CHDK: expanding the capabilities of Canon's digital cameras

So, what is CHDK and how can it help breathe new life into Canon cameras?
CHDK - Canon Hacker Development Kit - add-on for flashing Canon PowerShot cameras running on DIGIC II and DIGIC III processors.
CHDK is not recorded in the camera, but is stored on a flash drive and can be loaded when the camera is turned on. Minus - the download time increases, when you turn on, you must activate the add-in manually. Plus - it is impossible to "kill" the camera: if it is frozen, it is treated by the off-on method.

Downloading CHDK must be done via CardReader - standard means of accessing the camera cannot write files to the root of the flash drive. Write the firmware to the root, insert the flash drive, turn on the camera in the photo viewing mode. Go to the menu - Firm Update - Ok. Switch to the photographing mode, and see how the screen has changed :)

What gives this firmware?

• The main thing for which most amateur photographers use it is shooting in RAW . The firmware uses its own file format, which is easily converted to the usual .DNG using the DNG4PS program. It should be noted that when shooting in RAW, the space on the flash drive decreases well very quickly: one frame (RAW + JPEG) can take up to 10 MB. In addition, the camera takes 2-3 seconds to save the RAW file.
  
• For many, it may be useful to display on the screen a live histogram and a zebra (underexposed and overexposed areas) during the focusing process.
  
• Exposure value expands from 64s to 1 / 60.000s.
  
• The ISO value depends on the camera, but the values ​​of 100-3200 can be set in most cases.
  
• Also, judging by the docks, you can adjust the focal length, but I did not try to do it
  
• You can write your own effects, add-ons and anything you want, using the uBasic language.
  
• The screen displays focal length and zoom.
  

In addition, the firmware adds a lot of useless, but interesting features:

• battery charge display (very inaccurate)
• simple file browser
• games
• txt files reader
• "Flashlight" (fills the screen with white color :))

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All these functions and settings are available through a special menu, which is called up using the “Print button” - “Menu” sequence. There are many settings, and it will take time to deal with all, but I think it's worth it!

References:
chdk.wikia.com - the main site
mighty-hoernsche.de - list of supported cameras and downloads
chdk.clan.su - some information in Russian
antas.livejournal.com/tag/chdk - articles on using the CHDK menu
gans.ho.com.ua/main/canon/manual/simple/hdk_manual.php - CHDK menu overview with screenshots