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Is your comment missing? It may have been moved to a subpage of Suggestions. This page is being reorganized.


It seems that some people want to use this wiki to share their ideas and suggest new features for the CHDK firmware. I think it may be good to collect these posts on a dedicated page.
So, if you want to share an idea with us, click the post a new comment button at the top of this page and write away.

Please also have a look at the already Frequently Suggested Features.

You might get a better response at the Feature Requests forum. -- Phyzome 16:59, 18 March 2008 (UTC)



[edit] How about ... (moving mine from another area)

CHDK Wish-List

I've read some posts that had some good ideas, and found some things that I too would like to see CHDK have in the future. Even though CHDK is already a remarkable advancement/improvement, there's always room for more. :)

Suggestions / Wishes:

  • Hacking the firmware of the G7 and or G9 to allow remote software control of the manual focus? This is potentially a PAID modification job for anybody who can do it!! * RyanJDI 21:49, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

What about to make codepage to be the topmost part of the .lng file and then set it automa[tg]ically when setting language?

A uBASIC script command to click the "Movie Record" button on the S3 IS. DONE! :-)

A uBASIC script command to trigger audio-only recordings.

A uBASIC script command for "zoom_to", where you could set it to quickly zoom to a numerical step. The "zoom_in" and "zoom_out" commands are very slow to run in steps. Done! (Build 119's set/set_rel/get_zoom command!)

The histogram having a small grid to show full f/stop regions.

How about an alternate rule-of-thirds grid for the golden ratio. Done! :-)

The time display to show AM or PM for us North Americans. :-) To save space it could be just a dot next to the 12-hour number for PM, it's how lots of clocks do it, we're used to that.

Focus distance and hyperfocal readings to reflect the feet/inches setting of the camera instead of just metric. (some of us still can't wrap our minds around metric estimates, we're old and gray. :) )

More colors to choose from for customizing features, so many are just repeats. And being able to use some of the transparent ones for special effect filters. How about a built-in transparent gray gradient for those over-exposed skies and under-exposed foregrounds?

An audio record-level meter during movie and audio recording modes that shows clipping. (now that would be so cool)

I like OwenJim's rebuilds of CHDK, where I'm able to keep the Blend Histogram showing at all times, as well as removing some redundant info, like the SCR and EXP alerts. The truncated Hyperfocal display option is nice too, but it's nice to have the fuller info displayed at times too.

I read somewhere of people wanting some preset frame overlays for some favorite printing dimensions. I thought that was a neat idea. Making transparent borders for composition assists. Done! :-)

What do you think? Are any of these worth considering for future projects?

And a bug that needs fixing for the S3 IS builds, the Focal-distance doesn't update in Manual Focus, MF, mode like it used to. You have to half-press the shutter to get it to refresh the F value each time you change manual focus.

Keoeeit 10:26, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

("Anon" added the following, I'd know better than to ask this. :-) Keoeeit 01:42, 20 June 2007 (UTC) )

A script to implement a kind of B-pose (I don't know if it's possible but till 5 minutes or so would be great) Maybe it would be realized by setting a long exposure time (say 5 minutes?) during which a second shot will stop the capture. (Just like b-pose mode for DSLR cameras: first shot starts capture, second shot stops it)

Is it possible to have the <ALT> function on an other button on the A710IS? I ask because I use it for underwater photo and the direct print button is not usable in the underwater case, which makes pretty sense because no one would like to print under water... :)


[edit] About dead/hot pixels on the ccd

I know that one can send their camera backed to Canon to have the bad pixels mapped out but what a hassle. Too bad, Canon does not provide an in camera mapping program similar to Olympus so that the mapping could be done by the owner.

I hope CHDK can provide an mapping program to re-map the dead/hot pixels. Thank you very much.

Email: doanythingcn@yahoo.com.cn

It's not the fix that you ask for, but there is a very nice freeware tool available at MediaChance's Digital Camera Tools page. Look at the one called "HotPixels Eliminator". Check out their other free tools there too (just the first 3 or 4 are shareware, the rest are freeware), some of them are very very nice. Keoeeit 00:40, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
There is a new option in Build #144 (and later), in the RAW Parameters menu, turn "Noise Reduction" to always ON. This will perform a dark-frame subtraction at every shutter speed, effectively removing any hot-pixel artifacts. This works for your JPG files whether you have RAW saving turned on or not. It adds a slight delay to every shot (you will see *busy* briefly flash in your EVF/LCD each time) but it's probably a small price to pay for completely clean images.
What about a script command to shoot only a dark frame? Would it make any sense for lightning photography? User could shoot a dark frame e.g. every 2 minutes to use for dark frame reduction afterwards to get good noise reduction and maximum open time for shutter.
Oooo, nice idea! If there was a shoot_df or dark_frame command or something like that. It could be incorporated into scripts that need this. I wonder if that could be done? I was testing my sensor noise tonight to see what I might be up against, and I found that even 15-second exposures are surprisingly quiet even after 5 minutes of shooting. And the few scattered lighter pixels all but disappear at shutter speeds of 2-seconds or faster. Just a few warm ones, even in the RAW images without any interpolation at all. (I lucked out big-time on the sensor that got dropped into my camera. A good batch of chips that day.) So for lightning photography I won't have any problem doing one dark-frame every 5-10 minutes or so, or even if I forget to. But for astrophotography an inserted dark-frame every now and then could be important. I don't want pixels acting like undiscovered stars and asteroids about to impact the earth and setting off a wave of hysteria and end-of-the-world rumors. :) In order to prevent camera movement it would literally have to be the "hat-trick" technique. Holding something over the lens but not touching it. A "dark_frame" command would eliminate that always-awkward solution.

This is done (at least in AllBest build 16).

To use it You have to put text file named "badpixel" (if You are Windows user remember to cut the ".txt" suffix) in chdk forder on Your flash card. File should contain one bad/hotpixel coordinates pair: x,y in each line.

The problem is the coordinates system used. I wasn't able to eliminate any hotpixel manually (please edit if You know how to do it) Instead of using photoshop or gimp to determinate coordinates You can use small program written by (as far as i understand babelfish translation of Russian forum) EWAVR. You can find it with the original post on this page [1]. File is hosted here: [2]. Program is very simple and distributed with source code so You can easely compile it on any platform. To generate hotpixel list take some dark photo (with covered lens), use long exposure time (65sec), save is in raw (crw) format and upload to Your computer. Then open terminal (console/commandline) and run EWAVR program with the dark photo file name as first parameter and exposure tolerance as the second. Try with different tolerance levels , so You don't map all pixels :) Good starting point is 128. Program should write out coordinates of all pixels brighter than the given tolerance level, each one followed by '=' mark and pixel value. Copy just the coordinates list (without '=XXX' tail in each line) to chdk/badpixel file on Your card. After that all the photos taken (crw and jpeg) should have the selected pixels mapped.

