CHDK firmware on my Canon IXUS 800 IS
A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled over the CHDK project where some fine people develop additional firmware for a wide range of Canon digital cameras. Since I call a Canon IXUS 800 IS - also known as Canon SD700 in other parts of the world - my own, I was instantly captivated by the amount of additional features that can be added by means of loading an small piece of software onto my cam. Yesterday, I tried to get it to work and was set up within a couple of minutes.
Some of the new choices I am given are that I can now save pictures in RAW image format (one of the reasons I got myself a Canon EOS350D on ebay a couple of weeks ago), a live histogram appears on the display, the state of charge of my battery is shown, and I can download and apply a large number of user scripts that combine batches of actions and permit to trigger them with a single button. And the best thing: The original firmware does not get overwritten!
Ever since I installed Rockbox on a Sansa digital audio player, I'm a big fan of user-contributed, open source alternative firmware. And this one is no exception, it's simply a glorious extension to my digicam. Let me show you a couple of pics of CHDK's new menu and display options:
