I came across this software that sort of “mods” your Canon camera to give it quite a few extra features. It’s basically for the “point and shoot” type models, not the SLR’s which would already have most of those features.

Whats nice is that you just have to copy some files onto a memory card then turn the camera on with it in and you can use it, and it’s non permanent so you can turn the camera on and not activate it and it will be like normal.

It’s called CHDK. http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

Q. What does the CHDK program do?

A. CHDK enhances the capabilities of your camera in a non-destructive, non-permanent way.

After loading of CHDK program you will get the following functionality:
Shutter-priority (Tv) exposure - via shutter value override feature
Aperture-priority (Av) exposure - via aperture value override feature
Shooting in RAW, with RAW Average, RAW Sum, and RAW Develop features
Live histogram (RGB, blended, luminance and for each RGB channel)
Zebra mode (a live view of over and under-exposed areas of your picture)
Depth-of-field (DOF)-calculator, Hyperfocal-calculator with instant Hyperfocal and Infinity focus-set, and more
Battery indicator
RAW and Video space-remaining gauges with custom low-limit alerts
USB cable remote shutter release
Motion-detection trigger - automatically fires camera on motion detection. (Fast enough to capture lightning strikes.)
Customizable high-speed continuous (burst) Shutter-based (Tv), aperture-based (Av) and ISO-based exposure bracketing (unlimited shots)
Focus bracketing (unlimited shots)
99 constant bit-rate and 10 constant-quality video compression levels
Elimination of 1 Gig video-size limit
Zoom during video function (for cameras without this feature)
Shutter, Aperture, and ISO Overrides
Ultra-long shutter speeds - up to 64 seconds
Ultra-fast shutter speeds - up to 1/10,000″ and higher
High-speed Flash Sync at all speeds up to 1/64,000 second (even faster in some cameras)
Custom user-editable visible Grids for framing, cropping, and alignment
File browser
Text reader
Calendar
Some fun tools and games
Fully customizable CHDK display, info placement, user-colors, fonts in menus, etc.
Custom CHDK User-Menu (for instant recall of up to 10 favorite functions)
Scripts execution - including exposure bracketing, focus bracketing, intervalometer and more)

Q. What camera models are supported by the CHDK program?

A. Currently, the CHDK program is available for Canon digital cameras of the following models:
The autobuild hosts these versions:
Camera: Firmware Versions
A450: 1.00d
A460: 1.00d
A530: 1.00a
A540: 1.00b
A550: 1.00c
A560: 1.00a
A570: 1.00e, 1.01a
A590: 1.00e, 1.01b
A610: 1.00e, 1.00f, 1.00d *1
A620: 1.00f, 1.00e *9
A630: 1.00c
A640: 1.00b
A650: 1.00d
A700: 1.00b
A710: 1.00a
A720: 1.00c
S2: 1.00e, 1.00f, 1.00g, 1.00i *2
S3: 1.00a
S5: 1.01a 1.01b
G7: 1.00e, 1.00g, 1.00i, 1.00j
G9: 1.00d,1.00g, 1.00f *7
SD30 (IXUS izoom): 1.00g
SD300 (IXUS 40): 1.00j, 1.00k
SD400 (IXUS 50): 1.01a, 1.01b
SD450 (IXUS 55): 1.00b, 1.00c, 1.00d
SD500 (IXUS 700): 1.01a, 1.01b
SD550 (IXUS 750): 1.00f, 1.00g
SD600 (IXUS 60): 1.00a, 1.00d (beta)
SD630 (IXUS 65): 1.00a
SD700 (IXUS 800): 1.00b, 1.01b, 1.01a *3
SD750 (IXUS 75): 1.00b,1.02a,1.01a, 1.01b *4
SD800 (IXUS 850): 1.00e, 1.00d *5
SD850 (IXUS 950): 1.00c
SD870 (IXUS 860): 1.00c
SD950 (IXUS 960): 1.00d
SD1000 (IXUS 70): 1.00c,1.01b,1.02a,1.01a*6
SD1100 (IXUS 80): 1.00c, 1.01a, 1.01b *8
SX100: 1.00b, 1.00c
TX1: 1.00g, 1.01b

This entry was posted on Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 9:01 pm and is filed under Photography, Gadgets, Misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.