From what I've read, it seems not really a firmware update, just a pseudo-firmware that exists on the memory card only. Once you take out the batteries and the memory card, every thing should be back to normal.

With that said, I wish it was out for my SD600.

blindfusion

From what I've read, it seems like it is not actually firmware that gets loaded onto your camera, it seems like a psuedo-firmware that exists only on your memory card. As soon as you take the batteries and pull the card, everything is back to normal.

With that said, I wish it was up for my SD600.

blindfusion

So A570 but not the A570 IS? I'd try this out tonight if was sure it wouldn't brick my A570 IS.

FreakinSyco

I have no idea if my Canon has Digic II or III, im gonna have to check when i get home...

@alexander:

Even if it does brick your camera it doesnt matter as long as you know how to return it to the Canon camera, what worries me is that i have no idea how to restore the original firmware, i havent check the wiki so i dont know if they explain this...

CYG

I have heard of this before and always wanted to try it for my Canon S3. My only question, any chance of this firmware bricking my camera?

alexander

@alexander: almost zero chance, your original firmware is never touched. go for it

I did this on my a620 and it's a completely different camera, it can do anything I wish.

theRIAA

I found this about 4 weeks ago now and have had it running on my camera since then with no problems.

I can confirm it does not replace your camera firmware - it runs more like an application on top of your firmware. Although you can set it to always run upon startup you can also turn it on or off with the click of a button.

It's unlikely to brick your camera - I've tried loading versions that are not for my camera and it just stops the camera from turning on...

It is great for adding extra screen functions - like the long missing persistent battery power indicator and other information about the state of your camera.

It also allows you to save RAW images - which you can then use to make 1-shot HDR images etc. Though you may need a program like DNG for Powershot which you can get from here [digicanon.narod.ru] and then Photomatix, Adobe Photoshop using the Merge to HDR option or TraumfliegerDRI to make your HDR photos.

anudeglory

I wish there was a little more explanation why it's developed for some models and not others...I have the SD 630 and it's almost completely unsupported by any of the developers. Makes me think there's something limiting about this camera model...

noobtastic

I've been using it on my SD700 and I am very happy with the improvements. I like the live histogram, the battery indicator, and a few other little things. I haven't found too much use for the raw mode yet because there is very poor software support for that format - gotta use weird dcraw-based utilities instead of things like ACR/Aperture/etc.

@turner - CHDK is for canon only

cbandes

Anybody here have a Nikon D40(x)? A firmware that fixs the Auto-ISO feature problem so it turns off in manual mode would be very nice.

turnersd

Yay, my S3 is on the list! Raw mode, FTW!

jaxun

SD600 here, so no support for my Canon.

ZorkChaos

I've also done this with a couple of Canon A570IS cameras. Doesn't replace the firmware and as said earlier, not likely to brick your camera. The benefits are great, I wish I had some of these same features on my 10x more expensive dSLR Canon. I like the over/under exposure stripes in real time, battery meter is better, etc. It's an awesome piece of software!

webcompanion

This is awesome, I had no idea people were making custom firmware for digital cameras.

TheTick

Now, how about my Sony DSC something or other?

holymogwai

This is a sad day for my S5 IS. I'm gonna bookmark this wiki for the possibility of it getting added later (fingers crossed).

Eclectified

Very cool article, Lifehacker

rscotta

I KNEW there was a reason why I kept my S2 IS even though I bought an SD1000.

Thanks LH! I plan to try this out when I get home from work.

misterlee

Wooo, mine is a SD700, im gonna be trying this soon :), Thanks!

CYG

Here's hoping it will work on my A570IS.

Deadman36g

Excellent News! My SD700 will really benefit from the battery indicator and RAW shooting format. I'd wish that Aperture and Shutter priority were implemented, but I suppose that it would be asking too much from a point and shoot camera.

kapital

I'm good to go! Can't wait to get home and try it. I'm specially interested in increasing the length of exposures and the RAW format for HDRs.

alexander

This sounds very cool. Dang, I wish they supported SD200!

(Yes, I'm still carting one of those around.)

Wit

Any idea if it works on the SD750. It wasn't on the list, but has anyone else tried it?

reallyseth

Damn! I wish this was available for my SD750!

Billy

@Eclectified: It's being worked on... different process than the other cameras from what I understand. And only on developer is working on it right now. He's close [chdk.setepontos.com]

WhatThe...

No love for the S-series (old compact flash units). Oh well, guess I'll just have to upgrade....

rsd212

@WhatThe...:
Great news!
I've been having a pretty bad day but, you really made my day with that link. I will definitely be keeping an eye on that. Thanks!

Eclectified

@reallyseth: According to this page ([chdk.wikia.com]) "either original firmware or firmware dump is available; porting is needed"

I've got my fingers crossed too.

Billy

Billy

My camera model is on the list, don't know about the firmware; but, Lordy, it is so complicated already I have to restudy the instructions whenever I use the thing.

Capone

From TFA. It will not brick your camera because it's not written to non-volatile RAM. It's written to RAM, and as soon as you reboot the camera, the software is gone.

yikz

Darn it! Wish there was a hack for Fuji cameras, especially my f10!

