Canon Digic II hack to shoot RAW (amongst other things)
09-11-2007, 11:11 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
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Canon Digic II hack to shoot RAW (amongst other things)
Not sure if anyone posted this before as it is supposed to be rather old, but:
http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK/FAQ
From what I understand, it is supposed to be pretty safe as it doesn't actually replace the firmware, it just loads up a program into memory. It only stays in memory as long as the camera is on. There is a way to make it automatically start every time you turn on your camera however.
I have not tried this as I do not have a canon camera,
but thought it might be interesting / useful for other members! 
http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK/FAQ
Q. What does the CHDK firmware do?
A. After loading of CHDK firmware you can get the following functionality:
Shooting in RAW
Live histogram (RGB, blended, luminance and for each RGB channel)
Zebra mode (blinking highlights and shadows)
DOF-calculator
Battery indicator
Scripts execution (exposure/focus/... bracketing, intervalometer and more)
File browser
Text reader
Calendar
Some fun tools and games
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. What camera models are supported by the CHDK firmware?
A. Currently, the CHDK firmware is available for Canon digital cameras of the following models:
A610, Fw: 1.00D, 1.00E, 1.00F
A620, Fw: 1.00FA630, Fw: 1.00C
A640, Fw: 1.00B
A700, Fw: 1.00B
A710 IS, Fw: 1.00A
S2 IS, Fw: 1.00E, 1.00F, 1.00G, 1.00I
S3 IS, Fw: 1.00A
In theory it can be modified to support any camera based on the DIGIC II platform.
DIGIC III (G7, A570IS, S5IS) is not supported. It might be possible, but reverse engineering takes alot of time, and nobody seems to be working on it right now.
A. After loading of CHDK firmware you can get the following functionality:
Shooting in RAW
Live histogram (RGB, blended, luminance and for each RGB channel)
Zebra mode (blinking highlights and shadows)
DOF-calculator
Battery indicator
Scripts execution (exposure/focus/... bracketing, intervalometer and more)
File browser
Text reader
Calendar
Some fun tools and games
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. What camera models are supported by the CHDK firmware?
A. Currently, the CHDK firmware is available for Canon digital cameras of the following models:
A610, Fw: 1.00D, 1.00E, 1.00F
A620, Fw: 1.00FA630, Fw: 1.00C
A640, Fw: 1.00B
A700, Fw: 1.00B
A710 IS, Fw: 1.00A
S2 IS, Fw: 1.00E, 1.00F, 1.00G, 1.00I
S3 IS, Fw: 1.00A
In theory it can be modified to support any camera based on the DIGIC II platform.
DIGIC III (G7, A570IS, S5IS) is not supported. It might be possible, but reverse engineering takes alot of time, and nobody seems to be working on it right now.
I have not tried this as I do not have a canon camera,
but thought it might be interesting / useful for other members!
09-12-2007, 12:37 AM
#3
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games on a camera? 
what will they think of next.
09-12-2007, 05:59 AM
#4
I miss my 03 CL-S :(
Cool!
I'm confused though... they say the SD700 IS uses GM1.00B but I find no reference to that firmware version anywhere else.
Not like I would've actually done this anyway.
I'm confused though... they say the SD700 IS uses GM1.00B but I find no reference to that firmware version anywhere else.
Not like I would've actually done this anyway.
05-20-2008, 06:33 PM
#5
Moderator Alumnus
Time to revive this thread.
The original CHDK didn't interest me at all. But look at what is included in the newer version:
* Ability to turn off automatic dark-frame subtraction
* exposure times as long as 65 seconds
* exposure times as little as 1/10,000 of a second
* ability to use the USB port for a remote trigger input
And.....
* a higher compression movie mode, and double the maximum video file size
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If done correctly, you can make movies notably smaller without sacrificing much
quality. Anyone who has used a Casio camera knows what I'm talking about.
I've always said I'd easily drop down an extra $100 for a Canon camera with
the movie mode of my old Z750.
I suppose the major problem, however, is that the Casio uses a different codec.
But anyway, time to try it......
The original CHDK didn't interest me at all. But look at what is included in the newer version:
* Ability to turn off automatic dark-frame subtraction
* exposure times as long as 65 seconds
* exposure times as little as 1/10,000 of a second
* ability to use the USB port for a remote trigger input
And.....
* a higher compression movie mode, and double the maximum video file size
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If done correctly, you can make movies notably smaller without sacrificing much
quality. Anyone who has used a Casio camera knows what I'm talking about.
I've always said I'd easily drop down an extra $100 for a Canon camera with
the movie mode of my old Z750.
I suppose the major problem, however, is that the Casio uses a different codec.
But anyway, time to try it......
05-20-2008, 06:47 PM
#6
is learning to moonwalk i
I will be trying this out soon. Just bought an a570IS and Canon underwater housing off of ebay for $220 shipped. Camera is barely used and the housing is NIB (sells for $170). Just waiting for them to arrive. 
Edit: BTW, the live histogram, zebra mode and battery indicator - not to mention whole RAW thing - are all good enough reasons to try.
Edit #2: Link to compatibility chart http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Firmware_Comparisons
Edit: BTW, the live histogram, zebra mode and battery indicator - not to mention whole RAW thing - are all good enough reasons to try.
Edit #2: Link to compatibility chart http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Firmware_Comparisons
Last edited by moeronn; 05-20-2008 at 06:51 PM.
05-20-2008, 07:06 PM
#7
Moderator Alumnus
Oh yuck, canon uses Motion Jpeg, which means frames are compressed individually (like jpegs)
rather than a temporal codec like Divx or something more useful.
So the compression level can only compress each jpeg more. So this isn't going to be horribly useful. Bleh. C'MON CANON GET WITH IT.
rather than a temporal codec like Divx or something more useful.
So the compression level can only compress each jpeg more. So this isn't going to be horribly useful. Bleh. C'MON CANON GET WITH IT.
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05-20-2008, 07:08 PM
#8
I miss my 03 CL-S :(
I've been using it on my SD700 for a while. This last version they have for the SD700 is worth checking out if you have it. They broke the manual exposure setting but exposure bracketing still works
I'm using an app called dng4ps-2.app on OSX to change from the Canon RAW format to DNG.
I'm using an app called dng4ps-2.app on OSX to change from the Canon RAW format to DNG.
05-20-2008, 08:11 PM
#9
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SD400 no work.. no care 
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