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Attention

IMPORTANT: The content of this page is outdated. If you have checked or updated this page and found the content to be suitable, please remove this notice.

Note : this page is obsolete and maintainted here for historical reference only. Information on this page is out-of-date and does not describe current CHDK functionality.

Thanks to the Author[]

This article is based on the End User’s Guide For AllBest Build 50 published in 2008 by Willy Lorenzo aka Graystar which is available here: CHDK guide pdf.

Many thanks to Graystar for creating and publishing his great guide to the CHDK community !


CHDK (Canon Hacker's Development Kit) End-User's Guide  (Rev. 0.3)

For AllBest Build 50
CHDKLOGOFULL ©2008 Willy Lorenzo aka Graystar

On-Screen Display (OSD) Map[]

CHDK features might appear at different locations on the screen. Also, many indicators will only be displayed when the function is enabled.

GSCHDKGuide-AllOSD


GSCHDKGuide-Table1

Introduction To CHDK[]

What is CHDK?

CHDK is a unique software application that runs on your Canon Powershot camera.

What does CHDK do?

CHDK expands the abilities of your Canon Powershot camera by providing additional functions. Although there are many new functions, here is a very short list just to give an idea of what’s available:

  • RAW capture
  • Live histogram
  • Full-time battery indicator
  • Optical zoom during video

There are many more functions…even games!

How is this possible?

In the same way that your computer hardware runs an operating system, such as Windows, Mac OS, or Linux, your Canon camera also has an operating system running inside of it. And in the same way that your OS runs Photoshop or Zoombrowser on your computer, the OS in your camera is also able to run programs such as CHDK.

Does CHDK permanently alter the camera?

No. CHDK is simply software. Just like your computer, when the camera is turned off all the software disappears from memory until it is turned on again and CHDK is loaded again. Also like some software, there is an option to automatically start CHDK when the camera starts.

How does CHDK get on the camera?

In the same way that you install Photoshop or Zoombrowser onto your computer (by copying the software onto your hard drive,) CHDK is installed by copying the CHDK software onto the camera’s "hard drive"...the SD flash memory card.

How does CHDK software get copied to the flash card?

You can copy software to your SD flash card using a file manager such as Windows Explorer. A card reader must be used to attach the SD flash card to your computer. Once attached, the SD flash card appears like any other hard drive on the computer. Your printer may contain a usable card reader. Newegg.com is a good source for computer equipment. Card readers are 10 dollars, and you’ll need one to read RAW files.

Where is the CHDK software?

The CHDK Wiki will have links to the locations of software. Go to: Downloads#Allbest_Build

Once you’ve selected and downloaded the ZIP file for your particular camera, extract the contents using WinZip, UltimateZip, or similar unzipping software. Windows Vista has extraction built in…simply right click the zip file. You will see two files named PS.FIR and DISKBOOT.BIN. Copy these to your SD card.

Done! Now I just double click the CHDK icon and…

Ummm…not quite. Unlike your computer, your camera is not designed to launch additional software, so it must be tricked into running CHDK. CHDK makes use of the one facility your camera does provide for loading software…the Firmware Update process.

  1. Start the camera in Playback mode
  2. Press Menu, then press Up once
  3. An option to update the firmware appears. Select that option.
  4. Confirm the update.

The CHDK splash screen will appear, confirming that CHDK is now running on your camera.

Please note that this procedure only works for Pre-DryOS cameras. For DryOS, please refer to this CHDK Wiki page: FAQ: There's no PS.FIR file in the CHDK download for my camera. What do I do ?

It’s running! Now what?

Read this manual.

Using CHDK[]

First Look

When CHDK starts you will see the splash screen on the LCD…

GSCHDKGuide 01

When the splash screen is cleared CHDK will be running in the background. Some features are enabled by default, for example, battery and memory indicators. However, most feature are disabled by default. To make changes to how CHDK operates, you start by entering <ALT> mode.

<ALT> Mode

When <ALT> mode is enabled the function of certain buttons on your camera will change, allowing you to start accessing CHDK features. For example, pressing the SET button will display the CHDK Script menu, rather than the usual function associated with SET.

There are different ways to get into <ALT> mode, depending on the style of camera.

A Series – Press the Direct Print button

G Series – Press the Shortcut button

S Series – Press the Shortcut button

SD Series – Press the Direct Print button


When you enter <ALT> mode, the term "<ALT>" will appear at the bottom middle of the LCD. While in <ALT> mode the following buttons are reassigned:

A Series

Exposure/Erase +/- – Toggles RAW capture mode

G Series

AF Frame Selector/Erase – Toggles RAW capture mode

S Series

FUNC – Toggles RAW capture mode

SD Series

DISP – Toggles RAW capture mode

Common to all cameras

MENU – Displays the main CHDK menu
SET or FUNC/SET – Display the Script menu
Full Shutter press – Executes the selected Script


The following functions are available any time CHDK is loaded:

Common to all cameras

Half Shutter + Left – Toggle Zebra on/off
Half Shutter + Up – Toggle Histogram on/off
Half Shutter + Right – Toggle OSD on/off


To start customizing how CHDK operates, enter <ALT> mode and press the MENU button to open the CHDK Main menu.