For the curious: As i have understood from AllBest source code the mapping mechanism is quite simple: In the post-shoot routine (where the raw file is eventually captured from memory and saved, just before camera software saves image to jpeg file) the bad pixel list is examined. For each pixel on the list its value is overwritten by arithmetic avg. of 4 pixels situated 2 pixels apart from the hot one.(Neighbors in the closest surrounding are not taken for some reason).

Remapping hot pixels in video Is there a way to remap hot pixels when filming video as well?


Tested on Canon S2 IS 1.00e

Thanks for the further testing and clarification in the use of this. There was also some discussion about this on the CHDK Forum in this thread. Including a small script that you can run using UltraEdit on the resulting "badpixel" file to clean up all the "=xxx" lines, and a simpler way to output the file. Eventually this will be covered in the Allbest Firmware Usage page once it's all sorted out. I didn't know about the extra tolerance perameter too, that will come in very handy, as I don't want it to remove warm pixels that can be dealt with in noise removal (I don't want to lose detail), but just the nasty ones. It sounds like, from what you say that this will also be applied to the JPG output as well as the RAW? Or is it just for the JPG output?
Yes, it works for raw files as well as for jpeg files (no matter if You save raw or not).
But capturing the dark frame without covering the lens is still not possible found.


[edit] Enable remote capture on an A610 A630?

Is it possible to modify the firmware so that an A610 A630 can use the remote capture feature (like the A620 A640)?

How can I change size OSD fonts ??

You can change the size of the OSD fonts by choosing a different Menu RBF font. No idea about remote shooting though. Maybe it even has nothing to do with the cam firmware, but with the remote shooting PC software which does not support certain cams. --Harvester 18:15, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
I think it's not a limitation of the software, even a third party software like PSRemote is not able to use the A610.
This is weird due to the fact that A630 and A640 are practically the same camera,
the only difference is that the A640 has a 10Mpixels sensor instead of 8, probably
we should find a way to "advertise" on the PC the cam as a supported one. -- gabriele 14:33, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
See the new builds by Fingalo (on the main page) using features that MX3 and Ewavr designed, which now include Motion-Detection and even the use of a USB cable-release. With those two features included ANYTHING that you've ever wanted to do using remote-capture software with a computer or lap-top can now be done with JUST YOUR CAMERA! :-)
Any new information on this topic? I really would like to use the remote capture feature...


There is a bug. If you switch the screen of A630 of 180 degrees the lcd is all white. The only way you can watch your lcd is to put it back to the regular position.

It's not a bug, it's a feature. See Flash-light option. --GrAnd 15:47, 12 August 2007 (UTC)



[edit] Better video codec

I mean, lower bitrate in 640x480 video recording.

I think this is not possible without changing the original firmware. And even if you would do this, I'm not sure if the Digic II chip is fast enough for this. --Harvester 12:25, 3 June 2007 (UTC)
There is now the new "HiCompressed movie" mode available in all newer builds. See the Firmware Usage, Misc section.

[edit] Hide Icons / Info during playback

Would it be possible to hide all OSD info when in basic playback mode (photo only)? Right now, my battery icon is on in that mode and is a little distracting.

Also, can anything be done to include ISO (in the normal field) in the EXIF data direct out of the camera?

Thank you!

Not quite your question, but there's a shortcut for turning the CHDK OSD off: half shutter press + right. --Harvester 18:15, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Show free card space on OSD

It would be very useful if the OSD could show the remaining space on the card, in units of MiB (since I think that's what the camera already uses, e.g. next to the format option). This would be especially useful when shooting in RAW mode, since RAW makes the remaining pictures count pretty useless. In fact, the position of the free space display could be on top of that counter by default.

Yes, that would be nice :) --Harvester 18:15, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Custom text in image

Some caption, signature or date from textfile.

Regards

zyga

I think this would be complicated to implement. The CHDK perhaps must bring its own jpeg processing engine or one must find a way to make complete use of the original Canon engine. So, I think an implementation is unlikely. I think it would be easier if you would use a batch processing tool on your PC for this. --Harvester 18:15, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Zoom during video recording

Can CHDK enable the optical zoom feature during a movie recording?

Thanks a lot...

No, at least not at the moment. Besides, the zoom motor would make terrible noises in the audio part, the zoom would be very fast with few steps in between (in most movies you see no zoom during scenes, or slow zoom) and zooming perhaps also would mean that the focus have to be re-adjusted (another thing which is not done during filming right now). So, I think an implementation is unlikely. --Harvester 18:15, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
(The comment about noise must be coming from someone who does not have children. / Anonymous)
This is however possible on the S-series cameras using a script, I just tested to see if this would work and it does: 
rem Zoom Vid Test
@title Zoom Vid Test

click "video"
sleep 5000
press "zoom_in"
sleep 2000
release "zoom_in"
sleep 5000
click "video"

end
Keoeeit 12:29, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
Since build #129 it is possible for A-series too. See Zoom-Video script. But it seems still useless due to noise sound during zooming. --GrAnd 06:49, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fill Flash

Is it possible to have an automatic fill-in flash? I'm refering to something like a daylight ballance fill flash.

It really gets anoying when I attempt to use a fill in flash and need to constantly return to the FEC on my Canon Powershot S3-IS and manually change things until I finally get things set right.

Someone wrote a nice fill-flash bracketing script that I collected, but I don't remember where I got it and I don't have their permission to repost it. A fill-flash bracketing option might work in some instances where the subject is still enough while the script is running for multiple-shots. If that would help, you or someone could write one (and post it?). Otherwise, as with all other suggestions, you have to remember that CHDK cannot alter the built-in features of the camera's original firmware (other than the on-screen display features in the EVF or LCD). Or in the case of command-buttons, re-map them to alternate uses of the already available built-in features. Keoeeit 03:56, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
I've written such a script, but it is rather clumsy with lots of clicks and sleeps and so on. It's also written for the A610 and I think one would have to adapt it for the S3. If somebody wants to repost it or write a better version or something like that: please, feel free! :) --Harvester 05:48, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] BULB (moved from another area)

Is it possible to put BULB exposure time feature into CHDK? It would be really a great improvement! For instance for catching thunderbolts or photographing in deep darkness (when you need times like 30" or even 1 min) If it's possible, please put BULB into the new version.

