Hack Your Camera NOW!

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So, I finally took the time to figure out how to install the Canon Hack Development Kit onto T’s camera. I’ve tried it before a few times, but was always stymied by something along the way. Only this morning, though, after stumbling through the documentation and trying multiple options, I finally managed to work my way through all of the downloads, and all of the different options, to the only solution that worked for me. Because we have large memory-cards it was a bit more work, but well worth it.

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I know that most of you won’t go to the trouble, that you either don’t own a Canon point-and-shoot, or you’re quite happy with the way your camera works. For some of you, though, who perhaps use a full-sized camera, I strongly encourage you to take the time to figure this out. It lets you shoot raw images! It gives you AV-priority and TV-priority shooting, and bracketing! You can plug it into your computer via usb and remotely control the camera! It will let you run scripts! Want to shoot a picture once a minute, for an hour? You can program it to do that, and other things, like to take a picture when it sees motion! Those are only the features which leap out at me there are hundreds more, and I haven’t even begun to read the manual!

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Yes, there were a lot of exclamation marks in that past paragraph. I know it, and am sorry for it, but there was no way around it: this software turns your average camera into a truly useful device. How useful? Let me put it this way: your wee point-and-shoot camera has the same sensor used in the high-end digital camera that came out about the same time. So, the bit in there which records what came in through the lens? That’s professional-grade hardware. It’s saddled with software which makes it easy to use, though. So, your average photographer is walking around taking pictures with the most expensive part of any digital camera, only using about 1/10 of the capacity.

I could go on. I already have. I’ll stop now and just say: if you own a Canon point-and-shoot digital camera, you should figure out this software.

One final thing: THIS IS PERFECTLY LEGAL, AND EVEN ENCOURAGED BY CANON. Why? Well, think about it: if you get to liking your camera, you might buy another one. If you make good pictures, you’ll make even more pictures, and that’s you, using Canon stuff, making them look good.


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