens asking you what to do, just select nothing, and close that dialog box.

• Launch the program. ECMR will connect to the camera automatically.

• Set a download directory.

• Click the Options button and set AF mode to Live (Figure 1, Number 8).

• Set White Balance to Daylight (Figure 2, Number 4).

• Click the 5x Zoom button (Figure 2, Number 3).

• Focus the telescope.

• Change the ISO and Shutter Speed to adjust the brightness of the image (Figure 1, Numbers 4 and 6).

• Set a time for the movie length or number of frames to record (Figure 3, Number 1 or 2).

• Click the Write ! button (Figure 1, Number 2).

• Click the Stop button to end the recording.

• A file named "outAVI" will be created in the directory you selected earlier.

ECMR Tips

• Install the Canon EOS Utility to be sure all of the current up-to-date drivers are installed for the camera. Make sure that EOS Utility can connect to the camera without any problems. You can turn off the automatic launching of EOS Utility in that programs preferences after you are sure the camera works and you can view Live View in it.

• Use an empty freshly formatted memory card in the camera. Even though the files are written to the computer, there may be a long delay or crash when the camera is first turned on and the operating system connects to the camera and reads the directory of the memory card.

• If you are using a camera lens and change its aperture in ECMR, you must click the Depth of Field preview button (Figure 1, Number 5).

• The Write button will turn into a Stop button while a movie is recording. To abort the recording, press the Stop button.

• The bottom info bar of ECMR blinks red while a movie is being recorded. In lower right corner, the frame rate, number of frames and movie time is displayed. It is shown in black type, so you might not be able to see it against a black sky background.