There isn't any way to extend the camera's own built-in limitations for exposure lengths. But you can use CHDK to run one of the many intervalometer scripts. If you set your camera for 15 second exposures, and unlimited number of shots with an intervalometer script, the shutter will be open for 15 seconds for every ~30 seconds. Since lightning flashes are random anyway, you'll still have a 50/50 chance of capturing one during each exposure. Even with another digital camera that I have that allows for 30 second exposures, I've not found any greater chance of capturing a lightning bolt on that longer exposure. You could hold the shutter open for 5 minutes and not get a lightning flash. If you really want to do it right, then get an old film SLR for its Bulb setting. Then you can use very low 25 ISO (ASA) film-speeds and very small f/stops, far beyond what any digital camera can do, to ensure you can keep the shutter open for as long as possible without overexposing the scene, and still capturing lightning flashes. There are some things that digital cameras are not your best option. Another would be a meteor shower, for similar reasons.
Here's a lightning flash capturing tip for you though, watch the lightning flashes, start counting when you see a strong one until you see the next strong one. Now apply that to when to start your shutter. After you see a strong flash start counting, then press your shutter toward the end of the count. Since storms build up their charge just like any capacitor, and since the area in question, and discharge length to the ground are somewhat constant, there is a sort of random-regularity to the discharges. It's no guarantee, but it helps to try time your shutter release to capture the next strong flash. (If you aren't using a continuous intervalometer setting that is.)
Keoeeit 04:25, 29 May 2007 (UTC)
Update - I saw it mentioned in the FAQ section of how to emulate a BULB mode using scripts, and I think that is a great idea. Especially for something like taking lightning shots. Where the actual lightning flash is of such short duration and you could miss it during a dark-frame subtraction routine. Using the new press and release commands I'll write a small "Lightning Photography" script and add it to the scripts section.

[edit] High angle LCD feature

Panasonic camera's have a high angle LCD feature to improve visibility when holding the camera high. This can simply be done by overlaying a light gray transparent colour over the whole display, colour 0xC0 from 'draw palette' works pretty well for instance (in picture taking mode). PTT 10:35, 7 June 2007

The S3 with an articulating display must be using a different LCD type than yours. There's no need for this on the S3, but I thought I'd try it anyway to see what effect it would have, it just made it worse. This is not to say it doesn't work better on other models though. I know from using different LCD displays in the past how a tint or contrast change can drastically alter the low-angle views. Just thought I'd mention that if this is a future feature, that the S3 (or other articulating LCD models) won't be needing it. :-) Neat idea though for those that could use it! (if it actually helps) Keoeeit 02:37, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
I indeed own a A710 IS (and yes, I do mis the flip and tilt LCD screen very much), it also only works when looking from beneath, when looking from the upside it makes it only worse, so maybe the screen on the S3 is mounted 180 degrees. Also the colour palette is different in play mode (where this feature isn't useful). On the S* and A6*0 there is indeed no need for this feature, but for the A5*0 and A710 it is surely useful. PTT 14:01, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More converter options

Make it possible to set the zoom factor of the converter manually, when using a third party converter or digiscoping it's not possible to set the right zoom factor because only there are only three canon options (0.7X, 1.75X and macro) in the menu. I think it's only important for image stabilisation.

[edit] White balance tuning

Make it possible to tune the manual white balance like many DSLR's.

[edit] Some really firmware changing features (a.k.a. impossible)

Better audio quality (than 8bit 11kHz) (+ hardware mod: external microphone)

You must have some other camera model than mine. It goes to 44.1kHz stereo

Refocus during film, maybe this one is even possible (yes, it will give audio noise)

That's what the ultrasonic motors are for in mine, it continually refocusses during video. You can zoom too.

Remote control, triggered by hand clap (wouldn't that be fancy?)

Ah, now this is something you might be able to add. Check out Fingalo's builds on the main CHDK page. Using the remote cable-release feature via USB cable, build a simple sound-sensitive electronic circuit to close a relay when it hears a loud noise.

Fast shooting mode: 2 or 3 frames right after each other, no direct raw conversion/compression (how big is the buffer?). Usable for bracketing, dual flash/no flash shot. Maybe it's even faster to use no shutter, like in movie mode?

Well, the S2 and S3 offer 2.4 frames per second. It sounds more like you need a camera upgrade than a firmware upgrade. :-)

[edit] m-p-bracketing for Canon A710 IS

Hello,

The user script for M-p-bracketing doesn't work on my A710. The two first lines :

REM click "erase" (Originally here, but removed because I can't see why it's necessary) REM click "erase" (same case. What purpose do these statements serve?)


must be changed to this:

click "erase" click "erase"


Now, it works on my A710

BUT

I would like to do exposure bracketing without focusing after every shot. Is that possible? All the bracketing scripts don't work on my A710, except the m-p-bracketing after the removing of the "rem".

Thank you in advance

Best regards


Eddy

[edit] Non-CHDK Request - Video Input Device-Driver?

A program called Cam4you Remote has features to automatically take videos or still-frames when there's motion detected in the field of view of Canon cameras (remote-capture capable ones) hooked up to the USB port. In order to do this it uses the video-signal from the EVF display (no icons or anything showing in the display, all the zoom, white-balance, and other features are operable through PC control). I boot up this program, and then using the screen-capture options of WebCamMax I am able to use my S3 IS as a webcam. Using Cam4you Remote's advance video-processing and camera-option features I am able to use the zoom, white-balance, set brightness, contrast, even saturation and hue, or gray-scale the image as a video-input device (with WebCamMax's screen-capture overlay utility). Since Cam4you Remote is not using the CCD signal (just the EVF display) it doesn't seem to overheat the camera for extended use or anything.

What are the chances that you smart people that have made CHDK can write a video-capture driver to make the S-series and A-series cameras act as a video-input device? Granted the resolution will be limited to the EVF resolution, but it's still an exceptionally nice image. Considering that I can use the remote-zoom, white-balance, and exposure settings on it (as in Cam4you Remote) it could be nice added function to everyone who owns one of these cameras.

If you are looking for another project to do when you need a distraction from CHDK on occasion, this would be a nice one!! :-) Keoeeit 00:34, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

p.s. Part of the reason I ask, is that WebCamMax has a fun face-detection algorithm in it. It uses this to track a face and automatically resize and position an overlay of funny glasses, hats, wigs, and things on any face that it sees in the video signal. This feature in WebCamMax only works with an actual video-input device, it can't use it in the screen-capture overlay mode. I can play with this with a web-cam, but not my S3 IS. :-)

[edit] JPEG2000

Add support for JPEG2000 (Directly from the RAW data). In case there is a preformance problem with it, you can consider to do it in two step. 1. Copy the image to a raw file in a temporary direcory. 2. When the camera is not in use, convert the files in that direcory to JPEG2000

I think this is beyond the capabilities of the processor and/or free device space - I've heard the JPEG2000 en/decode algorithm is very complex. -Mark.

