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View Full Version : Alternative firmware for DSLRs? (CHDK, Magic Lantern, Pentax Hack, etc.)



masp
03-17-2010, 08:37 PM
I'm sure most of you know about the CHDK firmware for Canon Powershots. I just found out there are similar projects for the Canon 5D II and some older Pentax cameras. Anyone know about similar projects for other DSLRs?

I've been playing with CHDK lately, and some of the features, like creating time lapse movies, live tri color histograms and being able to bracket your shutter, aperture, ISO, or even focal length as many times as you want are pretty neat. Most camera makers limit how much you can bracket to make another selling point, but here, you could probably bracket a shot 20 times if you wanted to. Yeah, it's overkill, but it would be interesting to have some of these other cool features on a DSLR too. :D

CHDK Wiki (http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK)
Magic Lantern Firmware Wiki (http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki)
Blog (http://pentax-hack.info/documents/blog.php)

Fortytwo
03-18-2010, 03:40 AM
I've know about Pentax hack, but never found it adding anything I really missed, so I didn't want to mess with my camera...

masp
03-18-2010, 05:34 AM
What features does Pentax hack enable?

I've been really enjoying focal length bracketing (since focus confirmation is terrible on the low res LCD screen and low light AF sucks) on my little Powershot. Are there any other cameras can even bracket focal length automatically, DSLR or otherwise? Granted it's not that hard to just turn the focus ring a bit while in continuous drive, but this bracketing is fun. :D

F8&Bthere
03-18-2010, 10:53 AM
there was a pentax hack that, if i remember correctly, was for the K10D to enable focus tuning- it opened up some kind of factory service menu.