Hi Sess,
many questions, but i'll try to bring some light to you...
...For example, a section describes bracketing of Tv, Av, and ISO modes. But does the camera have to already have Tv and Av modes or will CHDK add them entirely?
Yes, CHDK will add this features to the camera !
...But what if a camera doesn't have bracketing to begin with? Will CHDK add bracketing entirely?
Yes, most P&S ("Point & Shoot") cameras do not have this advanced features - with CHDK you can do this with your canon camera !
I'm considering buying the A650. The only build I've found that specifically mentions it is SDM. But the description of SDM only talks about the Stereo features. I've read that it includes everything in Fingalo 128 and a few things from AllBest, but it doesn't say what those features are. All I was about to learn about Fingalo is that it has to do with remote control.
The A650 is supported by CHDK; there are 2 main builds:
SDM (Stereo Data Maker) and AllBest.
Both builds adds nearly the same extensions to your camera; the SDM is designed especially for doing stereo photographing (but you can also use it with a single camera) and has some special extensions like USB remote control without the need of a script.
For starting with CHDK you can always look for "AllBest", in this build most of the available extensions from older builds or other special versions are combined.
So you can use
Allbest #50 (the stable build) or the latest
"AutoBuild" (beta version with some new or experimental features).
...So the bottom line is, if I get a camera without built in bracketing like the A650, will CHDK be able to enable exposure bracketing? And if I get a camera without modes like Av, Tv, and M, will CHDK be able to add such modes?
Yes, CHDK brings you bracketing; you'll get many additional features:
What does the CHDK program do.
See also
"What camera should I buy ?
