CHDK Canon Hacker's Development Kit

CHDK or the Canon Hacker's Development Kit is an ultimate firmware add-on for many Canon digital cameras. It turns your simple point-and-shoot camera into a powerhouse. It lets you control advanced settings, record time lapse videos, run scripts and many other impressive features. And best of all, CHDK doesn't destroy your camera's existing firmware.

To load CHDK, all you have to do is copy the CHDK program image onto the media card (usually an SD card) and insert it in your Canon camera and start it up. The camera will automatically detect and load the new program. To stop using CHDK, all you have to do is delete the file from the SD card.

Lifehacker carried an excellent article on supercharging your Canon point-and-shoot using CHDK. Here's another article on HackADay. I recommend you try it out!

My little Canon SD 1000

I'm a photoholic. If there's a picture presenting itself, it burns my heart not to have a camera handy. Toting my SLR around everywhere is cumbersome (but I still do it). My essential camera gear consists of an SLR, a zoom lens, a small tripod (sometimes) and most important of all, a small point-and-shoot camera.

The last item is very important. There have been times where taking the SLR along isn't possible - first time snowboarding, roller coasters, etc. I always travel with a small point-and-shoot camera in my backpack, be it on business or pleasure. And that has helped me capture some very interesting pictures.

When it comes to small point-and-shoot cameras, none beat Canon, in my opinion and experience. I've always been a Canon and Nikon guy - these companies know how to make good cameras. They have experience with photography and optics. Many of my friends and relatives judge cameras by simply falling for the megapixel rating. To me, it isn't as important as good quality optics.

I've owned a Canon Digital Elph II in the past. Sadly, it's battery life has come to an end. It was a 2 megapixel camera which has served me well. I replaced with the Canon's SD 1000 in August 2007. The SD 1000 is compact, yet powerful enough for my needs.

Digital Photography Review carries an excellent article on the SD1000.

Nikon D70 Firmware

I have owned a Nikon D70 since over 4 years now. For all D70/D70s owners, I do recommend updating the camera's firmware to the new 2.0 version. Digital Photography Review's article on the new firmware can be found here.

Nikon's technical support describes how to apply the firmware to your D70/D70s.