Once you've finished customizing CHDK, press the <ALT> mode button to exit <ALT> mode. You can now use your camera to take photographs, and its operation will be changed by the options you set in CHDK.

Main Menu[]

GSCHDKGuide 02

The Main Menu is the top-level menu from which all CHDK functions are enabled and customized. To access the Main Menu, place the camera in <ALT> mode and press the Menu button.

Navigation

As with Canon’s own menus, the Up and Down rocker switch is used to move through the menu options. Also like Canon’s menus, pressing the FUNC/SET button will select the highlighted menu option.

Submenus are navigated in the same way. Pressing the Display button will move back one menu level.

Pressing the Menu button will exit the current operation. So if you are browsing the menus, then pressing the Menu button will exit the menu system. If you are browsing files with the File Browser then pressing Menu will exit the file browser and return you to the menu system.

Extra Photo Operations

Functions for overriding and expanding settings such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.

OSD parameters

Enables and customizes the display of features such as the battery and memory indicators, DOF calculator, and others.

Video Parameters

Allows you to change how video is recorded, as well as enabling optical zoom while recording video.

RAW parameters

Enables and customizes the RAW capture feature.

Histogram parameters

Enables and customizes the Live Histogram feature.

Zebra parameters

Zebra is a special feature that indicates over and under exposed areas when the shutter is half-pressed.

Scripting parameters

Allows the loading of custom scripts for functions such as bracketing.

Visual settings

Customizes the fonts and colors of the CHDK features.

Miscellaneous stuff

Contains other features such as the File Browser and Games.

Debug parameters

System and debug routines such as making CHDK bootable.

Reset options to default...

Clears all customizations and restores default settings.

Extra Photo Operations[]

Functions for overriding and expanding settings such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.

GSCHDKGuide 03

Override shutter speed [64 – 1/100K] or [0 – 100]

TV in the OSD. This feature allows you to override the camera’s shutter speed in all auto and manual modes with the speed you select. This feature allows shutter speeds as long as 64 seconds and as short as 1/100,000th of a second, in 1/3rd EV steps. This setting is affected by the "Value factor" and the "Shutter speed enum type" settings below. Please note that the actual speeds available are dependent on the camera used and other conditions such as the aperture setting.

Value factor [Off , 1] or [Off, 1/100k – 100]

Enables the Override shutter speed and sets the Value factor, the use of which is described below.

Shutter speed enum type [Ev Step , Factor]

Select the method of determining the override shutter speed.

Ev Step – The method most of us will use. Enables the first set of options above. The Override shutter speed is shown in seconds. Select the desired shutter speed and set the Value factor to 1 to enable the override function.

Factor – This method will enable the second set of options above. The shutter speed is determined by multiplying the selected value factor with the selected shutter speed. This method is useful in analytical and research photography.

Override aperture [Off , 2.77 – 16.00]

AV in the OSD. This feature allows you to override the camera’s aperture settings. Simply select the desired aperture setting and the camera will use that setting in all auto and manual modes. Please note that the actual aperture values available depend on the camera.

Override Subj. Dist. Valu [0 – 65535]

SD in the OSD. This feature allows you to specify, to the millimeter, the manual focus distance. This feature is only enabled during manual focus mode. To focus the camera at the override distance you must half-press the shutter.

Value factor (mm) [Off, 1, 10, 100, 1000]

FACTOR in the OSD. The Value factor is used to enable the "Override Subj. Dist. Valu" and also to quickly set the focus distance. When updating the "Override Subj. Dist. Valu" with the left/right buttons, the value will be changed by the amount set in the "Value factor." So "1" changes the OSDV by 1mm, "10" changes by 10mm, and so forth. In this way the OSDV can be updated faster than trying to change the override from 1 to 450mm by pressing the rocker 449 times.

Override ISO value [0 – {ISO max for camera}]

ISO in the OSD. This feature allows you to override the camera’s ISO setting. Select the desired ISO setting and the camera will use that setting in all auto and manual modes.

Value factor [Off, 1, 10, 100]

The factor is used to enable the ISO override, and to set a multiplier against the "Override ISO value" set above. So if you want to use an ISO of 1200, you would set the "Override ISO value" to 12, and the "Value factor" to 100. This arrangement exists to speed the setting of a custom ISO.

Bracketing in continuous mode -> See page 11

Custom Auto ISO -> See page 13

Clear override values on start [enable / disable]

Resets all Extra Photo Operations values to their defaults every time the camera is turned on.

Bracketing in continuous mode[]

Bracketing is the practice of making several exposures of a scene, with each exposure differing from the next by predetermined steps in exposure or focus settings. Bracketing is used to easily capture a range of exposures so that the best exposure can be selected at a later time. Bracketing is also used to create a series of exposures, which will be combined using processes such as HDR photography.

The bracketing features are enabled when the camera drive mode is set to continuous.

GSCHDKGuide 04

TV bracketing value [Off, 1/3 – 4 Ev]

Set this value to bracket via exposure time. A value of 1 will double or halve the exposure time for the following exposures.

AV bracketing value [Off, 1/3 – 4 Ev]

Set this value to bracket via aperture. A value of 1 will open or close the aperture by 1 stop for the following exposures.