[edit] Improvement feature on CHDK

How about having a feature which allows the saving of all user parameters (for the OSD layout and the visual settings of CHDK) into an independent file? This file can then be copied into any additional SD cards for use on the same camera.

The benefit of this is the user will not need to manually program all the settings everytime he buys a new SD card. All he needs to do is to 'recall' the saved settings from that file. This extra menu option should be just after 'Restore Default settings' called 'Load User Settings'.

Hmm... I do not understand why you just do not copy CHDK/CHDK.CFG file or whole CHDK folder from an old SD-cart to the new one? --GrAnd 12:08, 12 June 2007 (UTC)
You're right, GrAnd! I didn't know you could copy & use that file on another SD. How about putting this info in our FAQ section? It would be useful for newbies.

[edit] Accelerating Script-Parameter Number Input

With some of the new features like set_focus, the input being in mm only, it will become rather difficult to set focal distances of something like 58 meters. When the user has to scroll through 58,000 numbers to get there.

I propose that when you hold down the left/right buttons that as soon as the number reaches 10 it starts to increment by 10's, then when it reaches 100 it starts to increment by 100's, and then again for 1000's.

Otherwise it's going to eat up 4 of the 10 user-available variables for scripts. With only 26 variables to work with in-total this is going to limit what can be done otherwise.

Or can you increase the number of @param variables and/or increase overall variables to 2-letters?

I was thinking about working on an OMNI-Bracketing script (mentioned on Scripts Page 02 discussion), but I can see it won't be very easy to do, or nearly impossible, with the allowed variables the way things are now.

(And ... thanks again for the great new features!)

Keoeeit 08:53, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vertical Panorama?

What I really miss wrt to my small Pentax 43WR camera is the ability to select also vertical direction in stitch assist (landscape position). In the camera, only horizontal directions (left/right) can be selected. The ability to use vertical direction is most useful in taking a photograph (or panorama as you like) of eg a tower or within a gorge!

Any ideas whether this is possible?

Which camera doesn't support this? In my S3 IS I already have the option of sequencing up or down, and left or right, and then a 4-panel layout. But even so, I don't think it could be done, because I'm pretty sure the panorama stitching assist is an integral part of the original firmware. CHDK has never been able to touch that, it can only help to automate already existing functions. You really don't need this though, I've been taking panorama photos since my Fuji Finepix (1600x1200) days. It's pretty easy to remember where you left off on the last frame, just make sure they overlap by about 1/3rd to 1/5th each time. Come to think of it, it's so much easier to just do a panorama by eye-sight instead of using stitch-assist that the last 3 times I made a panorama I totally forgot my camera had that feature and I never even used it. I guess I could try it sometime. But all that futzing around with a mode-dial to get to something I can do freehand seems like a waste of time. Plus, when I did test stitch-assist when I first got the camera, the overlap was so great from one frame to the next I felt like it was wasting valuable image real-estate. I like my panorama panels to contain more image than the camera's stitch-assist overlap takes away. They really should allow a person to set how much overlap they need and want. But I digress. Keoeeit 01:57, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, in my A640 I only got the option of moving left or right. I just read the (advanced) manual again and there also only left or right as a moving direction is stated... Perhaps I need to get out op P mode or something? Too bad it is not something that can be made possible using CHDK. Thanks for your comments and ideas though!


Well, did you tried to turn your camera and head 90* left or right and horizontal becomes vertical and vv...



[edit] help offering, for a canon A550 port

hi, I own a new canon A550... I offer my help in porting the code to this camera... I mean, I don't know where to start, but I would willingly follow any instructions/suggestions (I have knowledge about programming/*nix/binary editing/"not too hard" reverse-engeneering)... I haven't found the dumper that seems to be once available in the past (http://vitalyb.mail333.com/hdk/dumper/)

Even just the "raw" feature would be great...

for any contact: idleloop*at*hotmail.com

bye

[edit] help offering, for a canon SD950 IS port

Similarly I own an SD950-IS and I have similar experience capabilities and would like to help port to the SD950 IS camera (similar to the A650)

for any contact: jeffw*at*csun.edu

[edit] Named parameter values

It would be nice to have named parameter values.

Example: 

@param a Macro mode
@default a list "normal" "normal","macro","super"

would let the user decide between three named values, with "normal" as the default. The variable would actually be set to 1, 2, or 3 based on the position of the parameter selected.

This would allow people to script past things like manually entering a focal range of 12.8m in mm, instead a series of preset positions could be made available. HighInBC 16:25, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Another neat idea, but I think this could be done in a script with the new wait_click and is_key x commands. I was going to implement something similar in my OMNI-bracketing script (which I've since stopped working on until the gurus work out the focusing steps and what they mean). You could have them select an option right in the viewfinder while the script is running. If you just want to scroll through some options then have it wait for a "right" key, and every time they press it it increments a variable like a=a+1, if a=2 (for example) then a subroutine or setting for a=2 would be used in the script. Cycle the option numbers by just using a script line of, if a=4 then a=0, to start it over again. Each time they click the right key it would print to the viewfinder console what selection they made. This method also circumvents the 10 param variable limit for user-input. Just another way to go about it. I almost like this better than setting it beforehand when you first run a script, because the option selections are right in the viewfinder while you are taking photos, rather than having to remember what you set before running a script. Just my 2-cents on the issue. Keoeeit 01:39, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Zebra mode superimposed on existing OSD and battery icon

It would be nice if the zebra mode did not cause the existing camera OSD (shutter speed, aperture, etc.) to disappear when uder/over exposed areas are indicated. At least in the A610 zebra mode and camera parameters cannot appear at the same time.

Also nice would be if the battery icon is not shown during playback mode. It is distracting. Speaking of battery icon, when the screen display is mirrored (such as when turning the screen towards the front for self-shooting, the battery icon is also mirrored. It shouldn't.

