Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

carl1864

Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« on: 07 / January / 2011, 17:47:44 »

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I've done hours of research before posting this, since I figured it comes up a lot, but I came up empty handed.

I'm wondering if there is any CHDK camera that can be found new or used for around $100, give or take a little?

I already have a good Bridge camera, and also a good P&S camera that I am relatively happy with and do "most" of the things I want them to do well. However I am very interested in playing with the 1/60,000 shutter speeds, motion detecting shutter, remote trigger, and a couple other things that I'd really want to use....but not enough to justify buying a whole new camera for if its much more than $100

I tried searching the web, and also I at one time went through the list of chdk compatible cameras, trying to look them up one by one on ebay, but just ended up with a big mess of windows. Any suggestions?

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peabody

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #1 on: 07 / January / 2011, 23:47:30 »

I don't know about specific things like 1/60000 shutter, but you might look at a used A590is or A570is, which should be available on Ebay for around that price. These were both entry-level cameras, but had a real iris, and full manual control - M, Av, Tv, P. The A590 is 8mp, and the A570 I believe 7mp. Optical image stabilization, 4X zoom, viewfinder. They take pretty nice pictures.

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Microfunguy

4037

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #2 on: 08 / January / 2011, 05:25:16 »

Quote from: carl1864 on 07 / January / 2011, 17:47:44

I am very interested in playing with the 1/60,000 shutter speeds

These alleged speeds are imaginary.

Even if they were true, you would need flash for illumination and for close-ups the flash duration would be shorter than the alleged speed setting.

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PeterBHowell

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #3 on: 08 / January / 2011, 17:06:08 »

I've had the same question, but am a little bit farther. I now have three powershot cameras in my possession. I've checked all of them, and none have a supported firmware version. I've looked hard, but I can't find a list of the UNSUPPORTED firmware versions. That might give me an idea of which model is most likely to actually work once I buy it.

For instance, if I buy an A590is, or A570is, what are the odds that it will work. I see from the wiki that CHDK supports two versions for each. Are the 2 versions available on the used market, or 20? Am I going to end up with a closet full of unusable cameras?

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reyalp

13879

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #4 on: 08 / January / 2011, 17:50:50 »

Quote from: PeterBHowell on 08 / January / 2011, 17:06:08

For instance, if I buy an A590is, or A570is, what are the odds that it will work. I see from the wiki that CHDK supports two versions for each. Are the 2 versions available on the used market, or 20? Am I going to end up with a closet full of unusable cameras?

For older cameras, the firmware versions listed on the wiki should be all the versions ever produced.

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peabody

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #5 on: 08 / January / 2011, 18:58:14 »

In the case of the A590 and A570, you can ask the seller to tell you the firmware version of the camera before you buy. All he has to do is place a zero-length file called ver.req in the root directory of the SD card, then boot up the camera in Play mode. Then hit the FUNCSET and DISP buttons simultaneously, and the firmware version will be displayed.

And, regardless of CHDK support, you're going to want the latest version, I think. In the case of the A590, that's 1.01B.

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reyalp

13879

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #6 on: 08 / January / 2011, 19:09:58 »

Quote from: peabody on 08 / January / 2011, 18:58:14

In the case of the A590 and A570, you can ask the seller to tell you the firmware version of the camera before you buy. All he has to do is place a zero-length file called ver.req in the root directory of the SD card, then boot up the camera in Play mode. Then hit the FUNCSET and DISP buttons simultaneously, and the firmware version will be displayed.

You can also ask them for a sample image and get the information from the exif. http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CameraVersion

Quote

And, regardless of CHDK support, you're going to want the latest version, I think. In the case of the A590, that's 1.01B.

In most cases, I don't anyone has ever detected a functional difference between the canon revs. I wouldn't worry about it.

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carl1864

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #7 on: 09 / January / 2011, 12:45:33 »

I'm really glad you guys mentioned checking the proper firmware, may have saved me from potentially wasting money. I had been under the impression that if a camera was on the list it would be supported, didn't even realize that it potentially wouldn't be.

That A590 seems like it might be a good bet, I had also stumbled upon the SD780IS after going through the entire list of cameras again (but likely still missing some good ones in the "100 windows open at once" confusion that brought). The SD780IS seems to have some of the better specs on the list, although the sensor is a 1/2.3 , compared to the A590 which is a 1/2.5 . Think that makes a big difference, or if there are other major differences between them?

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peabody

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #8 on: 09 / January / 2011, 13:06:47 »

The SD780 is a smaller, nicer, higher resolution, more modern camera than the A590. I believe it will even do 720p video. What the A590 has that you just don't find anymore on inexpensive cameras is full manual control. It has a little faster lens (down to f2.6), and 4X zoom, and uses AA batteries. I thought it was a wonderful bargain when I bought it on closeout for $100, but I really wanted the manual controls and the real iris. Most people don't care about that, and just want to, well, point and shoot. So all of the manufacturers are making everything automatic now, with few choices.

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reyalp

13879

Re: Best CHDK Camera for roughly $100?

« Reply #9 on: 09 / January / 2011, 14:52:15 »

Quote from: carl1864 on 09 / January / 2011, 12:45:33

That A590 seems like it might be a good bet, I had also stumbled upon the SD780IS after going through the entire list of cameras again (but likely still missing some good ones in the "100 windows open at once" confusion that brought). The SD780IS seems to have some of the better specs on the list, although the sensor is a 1/2.3 , compared to the A590 which is a 1/2.5 . Think that makes a big difference, or if there are other major differences between them?

As peabody says, The a590 is it last of canons A series with real manual control. It has an adjustable aperture, and manual controls in the canon firmware. One quirk is that it will not record 30 fps video. The native manual controls are generally more convenient than CHDK overrides for normal shooting.

Almost all of the ixus (except some very recent ones) do not have an adjustable aperture or full manual control in canon UI.

The ixus series are more pocketable, although carrying around an A5xx isn't terrible by any means.

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