CHDK Wiki
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Welcome to the CHDK Wiki
A wiki dedicated to the CHDK firmware add-on for Canon's Digic II & Digic III cameras!
Unleash the POWER in your "PowerShot!" :)
We are currently supporting over 39 Canon Cameras and about 72 different Firmware Versions in total!
If you have any questions that are not answered in the FAQ section,please visit the Forum or visit us in IRC. Got a bug? Visit the Bugtracker

If you feel the need to express your thanks and gratitude to all CHDK contributors, please click here THANKS!

Notice

This wiki is under heavy DEVELOPMENT. Mind this when you sift the pages. If you find something wrong or want to add information - go ahead and do it, after all - it's a wiki !

Overview of CHDK and what it can do for you & your Canon camera

Quick facts:

  • CHDK is free software – CHDK released under the GPL, allowing you to use it for free, and also create your own modifications.
  • CHDK is a firmware ADDON – CHDK does not replace the original firmware, and does not make any permanent changes to the camera. Instead, it is loaded from the SD card, either at startup or using the built in menu.
  • CHDK – stands for Canon Hack Development Kit;
  • CHDK is experimental and comes with no warranty – Be sure to read the FAQ for discussion of possible risks and impact on your Canon warranty coverage.


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IMPORTANT: The content of this page is outdated.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.


CHDK Features

  • RAW - CHDK can record raw files, giving you access to every bit of data the sensor saw, without compression or processing. Raw files can be manipulated on the camera, or processed on your PC. CHDK supports the open DNG raw standard.
  • Override Camera parameters - Exposures from 2048s to 1/60,000s with flash sync. Full manual or priority control over exposure, aperture, ISO and focus.
  • Bracketing - Bracketing is supported for exposure, aperture, ISO, and even focus.
  • Video Overrides - Control the quality or bitrate of video, or change it on the fly. Extended video clip length - 1 hour or 2GB.
  • Scripting - Control CHDK and camera features using uBASIC and Lua scripts. Enables time lapse, motion detection, advanced bracketing, and much more. Many user-written scripts are available on the forum and wiki.
  • Motion detection - Trigger exposure in response to motion, fast enough to catch lightning.
  • Edge overlay - Detect the edges in a scene, and display them later. Ideal for timelapses, stop-motion, stereography and much more.
  • Live Histogram - CHDK includes a customizable, live histogram display, like those typically found on more expensive cameras. (RGB, blended, luminance and for each RGB channel)
  • Zebra-Mode - Displays under and overexposure areas live on the screen.
  • GRIDS - Create custom grids and display whichever one suits your shooting conditions.
  • Multi-Lingual Interface - CHDK supports about 22 languages, and adding more languages is simple.
  • DOF Calculator - Display detailed DOF information on the screen.
  • Customizable OSD - Improved display of battery status, free space, camera parameters, and much more. Fully customizable with an on-screen editor.
  • Filebrowser - Manage files without a PC.
  • Textreader - Display text files on your camera.
  • Games - Play Reversi, Sokoban, Mastermind, 4-in-a-Row, Tetris, Snake or Sudoku on your camera.
  • Calendar
  • USB Remote - Simple DIY remote allows you to trigger exposures or scripts.
  • PTP Extension - Remote control and display from a PC
  • Benchmark - Compare the performance of your SD cards.
  • User Menu - Edit your own customizable User-Menu for fast access to often used features.
  • Battery Indicator - Always on
  • Ability to control dark frame subtraction
  • there is even more → read the Manual & explore this wiki.

Version Supported Features in CHDK

Values are Y (yes, verified working) N (no, fails to work), - (confirmed as unsupported/unimplemented), ? (unknown status), 123(numbers for foot notes for confirmed details on specific models). This table is new. If you are enjoying CHKD, please help fill in the "?" unknowns.

Version 1.0.0 (obsolete) 1.1.0 (old stable) 1.2.0 (stable)
RAW Y Y Y
DNG 1.1 1.1 & 1.3 1.1 & 1.3
Override Y Y V2 UI
Bracket Y Y Y
Video Override Y Y Y
Scripting Y Y Y
Motion detect Y Y V2
Edge overlay Y Y Y
Histogram Y Y Y
Zebra-Mode Y Y Y
Grids Y Y Y
Multi-Lang Y Y Y
DOF Calc Y Y Y
Custom OSD Y Y Y
Filebrowser Y Y Y
Textreader Y Y Y
Games Y Y Y
Calendar Y Y Y
USB remote V1 V2 V2
SD Benchmark Y Y Y
User Interface V1 V1 V2
User Menu Y Y Y
User Menu Scripts N N Y
Loadable Modules N Y Y
Lua graphics N Y Y
Live Video N Y Y
Script Console V1 V1 V2
Notice

So you want to DOWNLOAD CHDK ? Go visit our Download page. In the downloads often there is a small readme, however you should read through the wiki first to make sure you understand all of this.

News / History

Basic Articles

The basics: how to install and use the CHDK firmware

CHDK Usage Manual 2 - (Allbest Build Addendum)
CHDK Usage Manual 3 - (Most Recent CHDK Addendum)
CHDK has become such a vast effort over the years that many features have been added to the original GrAnd build of CHDK. Today there is only one build, being called "CHDK". It is a compilation of all builds that have come before. Until someone volunteers to compile all the manuals together into one concise CHDK-Manual, you'll have to rely on all 3 of these user-written manuals to effectively use all the features of CHDK.

Advanced Articles

Links

LINKS

If you are interested in the History of CHDK or want to see some interesting links, head on over to the LINKS page. That page should be updated with all the latest and links and stories.

Other Info

Bug tracking and feature requests with Mantis
Change Log / Timeline: https://tools.assembla.com/chdk/timeline
Raw comparison, original "Raw enabler": digicanon.narod.ru
USB Specifications: [3]

Forum Discussions

Got a problem or a question? Please check the FAQ first, but if you're still stumped, try one of these forums. Note: The new CHDK Forum is the most active of the English forums. Dpreview's forum used to be used most in the past. There you'll find the most extensive (English) history of CHDK's development. An active CHDK thread usually still exists at dpreview (thanks, 'zdravko'!) but the dpreview discussions are rapidly losing favor to the new CHDK Forum.
English: The main "CHDK Forum", dpreview.com, s3users.com, TX-1 users CHDK thread
Finnish: Astronetti, Afterdawn CHDK-thread
German: zonebattler's homezone, CHDK-Forum
Italian: HWUpgrade Forum
Japanese: hobby10.2ch.net
Portuguese: digiforum.com.br
Romanian: softpedia.com, fototarget.ro by ursamajor
Russian: forum.ixbt.com - 1, 2
French/Français (G7 only): Topic unique G7 sur HardwareFr
Polish/Polski: canon-board.info, CHDK Motion Detection
English: dPreview History: 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Persian: Can i use RAW format in S3 IS?
Persian 2: CHDK & All about it
Chinese: Discussions on forum.Xitek.com

Other Wikis

Japanese: wiki.fyi.jp, Wikia Japanese version
Russian: tools.assembla.com

Web-sites

Russian chdk.clan.su
Russian (CHDK+ with timestamp) canons5is.clan.su


Articles by categories, Recent wiki changes, Recent changes in discussions, Map of visitors

Supported Cameras

Camera: Firmware Versions

Firmware versions in green are available in stable and/or dev for download
Firmware versions in gray do not have official CHDK releases. Check porting status here
For the development status of not-yet-supported cameras, see For Developers.

Read the FAQ and Firmware Usage articles before downloading appropriate version.

Under Development

Check out the "For Developers" page to see what progress is being made to port CHDK to additional cameras and firmware versions. You'll also find articles describing the porting process there. (Maybe you'd like to help?)


Sample pictures

We couldn't have done it without CHDK...

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