When in playback mode, just enter <ALT> mode, half-press the shutter button and press the right key, you can toggle the OSD icons off and on this way. I've seen others suggest that reversing text and display thing in the LCD, but I don't quite understand this request. You can enable or disable reversing display in your camera's option setups. And since the ONLY time that's even used is when you are using it to compose a self-shot, usually from so far away from the camera that you can't even read the text let alone see the itty-icon info ... what's the point? Do you need to read it while you are taking a photograph of your eye? :-) If that's the only time, then ... I'd tell GrAnd to not waste his time on this. Keoeeit 02:09, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
Not exactly what I was asking. I was not referring to the CHDK OSD in zebra mode but to the parameters and info the camera normally displays such as WB, ISO, flash mode, focus points, aperture, shutter speed, picture count... you get the point. When zebra mode is enabled it causes the camera display (as opposed to OSD in your usage) to disappear whenever over/under exposed areas are indicated. It would be nice if this could coexist with what's already there. About the mirrored display, the image is reversed when the screen is flipped out and to the front to show a mirror image and make self-shooting easier. The camera info (same as I was referring to before) is not mirrored. However the entire CHDK OSD is mirrored (not just the battery icon). It just happens that for me the most convenient location for the battery icon is on the lower right corner just above the pictures remaining counter. When the screen is flipped the icon appears on top of the information shown in the left side. Self-shooting can also be made at arm's length too... and a reversed histogram is confusing.

[edit] recording movie in WS mode, possible ? using script

Just a thought, is it possible to record movie in wide-screen mode?. I guess its just add black bars on top and bottom, and could be possible using script.

Any thoughts ?

Neat idea! My first thought was, "Nah, I don't think this would be possible. That's a firmware issue." Then I started to think ... the video recording gets its signal off of the EVF/LCD display data! The same thing that GrAnd is tweaking for all the OSD elements displayed. So? ... Maybe this would be possible? Then I started thinking all kinds of effects might be applied to the video feed if this is true. Otherwise, best bet is to use any post-processing editor to crop and convert your images to other video ratios. I use Virtual Dub (amazing freeware from VirtualDub.org) for all my video editing needs. With all the dozens and dozens of plugins that users have written for it, you can make a video do darn near anything. Not all of the plugins are at the main site, you have to google to find them, hundreds of links show up. Keoeeit 16:47, 21 June 2007 (UTC)
Nope. The EVF/LCD display gets the data from sensor. Video recording also works with senser data directly. So, any changes on the screen have no effect in video data. --GrAnd 16:56, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, i know virtual-dub past 5yrs, hv been using it for dvd-xvid conversion! with GK. fisrt i thought of same to post process it in VD, but my corping may screw up the image, means i may cut of somebodies head, if i hd the black bars right on LCD while recoding, then i could frame it so i dont cut somebodies head :)

Just record using the new graphic overlay feature, you can put white lines that show you where the black bar will be and you can just shoot with that in mind. Or even black bars I guess. They will not show up in the recording but will provide an aide to you when shooting. HighInBC 13:41, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Has anyone Googled for CHDK lately? Wow!

I was curious to see if there were any other sites online posting scripts, so I input chdk scripts canon into Google to see what would show up. Word sure has spread far and wide. Some interesting comments out there, lots of people hoping that Canon would make things like scripting as a basic feature in all their advanced cameras, or to at least keep their firmware open to 3rd-party add-ons like CHDK, with documentation freely available to developers. (I sure hope some Canon rep passes on the Tele-Macro bug that I found to their firmware authors. Whatever lens element that script-bug is moving turns their 12x zoom into a phenomenal new macro lens! Far surpassing anything that Canon has done with that optics design. I just want to be able to implement it safely!) Keoeeit 16:46, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 640 x 480 at 60 fps?

I have the Canon S3 IS. I was wondering if it would be possible to extend the movie/video mode to include a 640 x 480 60 frame per second option?

Thanks!

I would also suggest 640 x 480 at 25 fps. This is a very common frame rate: the rate of PAL TV and video.


Yes, I absolutely agree with you. It's a bit annoying that no one Canon camera doesn't support PAL frame rate.

Btw, if CPU is not capable of producing 60fps, 50fps still will be great.

Thanx

[edit] Longer voicecomment?

I have Canon A710IS. Would it be possible to make longer than 60 seconds voicecomment? Or movie without any picture, just voice? Just to use it like taperecorder.

I don't know, but alternatively you could set the video quality to 1... -Mark

[edit] Variable Speed Zoom

As I mentioned in the previous post, I have the Canon S3 IS. I was wondering if it would be possible to extend the zoom feature from two speeds (fast and slow) to include more increments? For example, Super Slow, Slow, Medium, and Fast.

Thanks Again!

[edit] Translation

Hi! I've translated english.lng to Polish. Where can I send the language file? --Gophi 15:27, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Polish version already exists in this wiki. If you have a modification (e.g., new lines was added by new CHDK build), just edit the current one. --GrAnd 18:27, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Hi, I'd like to konw if this Wikia is alredy translated to spanish. Or if is any other site offering some info in spanish. I tried googling, but i couldnt find any. If it is not alredy done I could do it. Maybe to french or italian if i have the time. Just let me know if u interested: diegho_at_argentina_com The problem would be the updates....this wiki way is a bit difficult to follow..

[edit] After dark frame subtract

Hello and thank you a lot for all your work and efforts with CHDK. I'm a happy user of CHDK. I'm currently using the latest version (test1-pre12 #129) on my Canon Powershot A710 IS. Yesterday I tried some long-exposure evening/night shots, ranging from 1 sec up to 15 sec in manual mode. CHDK was correctly loaded and "after dark frame subtract" was enabled. Other enabled features in the RAW menu where: "save RAW" (of course), "only first RAW in series", and "RAW file in dir with JPEG". I got no E16 error on my camera. After uploading the shots in my PC and converting the .CRW files to .DNG with "DNG for Powershot 1.1.4", I used Raw Therapee 2.1.1 to "develop" the .DNG files. The results were quite noisy (bright white/red pixels scattered over all the pictures) just as if there had been no dark frame subtraction at all. On the contrary, the corresponding JPG pictures had no such bright pixels. It seems that dark frame subtraction worked for the JPG files but not for the RAW files. Could you please fix this? Thank you in advance. Regards, Enrico - Italy.

I am also curious as to how dark frames work with this add-on. HighInBC 12:55, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Support for DIGIC III

Is anybody out there working on DIII support for CHDK? With DIII getting more and more popular, why not?

[edit] The new "Grids" feature is GREAT!! But ...

Thanks so much for that grids option. And even better that anyone can design any composition aids they want!

