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Unlock hidden power for canon cameras

Posted on 11 Feb 2009 at 12:46

Canon is one of the dominant forces when it comes to digital compacts, and if you own one then we have excellent news: you could be a download away from unlocking functions normally found only on top-range models and DSLRs.

Top of the list is undoubtedly the ability to shoot in RAW mode. You'll also be able to increase exposure times to 64 seconds or reduce them down to 1/60,000th of a second - it's normally 15 seconds to 1/1,500th of a second.

CHDK also supports scripting, with user-written scripts including one for controlling HDR, time-lapse photography and motion detection. And you can write your own using UBASIC. There's more - live histograms for even cheap cameras, zebra mode for displaying under- and overexposed areas live on the LCD, a customisable OSD, and an enhanced battery gauge.

The more esoteric options include the ability to benchmark SD cards, view text files on the camera and play games, including Reversi and Connect 4.

The first step to using CHDK is to find out which firmware your camera is using. Switch it off, choose playback mode, switch it back on and then press Func Set and Disp at the same time. The firmware version will appear onscreen. Then head to http://mighty-hoernsche.de and check whether your camera model is supported.

If it is, you can choose Complete or Small versions, with Small sacrificing features such as language files, scripts and grids. We opted for Complete.

You then download a zip file that you extract to your camera's memory card. Slot it back into your camera, select the Play mode then switch on the camera. Press Menu and scroll down the default Play tab - at the bottom, you'll find "Firm Update...". Select it and choose upgrade.

Hey presto, the screen will go black, a CHDK splash screen will briefly appear, and you'll see a number of facts and figures on the onscreen display. These include a summary of how much space is available on the card, the time and the amount of power left in the battery.

But the real power comes when you press the Print button and a host of settings appear before you. At this point we should emphasise that while CHDK adds lots of features, it isn't going to win any beauty contests. The fonts are basic and the menu structure is hard to grasp.Fortunately, there's a detailed guide to CHDK, found at http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_for_Dummies.

At this point, you may be thinking that it sounds great - but dangerous. However, arguably CHDK's best feature is that it doesn't make any changes to your camera's firmware. If you decide you don't like it then just switch off your camera, switch it back on and you'll be back with the plain old menus.

Alternatively, you can play around with the settings so CHDK loads by default - but again, there's always the option of going back to the non-enhanced firmware. Just make sure you back up all photos and data on your SD card before you load CHDK on to it.

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