I am trying to create a portable multi-camera rig using CHDK.
How many cameras are you going to use? What are your cost budget expectations?
I am at the start and the biggest question for me now is which camera to use for my project.
Some other things to consider :
Multiple Cameras using CHDKThe project should be very stable and not so expensive.
Most of CHDK is what I would call "stable". But not "very stable" as it's a hack using undocumented reverse assembly code so there are occasional issues. YMMV.
In your opinion, what is the best camera choice for me?
Now you come to the difficult question and I can only make some suggestions here. Picking a model usually comes down to a question of your budget vs finding enough cameras of the same type supported by CHDK.
First of all, you will need a camera model that is supported by CHDK. That means you need a Canon Powershot. And you almost surely want all of your cameras to be the same camera model unless you want to do a lot of post processing of each image. But be aware that not every Powershot has a CHDK port available.
You should understand that CHDK ports for specific camera only happen when someone with the necessary skills, time, patience, and desire has access to that particular camera and creates the necessary code. You need a unique version of CHDK for every camera model and firmware version. You can't use the port for one camera in another no matter how much they physically look the same. Even two different firmware version of the same camera model need different CHDK ports.
This means that CHDK is not available for every camera or even every firmware version of any particular cameras. Although we mostly have complete coverage of each ported camera's firmware version there are no guarantees.
The best place to look for the information about the porting status is here :
CHDK : For DevelopersUnfortunately, by the time CHDK gets ported for any camera model, that model is usually no longer available for commercial sale. And with everybody owning a smart phone these days, camera companies are not releasing many new small cameras. Which means you may have to buy your cameras used from places like eBay or the
Shop USA Refurbished Powershot Digital CamerasIf you read through some of the
Links posted here, you'll get some idea of cameras people have used sucessfully. If you are looking on eBay, a lot of the three digit A500 series of Powershots can usually be found for a low price (e.g. A560, A570) and they would fit you lost cost & stable objectives.
Sorry that I can't be more specific than that.
