CHKD - Camera Hacks for Canon PowerShots?

[nwtim]

I just read an interesting article on the DesignNews site titled, Camera Hacks.

Article removed by moderator.

Hey Tim.. Please don't copy an article and post it in our forums (you copied that entire article word for word). Keep in mind that anything published is copyrighted material, copyright notice or not (and the same thing goes for photos).

That way, we're not put into a position of making judgment calls about what's fair use and what's not, and receiving take down notices from upset authors about their material being used without permission.

IOW, please just post a link to an article you find interesting unless you're the original author and still hold the copyright.

Thanks.

JimC

This seems pretty cool. Anybody have any experience with it?

[mole]

I used CHDK with my Canon Powershot S3IS - mostly for the ability to save files in raw format, and also because it provided a much better battery level meter. Also "played with" some of the MANY other functions. No longer use it (since no longer using the canon camera), but did find it a very useful way to gain more camera options. Here is their wiki page:
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

[nwtim]

Originally Posted by nwtim

...
Article removed by moderator.

Hey Tim.. Please don't copy an article and post it in our forums (you copied that entire article word for word). Keep in mind that anything published is copyrighted material, copyright notice or not (and the same thing goes for photos).

That way, we're not put into a position of making judgment calls about what's fair use and what's not, and receiving take down notices from upset authors about their material being used without permission.

IOW, please just post a link to an article you find interesting unless you're the original author and still hold the copyright.

Thanks.

JimC
...

Sorry about that. I've posted on a forum where it is not permitted to link to an article without posting at least some of the content (as long as it credits the source and original author) in order to "protect" forum users from potentially undesireable links. I'll attempt to paraphrase from here on. Thanks.

[nwtim]

Originally Posted by mole

I used CHDK with my Canon Powershot S3IS - mostly for the ability to save files in raw format, and also because it provided a much better battery level meter. Also "played with" some of the MANY other functions. No longer use it (since no longer using the canon camera), but did find it a very useful way to gain more camera options. Here is their wiki page:
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

Is it safe for the camera? Is it easy to get the camera back to its prior setup? Or do you have to reinstall factory firmware and set non-default parameters each time?

[mole]

CHDK does not overwrite factory firmware. It is loaded into memory when you choose to load it, stays in memory while the camera is on, but does not stay in memory when the camera is turned off. CHDK is loaded onto the camera card. You can choose to set up the card to automatically load CHDK into memory each time you turn on the camera, or to only load CHDK into memory when you choose to, doing so manually. Hope this helps!

PS - It never hurt my camera, and many others use it safely. Some of the options (like very long exposure) may cause the camera's processor to get rather warm, or use up batteries faster. But it should be safe...

[eugeniogurrea]

Somebody using it in a G11?

[billy]

Originally Posted by eugeniogurrea

Somebody using it in a G11?

I'm not really sure why one would need this hack with the G11. While I do see a benefit on some of the other PowerShot models that lack RAW image format options, etc., the G11 already offers a very robust feature set (including RAW image capture).

I personally have never used this hack, however I've read nothing but positive feedback from users.

[eugeniogurrea]

Billy, thanks for your fast reply.

I also agree that major benefit from this kind of hacks is enabling the RAW handling, but I also like the feature of optical zooming while recording movies.

Let's see what I will do...

Regards,

Eugenio

[billy]

Originally Posted by eugeniogurrea

but I also like the feature of optical zooming while recording movies.

Let's see what I will do...

Regards,

Eugenio

Gotcha, that is a nice addition as well. I wasn't aware that this functionality was unlocked with CHKD.

IF you do try it on a G11, please report back on how well it works.

[eugeniogurrea]

As it doesn't modify the original firmware, and you can load/unload it anytime you want, I think I will give it a chance...

But if anyone has already done this, and have comments/feedback to share with us, you are welcome.

Regards,