Subj. Dist. Bracket Value [0 – 100]

Set this value to enable focus bracketing. This feature is only enabled during manual focus mode. This feature allows you to specify the manual focus distance in millimeters. This value is multiplied by the Value factor below to arrive at the final value.

Value factor (mm) [Off, 1, 10, 100, 1000]

Used as a multiplier for Distance bracketing value.

ISO bracketing value [0 – 100]

Set this value to bracket via ISO. This value is multiplied by the Value factor below to arrive at the final ISO value that will be used for bracketing. A value of 2, with a Value factor of 10, will increase or decrease the ISO by 20 for following exposures.

Value factor [Off, 1, 10, 100]

Used as a multiplier for the ISO bracketing value.

Bracketing type [+/- , -, +]

BRACKET in the OSD. With all bracketing types the first exposure uses the current exposure settings of the camera. On following exposures the exposure settings are adjusted as described below.
+/-
This bracketing type will alternatively apply the bracketing value by first subtracting then adding. The sequence goes like this…
0 Ev, -1Ev, +1Ev, -2Ev, +2Ev, -3Ev, +3Ev, etc. Bracketing will continue until you release the shutter. So for example lets say you set the TV bracketing to "2 Ev", and when you half-press the shutter you notice an exposure time of 1 second. When you fully depress the shutter you will get exposures at these times: 1 sec, ¼ sec, 4 sec, 1/15 sec, 15 sec, 1/60 sec, 15 sec, 1/250 sec, 15 sec, etc.
-
This bracketing type works as above but will only reduce the exposure value. Using the above example, the exposure times would be 1 sec, ¼ sec, 1/15 sec, 1/60 sec, 1/250 sec, etc.
+
This bracketing type works as above but will only increase the exposure value. Using the above example, the exposure times would be 1 sec, 4 sec, 15 sec. Once the camera’s limit is reached, subsequent exposures will occur at the maximum (or minimum) setting.

Clear Bracket Values on Start [enable / disable]

Enable this option to turn off bracketing when the camera is turned off.

Custom Auto ISO[]

The Custom Auto ISO settings allow you to take control over how the camera decides what ISO will be selected when using Auto ISO mode.

  • This is not available in Shutter priority (Tv) mode, it is also disabled in the stich assist to prevent using different settings for each panorama part.
GSCHDKGuide 05

Enable Custom Auto ISO [enable / disable]

AUTOISO in the OSD. Enables the Custom Auto ISO function.

Minimal Shutter speed [Auto, 1/8s – 1/1000s]

The ISO will increase if necessary to maintain the minimal shutter speed.

User Factor (1/FL/factor) [1 – 8]

This setting accounts for the user’s ability to hold the camera steady. It is based on the old rule that your shutter speed should be no less than 1/focal-length. Start by dividing the effective focal length of the lens by the actual focal length. The answer is generally somewhere around 6. Then increase or reduce this amount by a self-assessed value of your steadiness. If you think your hands are steadier than average then decrease by 20%. If you think you’re shaky then increase by 20%.

IS Factor Tv*factor [1 – 8]

In determining the ISO setting, the effectiveness of the IS system will be taken into account. Use a setting of 4 if your IS is effective enough to give you a two-stop reduction in shutter speed. Use a setting of 2 if the IS isn’t very effective, or 8 if the IS is very effective.

Max ISO HI (x10) [20 – 160]

Sets the maximum "HI" ISO that the camera can select.

Max ISO AUTO (x10) [10 – 80]

Sets the maximum "Auto" ISO that the camera can select.

Min ISO (x10) [1 – 20]

Sets the minimum "Auto" ISO that the camera can select.

OSD parameters[]

Enables and customizes the display of features such as the battery and memory indicators, DOF calculator, and others.

GSCHDKGuide 06

Show OSD [enable / disable]

Displays the CHDK indicators on the LCD.

Center Menu [enable / disable]

User Menu[]

Takes you to your custom menu. CHDK allows you to select up to 10 menu items from the CHDK menus to be displayed together in one menu.

User Menu Enable [Off, On, On Dire(ct), Edit]

Off – Normal CHDK menu appears.
On – Custom menu appears.
On Dire(ct) – Opens custom menu when Alt mode is enabled.
Edit – Allows you to edit the User Menu.
To edit the User Menu
  1. Set User Menu Enable to "Edit" and select User Menu.
  2. Highlight a row to accept a new entry. Press DISP or MENU.
  3. Navigate to and highlight any menu entry within CHDK.
  4. Press Func/Erase/Half-Shutter (depending on camera.)
  5. The entry is copied to the User Menu.

Show State [enable / disable]

Displays the Extra Photo Operations OSD.

OSD layout editor

Allows you to move CHDK indicators on the LCD.

Grid

Controls the display of custom grids.

Miscellaneous Values

Controls the display of various values from your camera.

DOF Calculator

Controls the display of the Depth Of Field Calculator.

RAW

Controls the display of the RAW indicators on the LCD.

Battery

Controls the display of the battery indicators on the LCD.

Filespace

Controls the display of the free storage indicators on the LCD.

Clock

Controls the display of the clock on the LCD.

