Brian's Brain

Early last week, after snapping a couple of pictures with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS75:

I realized that I didn't have a SD card installed in the camera and the images had therefore been stored in the DMC-LS75's internal memory. I subsequently discovered that there was no available means to move image files from internal memory to an SD card via the camera's user menus...I'd need to USB-tether the DMC-LS75 to a computer and get the files off the camera that way.

It was late on a cold night, and the DMC-LS75's USB cable was still in the product box out in the back yard storage shed. Feeling lazy, I instead grabbed the cable for the Kodak P880, which also offered a micro USB-sized connector and I therefore assumed would also work. After connecting the cable to both the camera and computer, however, I wasn't able to access the DMC-LS75's contents. Feeling tired, I went to bed and vowed to revisit the situation the next morning.

When I retrieved the DMC-LS75's cable and unsuccessfully attempted to mate it with the camera the next day, I realized the error of my ways. The Panasonic and Kodak cameras merge USB and A/V capabilities within a single connector form factor...one that's physically compatible with micro USB from an outer dimension standpoint, but with micro USB-incompatible plug and receptacle pinouts and interior dimensions. And, of course, the Kodak and Panasonic proprietary implementations are also incompatible with each other. When I inserted the Kodak cable in the Panasonic camera, I inadvertently smashed the interior of the DMC-LS75 connector, rendering it subsequently unusable. There ought to be a law...

Although the Panasonic camera still otherwise works fine, including the ability to remove SD cards and connect them to a computer via a memory card reader, I've decided to retire the DMC-LS75 to the Prying Eyes candidate pile. Part of my motivation, I admit, is that I've long wanted to try out the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK) that Paul Rako wrote about earlier this year. Per Wikipedia, CHDK...

... allows nearly complete programmatic control of cheap Canon point-and-shoot cameras, enabling users to add features, up to and including games and BASIC scripting. Features include shooting in RAW, USB-cable remote shutter-release, motion-detection triggered photography, customizable high-speed continuous (burst) Tv, Av, ISO, and Focus bracketing (increasing depth of field), 1 Gig video-size limit removed in earlier cameras, Shutter, Aperture, and ISO Overrides (shutter speeds of 64" to 1/10,000" and higher).

I remain a fan of AA battery-fueled cameras, in spite of their beefier form factors when compared against proprietary battery pack-based alternatives, so I focused (pun intended) my attention on Canon's PowerShot A-Series units, specifically the smallest form factor A400 versions. The latest-and-greatest PowerShot A470 is unfortunately not yet supported by CHDK because of its Digic III hardware and DryOS software platform foundations, but I found a gently used Digic II- and VxWorks-based PowerShot A460 on Ebay for $50:

In the interests of full disclosure, I'll admit that the PowerShot A460 is probably not going to be my primary conference snapshot camera going forward...as it turns out, it's a bit too thick to comfortably slip into a pants pocket, so I've gone ahead and also purchased a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80:

However, I don't regret the PowerShot A460 experiment one bit. As is the case with Panasonic's camera lines, Canon leverages a common image processor across multiple product proliferations at different price, form factor and (factory firmware-enabled) feature points. CHDK 'turns on' substantial additional high-end capabilities with my low-end digicam without, as Paul's writeup points out, at all disturbing the camera's native firmware (or, therefore, any Canon warranty). Instead, the firmware augmentations store on a SD card, which you can either manually load via user screen settings or (as I've done) configure to auto-boot on camera start-up.

So far, I'm really enjoying the histogram display and RAW image capture options, and I've only scratched the surface of what CHDK offers. Stay tuned for more reports here on Brian's Brain as I further explore my new-to-me camera's added features.