Nemonowhere

Very interesting. Does anyone know if there is an open-source firmware for the Canon SD950/ Ixus960....

fchershey

Only for PowerShots? Geesh, maybe I shouldn't have paid more for a 10D?

illflux

Ive been using this for about 6 months now and its amazing.

You cant brick your camera with it, as firmware is kept on the memory card and doesnt overwrite the firmware on the camera.

And the endless amount of features are amazing, easily turns your Canon into a camera worth 10x the value. I especially like the RAW conversion as well as the user scripts one can use to do things like timelapse, motion sensing (great for lightening photos)and HDR bracketing. But the icing on the cake is being able to shoot up to 1/60,000th of a second!

There is a CHDK user forum here [chdk.setepontos.com] if you need more specific advice or instructions.

Empyrean

Just in time to answer your question Alexander, I do have the S3 and have tried the software without any problem, essentially it is loaded in memory.

So it doesn't happen each time you turn on the camera and if you wish to load it and turn it off then next time you won't have the extra features.

However my biggest gripe with this software is that while it adds a really cool feature, at least for the S3 which is the battery meter. For some reason it drains your batteries in a matter of minutes, especially if you are using it to shot RAW or a time lapse.

I use rechargeable batteries and under normal shooting without CHDK loaded they last days.

Not sure if is user error as in me, or just that the software has something weird that drains the batteries too fast.

By the way they have mods of the original software that add even more functions and I tried only the "basic" one.

kepoma

Blast. I got really excited, and thought this was an open firmware for Canon's DSLRs. User scripts seem like they'd be really neat for the 400D.

colorme

I downloaded the file for my Ixus 860 but it has no ps.fir file with it and if you don't have that file the wiki tells you do go and do some really long complicated procedure which I can't wrap my head around......

da5id_nz

@da5id_nz:

Same problem here on my SD870!!!

ferris209

I got both files on SD card then load it into my Canon SD 850IS and I did the firmware update, but just got blank screen, no reboot and the print button just stays blue. It did not hurt the original firmware, but just left the camera locked up. I had to remove the battery to reboot. Does anyone know what I did wrong? I'd really like to see what this can do.

qpease

loaded it up on my A560, I think the battery meter and live histogram look useful.

peetah

@qpease: Had the same problem with my sd450. What's the deal with that?!

fishlips20

I have it for both my S3 IS and SD1000. It works great. I played around with RAW but mostly I use the interval shooting script.

jonadair

@ferris209: I found a fix on the help wiki. Go HERE and follow Windows Case #2 eg, download Bootable.zip, extract bootable.exe and put it on your SD card. Now you have to go to your SD card directory using a DOS prompt and run it, using the drive number of your SD card...eg, my card was Drive I - so I had to type bootable.exe I: It's all in the instructions there.

It will ask you if you're sure - type Y for yes.

After you've done this you can remove the bootable.exe program.
IMPORTANT - after you've done this, slide the little 'lock' slider on your SD card to lock it. This might seem strange, but the camera can still write to the card. If you don't lock it, it still won't work.

Let me know how you get on.

da5id_nz

I found out about this from somewhere - I think PC World Digital Focus - a while ago and went to try it out, only to find that it was unavailable for my SD750. I asked about it on the main discussion page (that's Talk:CHDK) with no response after many days. I sometimes wonder if it will ever get ported...

Voyagerfan5761

No Axx love :(

cde

My more-experienced photographer friend showed me this firmware upgrade a few months ago and I have been using it on my A710 ever since. The pre-shot histogram and battery indicator are very helpful, as is the capability to shoot in RAW. At least in the version I downloaded, the firmware is entirely contained in the memory card, and only stays in place as long as the SD card is "locked." This extra safety is actually slightly annoying, because I prefer using a card reader to interfacing through the camera, and when the card is locked it does not let me delete photos.

spiritfox

@spiritfox: Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can unlock the card before putting it in the reader without losing the CHDK firmware, right? It's just the camera that's affected by the lock.

What happens if you really want to lock the card under CHDK, anyway? How does that work?

Voyagerfan5761

I am days late to the party on this one, but I just loaded it up on my A560 and oh man. This is already the hack of the year as far as I'm concerned. It turned my cheapish point & shoot into a useful tool and a tech playground all at once.

chucklebuck

@da5id_nz:

Worked great, thanks da5id_nz!!

ferris209

I use this for my Canon A620 and I love it! It does not actually touch the flash chip where the firmware is stored, so there is no chance of bricking while using it. It opens up a ton more features on the cameras including RAW mode, custom apature, shutter speed, and iso, games (always good), and custom scripts. Highly recommended.

abjam77

@qpease:
I think you downloaded the wrong version for the 850IS.
I have it running and what I really like is the manual control over the speed and the depth-of-field calculator. Haven't got further than that yet.

Wonderful software!!

roddersg

I have a Canon SD850 which is a point and shoot camera. It uses DIGIC III. Would this work for my camera?

grem28

@grem28:

It's listed in the supported camera list on the wiki, so I imagine it will.

chucklebuck