Show OSD in Review Mode [enable / disable]

Enables or disables the display of CHDK indicators on the LCD.

OSD layout editor[]

Allows you to change the position of CHDK indicators on the LCD. When a feature is selected you can use the rocker switch to move it around. A red highlight displays giving the name of the feature being moved and its position in X, Y format

GSCHDKGuide 07

Set button - Switch between display features.

4-Direction switch/rocker – moves the selected feature.

Display button – Toggles between 1 pixel per move or 10 pixels per move. Current value is "S:xx" in the red highlight area.


Grid Lines[]

Opens the Grid Lines menu. This screen allows you to select and display a custom defined grid. See the grid tutorial in the CHDK Wiki: Grids

GSCHDKGuide 08

Show grid lines [enable / disable]

Enables the display of custom grids.

Load grid from file…

Displays the file selection screen. Use the directional controls to select a grid file and press Set to select it.

Current grid

The name of the currently loaded grid

Override grid colors [enable / disable]

This setting will override the grid colors defined in the grid file. It will not override the grid colors of the grid selected from the Canon menu.

Line color

Fill color

Press the SET key to bring up the color selection table.

Press the SET key to select a color

Miscellaneous Values[]

Opens the Miscellaneous Values options menu

GSCHDKGuide 09

Show misc values [Don’t, Always, Shoot]

Don’t – Don’t show misc values on LCD.

Always – Always show the misc values on the LCD.

Shoot – Only show the misc values when shutter is half-pressed.

Show values in video [enable / disable]

Displays the Miscellaneous values when the camera is in video mode.

Show Zoom [enable / disable]

Z:n/n.nx in Miscellaneous Values. Displays the current Zoom position of the lens.

Z:n = zoom position, from 1 to 14

Show Zoom value as [X, FL, EFL]

Method of displaying the Zoom position of the lens

X – as a multiple of the shortest focal length, as in 6X.

FL – as the actual focal length of the lens, as in 34.8mm.

EFL – as the effective 35mm FL, as in 210mm.

Adapter Lens Scale, 100=1x [0 – 1000]

Adjusts the zoom value above by a multiplier, which is based on the converter lens that is installed on the camera. For a 0.7x wide converter use 70. For a 1.75x tele converter use 175.

Show ’real’ Aperture [enable / disable]

Av in Miscellaneous Values. This is the actual aperture setting after any override aperture adjustments have been applied.

Show ’real’ ISO [enable / disable]

I-R in Miscellaneous Values. Displays the actual ISO value after overrides or bracketing have been applied.

Show ’market’ ISO [enable / disable]

I-M in Miscellaneous Values. Displays Canon’s ISO value, which is not always the same as the actual ISO value.

Show ISO only in Autoiso mode [enable / disable]

Display the ISO value only when the camera is in Auto ISO mode.

Show Set Exposure Ev (Tv+Av) [enable / disable]

Evs in Miscellaneous Values.

EWAVR - Show-exposed camera exposure value based on the values of shutter speed and aperture.

Show Measured Ev (Bv+Sv) [enable / disable]

Evm in Miscellaneous Values.

EWAVR - The right equation exposure (brightness value + sensitivity scenes set in a camera)

Show Set Bv (Brightness Value) [enable / disable]

Bvs in Miscellaneous Values.

EWAVR - Internal-brightness scenes through recalculation of the parameters established in the camera. Just Av-Sv + Tv.

Show Measured Bv [enable / disable]

Bvm in Miscellaneous Values.

EWAVR - This value is written in Exif as MeasuredEV

Comment on Phil Harvey (author exifTool): This the Canon name for what should properly be called MeasuredLV, and is offset by about -5 EV from the calculated LV for most models

Show Overexp. Value (No Flash!) [enable / disable]

dE in Miscellaneous Values.

EWAVR - This is the result of subtracting Av-Bv-Sv + Tv. Not accounted Fl- flash light value

There may seem interesting observations

For example, in the theatrical mode, "Beach" Canon uses compensation exposure +1 / 3, and the "snow - + 2 / 3. In the automatic mode overexpo sometime to 1/3 in P- mode while-0. When Bv negative values (or close to negative) ignored underexpo to -1 (that is not available in red expoparams is in the manual modes). Either party that is the policy of "Canon", or something, I’m confused…:-/

Show Canon overexp. Value [enable / disable]

dEc in Miscellaneous Values.

Show Scene luminance (cd/m2) [enable / disable]

B in Miscellaneous Values.

EWAVR - Run average in standard illumination scenes candelas per square meter… calculated from a ratio to Bv = 12.5. Ie Wages can be used as an exposure meter.

DOF Calculator[]

The Depth Of Field Calculator displays 5 distances in meters…

S / SD – Distance to the subject (Near Limit + DOF*0.33). Also called the Focal Plane.
R1/ NL – Near Limit. The distance where acceptable sharpness begins.
R2 / FL – Far Limit. The distance where acceptable sharpness ends.
HYP – the Hyperfocal point. The Near Limit when focused at infinity. Focusing at the Hyperfocal point give the largest DOF.
DOF – the Distance between the Near Limit and the Far Limit.
GSCHDKGuide 10

Show DOF calculator [Don’t, Separat, In Misc]

Don’t – disables display of the DOF calculator
Separate – Displays the DOF values apart from the Misc values.
In Misc – Displays the DOF values with the Misc values.