But ... I think it needs ONE final touch ... a shortcut button to toggle the grid on and off. Since half-press + left, up, and right are already used. How about half-press down? :-) (I'd add something to the usage page about how to write your own, but I'm not too sure how the elps (ellipse?) works. We might need a separate grids tutorial page, like the nice one Harvester made for fonts. With some samples and images.) Keoeeit 15:28, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

The shortcut half-press + down is already used by original firmware on A-series (MFLock).
'elps' is ellipse, right. x0, y0 - center; rx, ry - two radiuses (See Ellipse; a&b on the picture). If rx equals ry, it will be a circle. --GrAnd 18:19, 23 June 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification. I started a page already for Grids, hoping someone can write a nice tutorial for it. As for a shortcut, how about ... Each press of one of the other shortcut buttons could cycle through some options? Like Half-Press + Right = OSD + Grid Off. Press again, OSD On, Grid Off. Press again, OSD Off, Grid On. Press again, OSD On, Grid On. Would something like that work? But that could get really annoying I guess if you just wanted to quickly turn the grid on or off. Hmmm.... Or is thare another button that's still free somewhere between A & S series? Then too, now that I made my own grid in milder line-colors (the golden3.grd one), I might just leave it on all the time, so toggling a grid on and off might not be that important. Thanks again for adding such an amazing feature! It'll be neat to see what other grids people come up with. Keoeeit 19:05, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] File Number Set/Reset

Somehow my file numbering got reset back to zero (or rolled around back to zero) I'd like to be able to set the number manually back to a number that I can define. Really, after reviewing the situation, I bet it wrapped? Is there anyway to alter the counter to support more than 9999...say 5, 6, 7 digits (Canon 610)? Or perhaps change the prefix (like you can with RAW)? --76.210.119.60 02:36, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

The easiest way to reset your file-numbering to any number that you want is to put an image back into the most recently used image folder (i.e. /DCIM/112CANON/IMG_XXXX.JPG) and changing the file-name number to the last number used. The XXXX should be the last number you want to start it to count from. The camera will detect this file and starting incrementing up from this last-used number. This works on most any digital camera, even my very first 1600x1200 Fuji that I own. Just be sure you have your file-numbering set to "Continuous" and not "Auto Reset" so it will pick up where the last one left off instead of creating a new folder and starting at IMG_0000.JPG again. I use this method if I ever have to do a full-reset or forget to change something and the numbering gets screwed up. I don't think there's much that can be done about allowing the file-number to be higher than the 9999 limit built into the firmware. I just keep track of how many 10,000 photos I've taken by my backups. Though I can see how the high-speed burst mode of these cameras is going to make my numbers roll-over more often than in the past. :-) Keoeeit 18:50, 27 June 2007 (UTC)
Prior to my current Canon A610 I had a Kodak Easyshare camera that used a numbering scheme that didn't roll over completely. It started at 100_0001.JPG and when it rolled over after 9999 it continued with 101_0001.JPG so you never had two pictures having the same number. Could something like that be worked out?

[edit] Auto-Cancel Review Wait Period on Zoom

One of the only annoyances remaining (thanks to the efforts of this group) in my Canon610 is when "Review" mode is on. It prevents the user from preparing/zooming for the next shot until the review wait period is over. That would be great to adhere to the review wait period, but if the user begins to zoom, simply cancel out of the period. --76.210.119.60 02:36, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

You can disable the review, and keep the shutter release button pressed as long as you want to review, or pres 'Set' to lock the review. It works very good. PTT

[edit] Support for smaller Powershots?

I have a SD550 and SD630. Any chance these may be supported in the future? They are all DIGIC II based.

Thanks!

I just want to second this request for the SD630 specifically. Thanks!

[edit] Fonts Display Tweak?

When making some of the grid masks for cropping areas, I wanted to make a universal cropping mask by defining the areas with different colored lines instead of grayed-out borders. For example: blue lines would be for 5:3.5 ratio, green lines for 16:9 ratio, etc. One grid file that could define all possible crop ratios. Then I wanted to create an itty-bitty label by each one so I could remind myself what each color stood for. A small "16:9" in the same color as, and displayed near, one of those particular pair of lines. I thought about using the @line commands to draw each character, but .... tedious to say the least, and moving a small snippet of text to a better location could take even more tedious coordinate editing. Would it be possible to have a font display option in the grid commands? With a user selectable size? I know that that "MS Reference" font that I've been using for my text-reader can be displayed in very very small sizes and still be legible. I'm just not sure something like this would be worth if for all the programming you might have to do. In lieu of that I suppose I could write an accompanying script that would just print what each color means, that could be run to remind myself before use. A clunky work-around but also do-able.

Also, would it be possible to have colored fonts in the script print "text here" command? Something perhaps along the lines of how mIRC does it for IRC? A simple CTRL-KEY code for various colors? That could save on lots of script space. Maybe ones for bold or reverse too? It would be nice to have important instructions or values highlighted for quicker recognition of them.

These aren't really important. And as for fonts in the Grids, they could be drawn with the line commands if I really need them, I just thought they'd be nice little touches to some already amazing programming. Keoeeit 19:11, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Some stupid ideas

- What about a in-camera raw development? First shoot raw, at the end of the day convert to JPEG (or other compressed format) with optional parameters.

- What about MJPEG to DIVX/XVID/H.264 conversion? It probably won't be possible to do this in real-time, but would be useful to reduce memory card usage at the end of the day (e.g. long trip with no laptop).

- Is there any information how the DIGIC-II is organized. Are there co-processors (e.g. DSP for JPEG-Compression)? What is the performance of the ARM-Core? I guess if most of the computational intensive work is done by coprocessors, the implementation of computational intensive tasks that i have suggested will be either very complicated or very ineffective. Btw. were is the firmware dumper code? I can't find it anymore. -- Insane 16:51, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

okay...all this looks good but is there going to be a port for the S80??

[edit] Port for S80?

Great little camera but needs RAW...what chance???

I would like to add my support for a port to the S80. I think the porting may be too involved for me but I would gladly help in testing if that would help. try david(dot)wilde(at)tetrapak(dot)com if you could use some help. Dave

[edit] Save all pictures as raw in stitch assist mode

Hello,

I think that even if the option "Only first RAW in series" is set, it has to be ignored when composing a panorama with the "stitch assist" mode. I suppose it cannot be difficult to implement, because we can know the selected mode in the dial, am I wrong?

What do you think?

[update] though I have not had the time to set up the compiling environment, I think that something like 

   m = mode_get();
   if(m&MODE_SHOOTING_MASK)!=MODE_STITCH){
   // got here second time in a row. Skip second RAW saving.
   if (conf.raw_save_first_only && state_shooting_progress == SHOOTING_PROGRESS_PROCESSING) {
       return 0;
   }
   }

added add the beginin of raw_savefile() in raw.c might do the trick.

[edit] Light Meter

Hi, I'm a large format photographer, (and a computer scientist, and sick C programmer). Anyways, since I'm an intern, I'm po'. I also wanted a p&s camera because I was sick of haulin' my d70 around. So here's what I am doing. I am going to mod the software so it can be an advanced light meter. This is practical, right? I mean we already have access to the histogram.

I mean I'd rather pay ~220 for a camera that has camera capabilities than 400 for a spot meter. I got an A710 IS by the way. Hope it's good.

