'Log values to file' will save the bracketing settings and step size to a file that may be immediately viewed by pressing FuncSet while in one of the focus-bracketing modes.
Focus-stack filenames for 'Manual' are prefixed 'm_stack_', for 'Auto' prefixed 'a_stack_' and for digiscope prefixed 'd_stack_'.
For shutter-speed bracketing they are prefixed 'tv_stack_2.
If display of OSD's is enabled, 'LOG' will be displayed on the right-hand side of the screen (by default) when 'Save focus settings' is enabled.
Focused-distance override
It is possible to override the camera's focus setting and force it to a manually-set distance, the hyperfocal distance or infinity .
The information provided below is derived from the original CHDK builds, please report any errors on the Yahoo SDM Group.
For the following cameras, this only works when you have set 'Manual Focus' mode on the camera :-
A530
A610
A620
A630
A640
S2IS
S3IS
S5IS
SXIS
SX10IS
SX200IS
These cameras do not have manual-focus but the auto-focus setting can be overriden by SDM:-
A450
A460
A470
A480
A550
A560
A1000
A2000
IXUS40/SD300
IXUS50/SD400
IXUS55/SD450
IXUS60/SD600
IXUS65/SD630
IXUS70/SD1000
IXUS80/SD1100
IXUS90/SD790
IXUS95/SD1200
IXUS100/SD780
IXUS105/SD1300
IXUS700/SD500
IXUS800/SD700
(not in AUTO or SCENE Water modes or at full-zoom)
IXUS850/SD800
IXUS860/SD870
IXUS870/SD880
IXUS950/SD850
IXUS960/SD950
IXUS970/SD890
SX100IS
SX110IS
SX120IS
TX1/
These cameras have manual-focus and may be overriden in both manual and auto-focus modes :-
G7
G9
G11
A530
A540
A570
A590
A650
A700
A710
A720
IXUS980/SD990
S90
S95
The ixus75/SD750 does not have manual focus and focus cannot be overriden.
Camera must be in a mode that supports SDM focus-override.
For some cameras, that means Canon manual-focus mode must be set and in Bracketing/Overrides menu set 'Override focus'.
Enter mode and use left/right buttons to focus, up button to set hyperfocal distance or down button to set
If you press left/right buttons, SDM focus-mode will be set to manual and 'MAN' and the focused distance will be displayed on the left of the screen.
Each press of the left or right button changes the focused-distance by a varying amount related to the depth-of-field at that distance.
Alternatively, if you half-press the shutter button at the same time, focus will change by a fixed amount for each press.
That amount is the value set in menu option Bracketing\Focus step-size.
Pressing the down button will set the hyperfocal distance and 'HYP' and the distance will be displayed on the left.
Pressing the up button will set the distance to that calculated by the rangefinder functions (see below).
Leave mode.
The hyperfocal distance, manually-set distance or rangefinder calculated distance will be displayed.
The hyperfocal distance will change as you zoom or change aperture.
If you half-press the shutter, the camera will focus at the relevant distance.
If you have set a macro distance at the wide-angle setting but are currently zoomed, the camera will focus at the closest distance for that zoom setting.
To quickly turn focus-override on/off, enter mode and briefly press the SET button.
Rangefinder mode is accessed via the onscreen displays (OSD's).
For cameras that only permit focus-override in manual-focus mode, you must first disable Canon manual focus.
This is so that the dual-function left/right buttons may now be used to browse the OSD's in mode.
Browse to 'Single Camera' OSD and exit mode.
Zoom to maximum optical telephoto, point at nearest part of subject and half-press shutter until 'Near' is updated and you hear a second beep.
Now point to far part of subject and half-press shutter until 'Far' is updated.
The optimum focus distance is displayed together with required aperture to ensure everything is in focus.
The maximum shift you can use if taking left/right images with a single camera and the resulting stereo depth as a percentage of your preferred maximum is also displayed.
The aperture at telephoto may well be far smaller than the camera provides but will rapidly change as you zoom towards wide-angle.
The focus-override value will be set to the optimum focus and half-pressing the shutter button will focus at that distance.
It is not sufficiently accurate to use the above method at very close distances, instead manually enter the 'Near' and 'Far' distances in the bracketing menu, using the left/right buttons.
The increment for entering values is displayed top-left and may be changed on most cameras by using the zoom lever.