Canon Subj. Dist. as Near Limit [enable / disable]

Enabling this value affects the way the subject distance is calculated. {~~need details on what is happening}

Use EXIF subj. Dist. (PC65) [enable / disable]

Enabling this value affects the way the subject distance is calculated. {~~need details on what is happening}

The following settings will determine which DOF values will appear. When the "Show DOF calculator" is set to "Separat", all 5 values are always displayed. When it is set to "In Misc" then only the enabled values below are displayed as part of the Miscellaneous Values.

Show Subj. Dist. in Misc. [enable / disable]

Show Near Limit in Misc. [enable / disable]

Show Far Limit in Misc. [enable / disable]

Show Hyperfocal Dist. in Misc. [enable / disable]

Show Depth of Field in Misc. [enable / disable]

Subject distance from lens [enable / disable]

When enabled, distances displayed are measured from the front of the lens rather than the sensor. This is useful for macro photography.

RAW showing settings[]

RAW OSD settings

GSCHDKGuide 11

Show RAW state [enable / disable]

"RAW" in OSD. Enables the display of the RAW indicator.

Show RAW shoot remain [enable / disable]

Calculates how many RAW captures will fit in the current free memory and displays that number next to the RAW indicator.

Warning threshold [0 – 200]

Turns the RAW indicator red when the number of RAW shots remaining drops below the threshold value.


Battery showing settings[]

Allows you to enable and modify the display of the battery life indicators.

GSCHDKGuide 12

Battery MAX Voltage (mV) [-9999 – 99999]

Indicates the voltage that is considered "Full"

Battery Min Voltage (mV) [-9999 – 99999]

Indicates the voltage that is considered "Empty"

Step Size (ON=25,OFF=1 mV) [enable / disable]

When setting the MAX and MIN values, sets the amount of change per press of the rocker switch.

Show Battery percent [enable / disable]

Displays the remaining battery life as a percentage. Enabling this setting will disable Show Battery volts.

Show Battery volts [enable / disable]

Displays the actual voltage of the batteries. Enabling this setting will disable Show Battery Percent.

Show Battery icon [enable / disable]

Displays the battery icon on the LCD.


Filespace showing settings[]

Allows you to enable and modify the display of the remaining storage available on the flash card.

GSCHDKGuide 13

Show Filespace Icon [enable / disable]

Enables the display of the filespace indicators.

Show Space Bar [Don’t, Horizon, Vertica]

This option displays a bar that will shrink in size as memory is used.

Don’t – disables display of the bar.
Horizon – displays the bar horizontally at the bottom of the LCD.
Vertica – displays the bar vertically at the right edge of the LCD.

Size on Screen [1, 1/2, 1/4]

Changes the size of the bar on the LCD.

1 – The bar is the full width or height of the LCD.
1/2 – The bar is half the width or height of the LCD.
1/4 – The bar is one quarter the width or height of the LCD.

Width/Height [1 – 10]

Specifies the thickness of the bar in pixels.

Show Filespace in Percent [enable / disable]

Enables the display of remaining storage as a percentage of total storage. Enabling this option with disable Show Filespace in MB.

Show Filespace in MB [enable / disable]

Enables the display of remaining storage as megabytes. Enabling this option will disable Show Filespace in Percent.

Warning Unit [Don’t, Percent, MB]

Enables the low-memory warning, and selects the method of determining when to give the warning.

% threshold [1 – 99]

On-screen memory indicators will change color when the amount of free storage drops below the selected percentage.

MB threshold [1 – 1000+]

On-screen memory indicators will change color when the amount of free storage drop below the number of megabytes indicated.

Clock Settings

Allows you to enable and change the display of the clock.

GSCHDKGuide 14

Show clock [Don’t, Normal, Seconds]

Enables the display of the clock and the style.

Don’t – Don’t show the clock.
Normal – Clock displays as HH:MM
Seconds – Clock displays as HH:MM:SS
Clock format [24h, 12h]

Select between 24-hour format and 12-hour format.

12h Clock Indicator [ . , P, PM]

When time is displaying in 12-hour format, determines how AM and PM will be indicated.

. – No indication
P – Displays A or P after the time.
PM – Displays AM or PM after the time.

@Shutter half-press show [Don’t, Full, Seconds]

Determines what happens to the display of the clock with the shutter is half pressed.

Don’t – No time is displayed.
Full – The full time format as determined above will be displayed.
Seconds – Displays only the seconds of the time.

Video Parameters[]

Allows you to change how video is recorded, as well as enabling optical zoom.

GSCHDKGuide 15

Video Mode [Bitrate, Quality]

Video compression modes.

Bitrate – dictates a constant data rate. Video compression (and hence, video quality) expands or contracts as necessary to maintain the data rate constant.

Quality – Sets a constant compression level, ensuring a defined level of quality regardless of how much data that level requires.

Video Bitrate [0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2, 2.5, 3]

The compression factor for Bitrate compression. 0.25 is the most compressed/least quality and 3 is the least compressed/best quality.

