The Canon Camera Hackers Manual addresses “geeky” owners of Canon consumer cameras, such as the Powershot and IXUS, who would like to explore the possibilities of their cameras and eventually tweak them to do things way beyond their original specifications.

The hacks are based on the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK), free software maintained by a group of enthusiasts. Many scripts are already published on the web, and this book teaches how to use existing scripts and how to write new ones.

Canon cameras allow the user to temporarily upload so-called add-ons into the camera through the memory card. The next time the camera is powered on, the add-on is active; when the camera is switched off, the camera returns to its original state, so there is no risk of losing the manufacturer’s warranty.

Some of the things you will be able to do are:

- Produce RAW (or DNG) files in addition to the camera’s JPEG output
- Manually control aperture, shutter speed, and ISO
- Expand shutter speeds way beyond the specification limits
- Enable bracketing

Target group:

• Photographers, Programmers

Author / Authors:

Berthold Daum studied photography in Melbourne and has both exhibited and published his images of Australia's natural beauty.

He also holds a Ph.D in mathematics and is a professional Java and XML developer. Dr. Daum specializes in innovative electronic business technology and electronic content production. His experience in software training and ability to anticipate the needs of professional developers has been demonstrated in his previous books, including Eclipse 2 for Java Developers (Wiley) and Modeling Business Objects with XML Schema (Morgan-Kaufmann).