Has this been done already, is there any work being done on it. Would anybody else be interested in this work?

Thanks, Mike

I'm not entirely sure what you intend to do, but I was thinking about an advanced HDR script which pulls the histogram and then decides whether another darker/lighter image should be taken, so at the end of the exposure-bracketed sequence, the entire dynamic range is covered. Not exactly 'light metering', but the basic principle might be the same or similar.

Blumpsy

[edit] What about adding 12.5 , 25 or 50 fps video modes for the european folks?

Currently all nearly digital still cameras only provide 15, 30 (and/or) 60fps video modes.

This isn't compatible to any video standard at all. (NTSC is 59.94 fps and PAL is 50fps).

(At least it is more compatible to NTSC than to PAL)


A conversion of these videos to PAL will result in a great drop in motion quality (jerkyness)

Would it be possible to add 12.5, 25 and 50 fps modes to the CHDK?

This also could reduce processing time within the DIGIC-II while filming... (and reduce file size, or improve image quality keeping bit rate)

[edit] ZOOM POSITION WITH LENS CONVERTER

display the zoom value when using a converter (tele or wide). multiply the value by the converter factor (0.5, 0.8, 1.5, 2, 3, etc)

[edit] Canon HV20 firmware hack

Is there also a firmware hack for the Canon HV20 camcorder? We need manual controls for iris and shutter. Also if the image could be flipped & mirrored would be fine to use with depth of field adapters.

[edit] S80 Raw Plea

Is there anyone working on RAW for th

Even without the other wonderful features of CHDK, the addition of RAW alone could turn this camera into perhaps the best and most flexible pocketable IQ available. I own and enjoy the G7 and A640 with CHDK, but Canon went one step too far in pixel density with these cameras, and they lack true WA.

MANY THANKS !!

[edit] Draw zebra with Color Swap feature

When using the zebra in record mode it lags behind quit a bit, it would be great to use a direct function such as the color swap function for it. There are property cases for the colors and tolerances, I don't know wether the MyColors Property Case enables it directly if you set it to Color Swap. PTT 01:07, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A710IS : Add a focus step (or two or three) between 5ft and infinity?

The A710IS' focus, at the most distant end, jumps from 5 feet to infinity.

The camera can't focus sharply enough on anything in between to take advantage of the quality of RAW files. Even with JPEG files of any reasonable quality, the blurring that results from misfocus in this range is evident from a casual glance at the pictures, even at low enlargement.

Is it possible to add another focus step between 5 feet and infinity, in CHDK? More than one added step would be preferable. If it can't be done in CHDK, then Canon should revise the firmware for the camera.

R. Clark Seattle, WA

Yes, every possible focus step is available (addressable) via CHDK. Read the usage docs for the "set_focus" command. ~Russ

After some further use, I think it's better for the moment to to stop using manual focus, because even though that prevents the focus from shifting around somewhat from shot to shot, the tiny low res LCD display and the coarse built-in focus steps make it much less usable than a typical SLR with split image focusing.

A new manual focus function with continuously variable focusing and a much magnified whole-screen focusing image would help considerably. Using the whole screen for precise manual focusing would be an improvement, even though it would take a button push to toggle between the focusing screen and seeing the entire image. The present method of magnifying a small center square by about 2x is very much less effective than that would be. I don't know what the optimum magnification would be, but ideally that would be user settable.

[edit] S3 IS settings tip: <ALT> toggle on ISO button

When we were given the wonderful option to choose which button to use to toggle <ALT> mode on and off I chose the [FLASH] button. Just out of habit because I was using that so much in the beginning to enter and exit <ALT> mode safely with earlier builds of CHDK.

Today I was testing out some of the new features that were recently added and ran across that Misc Stuff > ALT Mode Button option again and .... it dawned on me ... how many freakin' times do I accidentally press that ISO button and accidentally change the ISO? Then I have to press it 7 MORE TIMES to put it back like I hat it! GRRRRR!!! Well, with the ALT mode enter/exit feature where you have to hold down your chosen button slightly longer to use its original purpose ...

Putting ALT toggle on the ISO button solves, what I found to be, a REALLY annoying problem on my S3. Now if I accidentally hit the ISO button it only enters and exits <ALT> mode. If I really want to change the ISO then I hold it down a bit longer. What a relief! :-)

Accidentally changing ISO sucks, you think you have this wonderful picture and it is all noise when you get it home. HighInBC 12:27, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
Ooops, there's one huge drawback. On the S3 IS the camera has a built-in shortcut using half-press + ISO button to engage AE-Lock. This allows you to alter the automatic exposure setting by toggling through equivalent shutter-speeds and f/stops (with left/right buttons) so the exposure remains the same but for various needs. (DOF changes, or motion blur priorities, etc.) When the <ALT> toggle is set to the ISO button this no longer works. Even if you hold in the ISO button longer to bypass the <ALT> toggle. Ah well. :-( I wonder if there's a way for CHDK to remedy this? Where the <ALT> toggle would become disabled during a half-shutter press? I guess its not a big issue, but now I've had to remap my <ALT> toggle to another button yet again (using "timer" for now to see if that is free and clear of other crossed conflicts).

[edit] The clock display

The S3is supports a 'World' time as well as the 'Home time'. Each of these can in turn be set to 'summer' (daylight saving) or 'winter' time. These time values get written to the EXIF metafile for each image.

Unfortunately CHDK's clock isn't aware of this feature and always displays the 'winter' Home time regardless of the settings.

CKDK's clock would be more useful for those of us who travel frequently if it could be forced somehow to display the same time value that the camera uses.

Thanks


Adding a related problem.

When shooting in RAW using an S3 IS, the CRW file and the corresponding JPG file got different file creation times. The JPG is created using daylight saving time (currently active in this time zone), whilst the CRW is created using the standard time.

Thanks ~Cactus

[edit] Switching of Display while executing script

hi! it would be cool if there was a way to completely switch of the display of the Canon IS3 while executing a script (for example intervalometer..) for saving battery power not just the external display, but the one inside the camera also (when you look trough the seeker).

This ability is already present as an option. Read the docs for the "click" command: CHDK uBasic tutorial Your script will execute a line containing the instruction click "display" by simulating a keypress on that button.

Bear in mind that the DISPLAY button cycles through various states (vs just toggling on/off). Before starting your script, you will need to assure that the next click (a single click of the Display button) will have the desired result. Also, at the tail-end of your script, you may want to include command lines (2 additional clicks?) to return the display to the "state" in effect when the script started. ~Russ

[edit] Automatic Subject-Size Scale?

Okay, here's one that I wish a camera had, and it's quite possible to do on any digital camera, BUT ... I doubt it can be done with CHDK. What a boon to the macro-photography world it would be if it could though.