Video Quality [1-99]

The compression factor for Quality compression. 1 is the most compressed/least quality and 99 is the least compressed/best quality.

Enable optical zoom [enable / disable]

This feature allows you to use the camera’s optical zoom during video recordings. Please note that the zoom mechanism sound is very loud in video, which is probably why Canon disabled its use.


RAW parameters[]

Enables and customizes the RAW capture feature.

GSCHDKGuide 16

"RAW" refers to the unprocessed sensor data that is captured at the moment the shutter is pressed. It is the starting point for any image that is created from that capture. The camera will take the RAW data and process it to create a JPEG image. The RAW capture feature allows you to save that starting point. You can then apply necessary processing, such as sharpening and noise reduction, as you see fit, instead of having to accept Canon’s decisions on how such processes should occur.

Save RAW [enable / disable]

Enables the saving of RAW files.

Noise reduction [Auto, Off, On]

Controls the application of the Dark Frame Subtraction feature of your Camera onto the RAW file. Dark Frame Subtraction is a function used to reduce sensor noise when the exposure time is 1.3 seconds or longer.

Auto – Performs a DFS on exposures 1.3 seconds or longer.
Off – Never performs a DFS.
On – Always performs a DFS.

Only first RAW in series [enable / disable]

When shooting in continuous mode, will only create a RAW capture for the first image. Subsequent images will not have RAW captures. This allows rapid continuous shooting.

RAW file in dir with JPEG [enable / disable]

Saves RAW files in the same folder as the JPEG files. If disabled then RAW files are always saved in the 100CANON folder.

RAW file prefix [CRW_, SND_, IMG_]

Sets the prefix of the RAW files. If you are going to process the RAW files with DNG4PS-2 then setting a prefix of IMG_ will allow DNG4PS-2 to retrieve EXIF data from the accompanying JPEG.

RAW file extension [.CRW, .CR2, .THM, .WAV, .JPG]

Set the extension to be used on RAW files.

RAW develop

This feature will process a RAW file and create a JPEG from it. When selected, a file browser window is displayed.

Select a RAW file and press Set. Press Set again to clear the message, then press the <ALT> button to exit <ALT> mode. Finally, press the shutter. The RAW file will then be processed into a JPEG. The interesting aspect of this feature is that the processing will occur with the camera’s current settings. So you can use the MyColors settings to create Vivid and Sepia versions of the same image, or simply tweak the sharpness or contrast settings. Normally, you would have to set MyColors before the image is taken, and you would get only one image.

More about RAW[]

To get the RAW files onto your computer you must use a flash card reader. The most versatile way to work with RAW is to first convert the RAW files to the Adobe DNG format (Adobe Digital NeGative.) This conversion is performed using an application called DNG4PS-2. Once the RAW files are converted, the resulting DNG files can be processed with Photoshop or any other popular photo processing software.

Histogram parameters[]

Enables and customizes the Live Histogram feature.

GSCHDKGuide 17

Histogram Anatomy

The horizontal component of a histogram runs from 0 to 255. What important to understand is the "0" and "255" are not values…they are labels representing a color value. When you see a line in the middle of the histogram (label "127") it’s saying "this is how many ’127’s there are in the image."

The vertical component of a histogram is the count of pixels at a given level. The bottom is zero and the top represents the largest count of values for a label. So if you have a 7MP image and every color is "127", then the top of the histogram represents 7 million pixels.

RGB Histogram

RGB histograms simply count pixels at each level. The RGB histogram of an image of three boxes (red, green, and blue) where every color has a value of 127 would be a single line in the middle of the histogram (at label "127".)

Luminance (Y) Histogram

Luminance histograms attempt to factor in the perceived brightness of colors. A luminance histogram of an image of three boxes (red, green, and blue) where every color has a value of 127 will show three lines at labels "38" (red- x 0.3), "75" (green x 0.59), and "14" (blue x .11).

Show live histogram [Don’t, Always, Shoot]

Don’t – Don’t show histogram on LCD.
Always – Always show the histogram on the LCD.
Shoot – Only show the histogram when shutter is half-pressed.

Histogram layout [RGB, Y, RGB Y, R G B, RGB all, Y all, Blend, Blend Y]

RGB – Displays the RGB histogram only.
Y – Displays the luminance histogram only.
RGB Y – Displays RGB above luminance.
R G B – Displays three histograms, one for each color.
RGB all – Displays all 5 variations of histograms with RGB on top.
Y all – Displays all 5 variations of histograms with luminance on top.
Blend – Combines the three histogram of the R G B display into one.
Blend Y – Same as Blend but with the addition of luminance below.
RGB
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Y
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RGB Y
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R G B
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RGB all
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Y all
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Blend
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Blend Y
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Histogram mode [Linear, Log]

Determines how the Y-axis (vertical) of the histogram will be scaled. Log is useful for scenes with a large amount of a single color, such as an overcast sky (lots of gray.)

