Help with CHDK on SD990

Pat

7

« on: 17 / September / 2009, 19:45:21 »

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Hi, I have put CHDK on an SD990 using a partitioned 8gb card so I can autoload the firmware. It works very well. However, I am having a few issues and was wondering if anyone has any solutions.

1) I cannot find the option in the build for the SD990 to have Windows recognize DNGs. I have CHDK on an a710 and have checked that option there so I know it exists in some builds. And it works well. Windows can "see" DNGs on my A710 but not on my SD990. So where is the option for the SD990?

2) Is there a way to make the CHDK info that shows on the LCD larger? Is it so tiny on the SD990 that I cannot even make out some of the numbers (like the battery percent remaining). I found out how to make the font for the CHDK menu items larger, but can't find a similar option for items on the OSD.

3) On the SD990, when I go into the function menu, the CHDK info stays on the screen, interfering with the menu. On the A710 it doesn't do that. It conveniently hides itself while the function menu is active. How can I make it do this on the SD990?

Thanks in advance. CHDK is an awesome program.

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reyalp

14079

Re: Help with CHDK on SD990

« Reply #1 on: 17 / September / 2009, 20:09:24 »

Quote from: Pat on 17 / September / 2009, 19:45:21

1) I cannot find the option in the build for the SD990 to have Windows recognize DNGs. I have CHDK on an a710 and have checked that option there so I know it exists in some builds. And it works well. Windows can "see" DNGs on my A710 but not on my SD990. So where is the option for the SD990?

The method used to make DNG extensions visible via USB does not exist on many newer cameras, including the SD990. You can save the files with a different extension (e.g. CRW) and then rename them, or use a card reader. This should have been in the readme, but is not. I'll update it next time I check something in.

Quote

2) Is there a way to make the CHDK info that shows on the LCD larger? Is it so tiny on the SD990 that I cannot even make out some of the numbers (like the battery percent remaining). I found out how to make the font for the CHDK menu items larger, but can't find a similar option for items on the OSD.

AFAIK there is not. The SD990 display is somewhat unusual.

Quote

3) On the SD990, when I go into the function menu, the CHDK info stays on the screen, interfering with the menu. On the A710 it doesn't do that. It conveniently hides itself while the function menu is active. How can I make it do this on the SD990?

No idea, my a540 behaves the same as SD990

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Don't forget what the H stands for.

Pat

7

Re: Help with CHDK on SD990

« Reply #2 on: 17 / September / 2009, 21:27:18 »

reylap, thanks for the quick reply. These are minor things that I can live with.

Also, thanks to you and all the others who have worked on CHDK to make it what it is today. It really makes a Canon camera more valuable and enjoyable to use. I especially like the live histogram and bracketing features.

--Pat

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reyalp

14079

Re: Help with CHDK on SD990

« Reply #3 on: 20 / September / 2009, 00:12:45 »

Quote from: Pat on 17 / September / 2009, 19:45:21

3) On the SD990, when I go into the function menu, the CHDK info stays on the screen, interfering with the menu. On the A710 it doesn't do that. It conveniently hides itself while the function menu is active. How can I make it do this on the SD990?

A quick follow up. In the CHDK code, there is a compile time option in camera.h:
CAM_SHOW_OSD_IN_SHOOT_MENU // On some cameras Canon shoot menu has additional functionality and useful in this case to see CHDK OSD in this mode

This is enabled for the sd990 and a540 and not for a710. I'm not sure what the "additional functionality" here refers to, or why that would make you more likely to want to see the CHDK OSD.

It seems like this should probably be a user preference rather than a compile time option (although some ports don't have the variable which tells whether the menu is shown or not correctly identified.)

Edit:
Note that you can move the CHDK OSD elements around in the OSD editor, so you could set them up to not block the most important parts of the func menu.

« Last Edit: 20 / September / 2009, 00:17:30 by reyalp »

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Don't forget what the H stands for.

Pat

7

Re: Help with CHDK on SD990

« Reply #4 on: 20 / September / 2009, 14:53:07 »

Rey, I already moved the histogram to the lower left corner. But after seeing how it interferes with the function menu, I have had to move it up a bit so I can see all the options. However, it is still preferable to the SD990's native firmware which puts its live histogram nearly smack in the middle of the LCD so that it interferes with framing a picture. For this reason, I have turned off the SD990's native live histogram and use CHDK's which I much prefer because you can move it around.

The big difference I can see between the A710 and SD990 is that the exposure compensation control is in the function menu for the SD990 but on the A710 there is a dedicated button. So maybe someone thought it would be nice to be able to see the live histogram while adjusting exposure compensation in the function menu on the SD990 and similar cameras? It makes sense and, on second thought, this might actually be a benefit and preferable. It is useful to be able to see immediately how exposure compensation is affecting the histogram. But it would be nice to make this a user-selectable option.

--Pat

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