Often, very often, when taking macro-photos of insects, plants, wild-flowers, small reptiles, etc. it is almost a necessity to know their size (sometimes to within a millimeter) for later identification purposes. Sometimes their size will even be the ONLY determining factor of which of two look-alike species they might be. (I ran into this once with some small beetles, luckily I was able to photograph them again with a ruler to find out they were the extremely rare "compact" size ones. The common ones being 9-11mm, the rare ones being 6-7mm.) I always carry some disposable rules in inches and centimeters in my camera bag. IF I remember I'll put one in the FOV in one of the shots so that I can document the subject's size. Or if I forget to bring a rule along I'll throw down a coin, bic-lighter, some paper currency, anything that I can photograph along with the subject that has a known size so I can later measure the subject from the known item for reference. This of course all depends on the subject staying still long enough to accomplish this. Guess how many times the subject is never still enough? And guess how many times I forget to include some size reference? A LOT!

How wonderful it would be if I could just toggle on a button to automatically insert a small scale in the corner of the image, determined by the lens' focal-length, zoom-factor, and in-focus distance of the subject.

If you could make something like that? You'd be forever in the debt of every macro-photographer and research scientist on the planet!

Sayyyyy...... I just thought of something ... maybe this is already possible with CHDK as is? Is it possible to write a script where when a photo is taken, a text file is written with the corresponding image-file number, and in that text file the focus distance, zoom-factor, etc. could be recorded, or even have the size scale all figured out for you? The text file could simply be something like "img_0065.txt" with a line of 200 pixels = 12.3mm, or whatever would be a good equivalent for that subject. Is this possible???

[edit] Shutter speed and EV meter

First of all I would like to say that CHDK is great! I use it only my A640 :)

Is it possible to increase the shutter speed above 1250 with F2.8 ? This would allow for fast action shots with a reasonably high amount of light. There is not much use for a 1/2500 shutter speed if all of your pictures come out dark due to little light  :)

Is it possible to get Av mode to take pictures longer than 1 second? Often I want to take pictures in the dark, and would like to have this done automatically instead of playing with the shutter speed all the time.


Is it possible to change the EV meter to show values higher/lower than +2/-2 ? Sometimes for exposure bracketing, I would like to manually select an EV of +3/-3 for example.

That's it for now  :)

[edit] Intervalometer extensions + indicated light

It would be great if there is an indicated light for each shot.

[edit] Auto shooting / Motion-Detection

I mean a camera can take pictures by itself when object is in focus range (like some DSLR) or when degree of light change (like people walk through the frame, someone turn on the light, or lightning?) Can we get some retrieve information from histogram?

Motion-detection might be beyond the scope of what CHDK can be made to do. (Or is it?? If not, this would be a fantastic addition!) In the meantime, check out this section of the FAQ. The program Cam4You Remote has motion-detection built-in. But it requires that your camera is hooked up to a computer to run it.
If CHDK can be made to do motion-detection, I would LOVE to see this! If it can detect over and under-exposure areas with the Zebra feature, I wonder why it couldn't be made to detect changes in the scene too. I foresee a little script command like "wait_change x" where you set a level of change in the EVF, setting it's sensitivity with the variable x. Think of the remote-triggering possibilities with this too! You could shine a little light or something from the edge of the FOV to make it act like a cable release. All sorts of possibilities with something like this.
I tried making a motion-detection script using the available script commands. My try is on the scripts discussion page here. But it's not working. Perhaps if someone sees this and can offer their input it could be made to work? I can get it to auto-trip the shutter if I put the script on pause by exiting <ALT> mode, then switching to a mode on the mode dial where I manually change the Tv and Av values, then reenter <ALT> mode to resume the script. As soon as the script resumes it takes an image, just as it should when either Tv or Av changes values. It just won't do it on its own using the camera's automatic exposure settings.

[edit] Higher quality JPG processing

I have noticed that A710's firmware JPG images have more artifacts and lower quality than the same or smaller file size JPGs created with Photoshop or ImageMagick from RAW originals. There isn't much quality loss from RAW to JPG if a high enough quality is specified in ImageMagick. This is a very visible improvement compared to the in-camera generated JPGs.

It's undoubtedly because of the need for very fast saving of the JPG images. Could anyone estimate how many seconds a higher quality JPG processing routine would require when run on the Digic II?

Adding an option for very high quality JPGs, of near-RAW quality, in addition to the modest-quality native JPGs, often might be a worthwhile choice as an alternative to RAW files. This is especially true of taking pictures of events where post-processing time is very limited or almost unavailable before the pictures must be ready.

[edit] S3 IS: possible bug

I was just trying out some self portraits on my S3 IS and noticed that with CHDK enabled, the LCD just turns white when you flip it around. ie. when it's supposed to invert the screen, it doesn't and just shows a white screen. I turned of CHDK and everything worked again. Thanks

Like Bill Gates would say, "That's not a bug, that's a feature!" :-) Seriously, it is a feature of CHDK. Look in your MISC menu for "Flashlight" and turn that off. When it's enabled the LCD turns all white when flipped forward so you can better focus and compose your subject for macro shots in dim lights or light your way in the dark when you're being chased by bears. :-)
Sweet! That's really fun... the problem is, with the screen like that, there's no way to frame a picture, since the EVF is still turned off. Also, when taking a picture with the screen flipped, the screen goes black during the exposure anyway, so there isn't actually any extra lighting for the picture. Maybe some things to consider for the next version :)
Yes, I failed to mention this little catch-22. :) The original idea was nice though. I still think it's a fun little novelty. If you ever want a flashlight in colors (say, red to preserve night-vision when looking at your star-charts), just use the color palette browser in CHDK. In any case, it still might save you from being eaten by a bear!

[edit] Using the S3 IS sound-recorder

How about making use of the S3 IS brilliant audio recorder fx. record audio when a shot is fired, or even better: record sound when first shot is fired, and continue until termination of the script.

For some reason I don't think they can enable the sound-record feature, it's been asked in the past. But what you can do is write a small script to take your shot then to enable video-recording at the lowest possible resolution. Yes, it'll take up extra space, with the video stream, but not as much as you'd think compared to audio-only at its highest sampling rate. And with SD cards being so cheap there's lots of room to play with. Record the sound that way and strip it out of the low resolution video later with all manner of video-editing programs. Some are even written just to rip sound-tracks out of videos. It still records 44kHz sampled sound (if you have it set to that) even at 320x240 and 15 fps. ... Doesn't it? I think it does. I'm almost sure it does. I was planning to use this method when and if I need to enable sound recording by CHDK script. Test it and let us know how it work