How to Take a RAW Photo on a Canon Digital Camera Using CHDK Firmware

Many people have heard about the 'magical' hacked firmware for certain Powershot camera models called CHDK. This firmware enables the full hardware features on the camera that are otherwise limited by Canon's included firmware. These extra features are numerous, but the most popular one tends to be the ability to shoot RAW photos. The advantages of RAW photos over JPEG are better, more natural colors that are easily to edit and recover blown out areas. Low-light photos don't generally have the yellow tint that JPEGs have.

Step 1

Load the bootable SD card loaded with CHDK into your camera (make sure the lock tab is down so it will work). If you don't know how to do this process, refer to the following tutorial: How to Install CHDK Firmware.

Step 2

Once the camera is on and you see that the firmware has loaded, you will need to enter the default script. This will vary based on your camera, but is generally the 'write to card' button; it is the top right button on the back of the camera, and has a picture of a printer picture with two arrows.

When you push the button for the default script (you'll see it on the bottom of the LCD), press the MENU button to enter the CHDK menu. Press the select button on the third menu item, "RAW Parameters". On the first setting, press the right center key to activate "Save RAW" on the menu. In addition to the ability to save as RAW, you can add extra stipulations, such as what format to use (CRW or DNG), as well as Dark Frame Subtraction, and the ability to save a compressed JPEG image along with the RAW file.

When you've selected the settings, press MENU to exit the menu, then press the print button to disable to script on the screen. Make sure the camera is set to manual, which is the only mode that will use the script settings, then take the photo as you normally would. The resulting RAW files will be saved in a folder separate from the JPEG photos on the card.