A 10 MP camera might have its Y-axis scaled like this...
Linear Log
10,000,000 pixels
7,500,000 ""
6,250,000 ""
5,000,000 ""
3,750,000 ""
2,500,000 ""
1,250,000 ""
1 ""
10,000,000 pixels
1,000,000 ""
100,000 ""
10,000 ""
1,000 ""
100 ""
10 ""
1 ""

Show histogram over/under EXP [enable / disable]

EXP in on-screen display. If parts of a scene are over or under exposed, then this setting will display "EXP" above the histogram, and a red dot at the end that is exceeding exposure limits.

In this example the image is both over and under exposed (the scene has a very wide dynamic range.)
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Ignore boundary peaks [0 – 32]

Another tool for controlling the scaling of the histogram. If you know that your scene will contain large amounts of black or white (e.g a moon shot,) you can set how many levels from the left or right edges of the histogram to ignore, if those levels peak in the histogram. This will increase the visibility of the smaller portion of the histogram.

Auto magnify [enable / disable]

N.NNx in on-screen display. Another tool for controlling the scaling of the histogram. This option will magnify the Y-axis (vertical) if less than 20% of the histogram area is filled. The purpose of this function is to make the histogram easier to read when there are very tall peaks. This function lies somewhere between the Linear and Log options above. A red dot over a peak indicates that it’s been clipped due to the magnification. The amount of magnification applied is displayed over the histogram.

No Magnification With Magnification
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Show Histo Ev Grid [enable / disable]

Adds 4 or 5 vertical lines to the histogram dividing the histogram by full stops.

EV Grid Enabled
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Zebra parameters[]

Zebra is a feature that indicates over and under exposed areas of the scene. When the shutter is half-pressed, the areas of the scene that are under or over exposed will turn red. The zebra effect can also be applied to existing images by half-pressing the shutter during playback mode.

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Draw Zebra [enable / disable]

Enables the drawing of over/under exposure indicators.

Zebra mode [Blink 1, Blink 2, Blink 3, Solid, Zebra 1, Zebra 2]

Determines how the over/under exposed areas will be indicated.

Blink 1 – Solid coverage, blinks every ½ second.
Blink 2 – Solid coverage, blinks every second.
Blink 3 – Solid coverage, blinks every two seconds.
Solid – Solid coverage, no blinking.
Zebra 1 – Striped coverage, thin diagonal lines.
Zebra 2 – Striped coverage, thick diagonal lines.
Solid Zebra 1 Zebra 2
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UnderExposure threshold [0 – 32]

Controls the sensitivity of exposure indication. 0 is less sensitive and 32 is very sensitive.

OverExposure threshold [0 – 32]

Controls the sensitivity of exposure indication. 0 is less sensitive and 32 is very sensitive.

Restore original screen [enable / disable]

This option only applies to Zebra Blink modes.

When exposure indicators are visible, all of the original Canon indicators are erased. When this option is enabled, the original Canon screen items (such as exposure) are redrawn between blinks.

Restore OSD [enable / disable]

This option only applies to Zebra Blink modes.

When exposure indicators are visible, all of the CHDK half-shutter indicators are erased. When this option is enabled, the CHDK half-shutter indicators (such as DOF calculator) are redrawn between blinks.

Draw over zebra [Histo, OSD, Nothing]

This option applies to all Zebra modes.

When exposure indicators are visible, nothing else is displayed on the screen. This option specifies which additional indicators will be drawn.

Histo – Only the live histogram is drawn with the exposure indicators.
OSD – The entire CHDK OSD is drawn with the exposure indicators.
Nothing – Nothing else is drawn with the exposure indicators.

RGB zebra (overexp. Only) [enable / disable]

Overexposed areas are indicated by the color of the channel that is overexposed. Underexposed areas are ignored.

Black – All channels are overexposed.
Red – Red channel is overexposed.
Green – Green channel is overexposed.
Blue – Blue channel is overexposed.
Cyan – Green and blue channels are overexposed.
Magenta – Red and blue channels are overexposed.
Yellow – Red and green channels are overexposed.
Solid Zebra
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Scripting parameters[]

Allows the loading of custom scripts for functions such as intervalometer.


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Load script from file…

Displays the file selection screen. Use the directional controls to select a script file and press Set to select it.

Script shoot delay (.1s) [0 – 1000+]

After an image is captured, indicates how long to delay the execution of the next script command. A value of 0 executes immediately. A value of 10 executes the next script command one second after capture.

Script Autostart [enable / disable]

When enabled, the script listed under "current script" will execute when the camera is turned on.

Enable remote (USB)-> [enable / disable]

---------Current script------------

The name of the script that is currently selected script.

-------Script parameters--------

Times to Repeat [0 – 1000+]

Display Delay [0 – 1000+]

Visual settings[]

Customizes the fonts and colors of the CHDK features.

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Language…

Opens the CHDK/LANG directory in a file browser. Allows you to select different language for the CHDK system.

OSD codepage [Win1250, Win1251, Win1252, Win1254, Win1257]

Select the required codepage for your language option.

Win1250 – East European Latin
Win1251 – Cyrillic
Win1252 – West European Latin
Win1254 – Turkish
Win1257 – Baltic

Menu RBF font…

Opens the CHDK/FONTS directory in a file browser. Allows you to select a new RBF font for CHDK.