The increment may vary from '1' to '10000'.
If you display the 'Single Camera' OSD you will see those values and the parameters calculated from them.
The focus override distance in RF mode will now be set to the optimum distance for your manually-entered near/far values.
It is instructive to try this with single-camera macro shots.
It demonstrates how you cannot achieve great stereo depth.
Quite simply, the shallow distance determined by depth-of-field cannot be 'stretched' to the 'normal' stereo depth because the camera displacement required would be far too great.
The left/right views would be quite different.
You can browse to the 'Twin Cams' OSD and try a similar procedure of measuring near and far distances automatically in telephoto mode.
Again, you could enter the values manually in the bracketing menu.
Now, the bargraph shows the deviation produced by a pair of cameras with the separation that you have set in the Stereo menu.
If too great, the bargraph is red, otherwise green.
'SPORTS' Synchronised-shooting mode
In this mode you use the viewfinder to frame the action and press-and-release the switch almost twice a second.
Although you cannot see both blue LED's in the waiting-state for synchronised shooting, the required delay becomes instinctive with a little practice.
From the Canon function menu, select continuous-shooting mode.
This is a fast-action mode, not a bracketing mode, so in the SDM menu 'Bracketing and Overrides' set Tv bracketing value to "Off" and bracketing-type to either "lighter","darker" or "alternating".
RICOH switch: Full-press to light the 'Ready' blue LED and then half-presses to capture the image. Full-press to end the sequence or let it time-out.
USB switch: Fully-press to light the 'Ready' blue LED and then brief release-and-press to capture each image. End sequence by allowing to time-out.
An exposure-merged image will be created for each group of bracketed-exposures on the card.
Time-lapse Imaging
Time-lapse sequences may be captured by using a timelapse script.
Although it is possible to start the scripts at the same time using the USB remote, it is assumed that over time the synch will deteriorate.
It is better to use an inexpensive microcontroller (such as PICAXE) to 'press the button' of the remote switch at suitable intervals.
This will ensure good synch.
For fast capture rates (about once a second), set the camera to continuous-shooting mode and do not save RAW images.
Timer delay Imaging
A simple way of doing this is to hold-down the switch button with an elastic band or enable synch delay and set coarse delay value to less than 100.
Either way, a photo will be taken after a maximum of ten seconds.
Remote Control Imaging
If using the output of a radio or infrared receiver to trigger a pair of cameras, remember that synch will be compromised if you use two receivers.
It may be better to use a single receiver and a long (for hypers) length of shielded cable.
The TX1 and 'S' series cameras have a separate button for video mode but these can still be started with the remote switch.
To enter the Rec control mode, push the Movie Button for a short time (less than 0.5Sec), the blue <ALT> LED will light.
(If you push the Movie Button for more than 0.5Sec, the camera will start normal movie recording).
In the Rec control mode, when you press/release the remote switch, the camera starts recording, exits the Rec control mode and the blue <ALT> LED turns off.
To stop movie recording, re-enter the Rec control mode by briefly pressing the movie button and then press/release the remote switch.(or push the Movie button for longer than 0.5Sec.).
There is a menu option that enables optical-zooming on some cameras and while zooming the sound is automatically muted.
The above OSD provides useful information for video that may not normally be available.
Initially, the ISO value will be zero so change to a non-video mode and half-press the shutter to 'unfreeze' this feature.
Switch back to video mode.
At low light levels, aperture will be fully open (or ND filter will be in out position), ISO will be about 280 (grainy images) and shutter-speed 1/30 sec.
As light level increases, the ISO will fall to lowest value, typically 50.
After that, the shutter-speed increases to 1/60 sec and aperture starts to 'close'.
In very bright light the shutter speed will increase further.
This could cause jerkiness when panning as there is no 'motion blur', so you may consider fitting an external ND filter if your camera can accomodate one.
(in an extreme case of pointing camera, in movie mode, at a light-bulb, a shutter-speed of 1/1000 sec, 25 ISO and fully-closed aperture was indicated).
As reports of the movie synchronisation 'precision' with various cameras varies, an alternative is to try a script such as the following :-
@title Movie test
beep
wait_for_switch_press
press "video"
sleep 500
release "video"
rem may need this next line
sleep_for_seconds 1
wait_for_switch_press
press "video"
sleep 500
release "video"
beep
end