Colors

This section allows you to change the color used on various CHDK features. Highlight the object whose color you’d like to change and press Set. The Color selection window will be displayed.

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Navigate to the desired color and press Set to select. Press Menu to exit without making a selection.

Miscellaneous stuff[]

Contains other features such as the File Browser and Games.

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File browser

Opens the File Browser utility.

Calendar

Displays a calendar.

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Up / Down – Changes the year.
Left / Right – Changes the month.
Menu – Exits.

Text file reader

Opens the Text file reader utility.

Games

Opens the Games menu.

Show splash screen on load [enable / disable]

When enabled the CHDK splash screen will be displayed when CHDK starts.

Use zoom buttons for MF

A-Series - When manual focus is enabled, this allows the zoom lever control to mimic the left/right controls. During this time you can use the zoom lever to adjust manual focus, shutter speed, aperture, and anything else that is controlled by the left and right directional controls.

S Series – When the MF button is held down, the zoom lever will control manual focus. When the MF button is released the zoom lever function returns to normal.

Disable LCD off [Alt, Script, No]

Controls the power-saving feature that turns off the LCD.

ALT – Disables LCD-Off when in <ALT> mode
Script – Disables LCD-Off when in <ALT> mode and when a script is running.
No – does not disable LCD-Off.

Draw palette

Allows you to test colors for use as transparent backgrounds.

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Show build info

Displays the CHDK Version, Date and Time of the build, Camera model, and firmware version.

Show memory info

Displays the amount of free memory

File Browser[]

The File Browser allows you to navigate the files and directories on the flash card, and to perform file operations on those entries.

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Up / Down – Navigates the directory listing.
Left – Opens the submenu. Press again to close submenu.
Cut – Prepares to cut the selected files, or currently highlighted file.
Copy – Prepares to copy the selected files, or currently highlighted file.
Paste – Performs the cut or copy operation, and pastes the files in the current directory.
Delete – Deletes the selected files, or currently highlighted file.
Select inverse – All selected files become unselected and unselected files become selected.
RAW sum – See RAW Merge section below.
RAW average – See RAW Merge section below.
Right – Selects the currently highlighted file and highlights the file below. Selected files change color to indicate they’re selected. Directories cannot be highlighted. When files are selected all file operations occur on selected files and not on the currently highlighted file.
Set/Func – Opens directory when a directory is highlighted. Exits the File Browser when a file is highlighted.
Menu – Exits the File Browser.

RAW Merge

This feature provides the ability to stack frames.

First select the RAW files to be included in the merge. Then open the submenu and select either RAW sum or RAW average.

RAW sum – This will add the files together. For example, merging three RAW files, each being a 10-second exposure, create a RAW file equal to a 30-second exposure.
RAW average – This will average the files together. This feature can be used to reduce noise on a static, low-light scene. The more images taken and averaged, the less noise will be visible.

The resulting RAW file will have the filename of the last image merged, and an extension of WAV. This was done to prevent confusion between the RAW files from actual captures and RAW files from merges.

To see the image resulting from the merge, use the RAW develop function found under RAW Parameters.

Text File Reader[]

This utility can be used to read a text file stored on the flash card.

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Open new file…

Displays a file browser window, opened to the CHDK/BOOKS directory. You can select a txt file to view. Press Set to open the file.

Open last opened file

Will display the most recent text file that was viewed.

Select RBF font

Open the file browser in the CHDK/FONTS directory. Allows you to select a different font for displaying text.

Codepage [Win1251, DOS]

Select the text file format.

Wrap by words [enable / disable]

Enables word-wrap.

Enable autoscroll [enable / disable]

When enabled the text file will scroll automatically.

Autoscroll delay (sec) [ 0 – 60 ]

Determines how long the system waits before scrolling the text file.

Games[]

CHDK contains two games. Select the game you want to play and press Set.

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Reversi

Direction keys – Select position.
Set – Place piece.
Display – show about screen.
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Sokoban

Direction keys – move green dot.
Set – Select level
Erase – Restart
Display – Show about screen.
Zoom rocker – undo/redo
Object – Push the orange boxes over the blue dots.
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Debug parameters[]

System utilities and debugging tools.

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Show PropCases

Show Parameter Data

PopCase/ParamsData page

Show misc. values

Memory browser

The above five options relate directly to CHDK development. In general, these options are used by developers, or under developer’s direction, if one is helping you solve a problem.

Benchmark

Will run various benchmarks against your memory card and other parts of the camera.

Dump RAM on ALT +/- press

This is another developer tool.

Make card bootable…

For DIGIC II based cameras, this option will allow CHDK to start automatically when the camera is turned on. After selecting this option turn the camera off then remove the SD card and write protect, or "lock", the card. Reinstall the card. The camera will operate properly and CHDK will start when the camera is turned on.

Create card with two partitions

CHDK cannot self-boot from SDHC flash cards (without formatting them FIRST to Fat16). Any SDHC card greater than 4gb should be partitioned. One solution is to split a 8GB SDHC card into two 4GB partitions. This option will create two 4GB partitions on the SDHC card and allow two installations of CHDK which can self boot.

Swap partitions

This option will swap the partitions created above. When one partition is filled with images you can swap to the other partition and continue recording images.

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