If anyone sees some errors (there will be many), and can correct, elaborate, or clarify on some section already started please do so. If you can add your own section on an area that has not been covered yet, again, please do so.
Starting Out
Keep these things in mind when writing your scripts:
- Use any text editor to compose your scripts. Make sure it is saving the file as TEXT-ONLY. Do NOT use programs like Word or other advanced editors. These insert hidden header info and use non-standard ASCII characters for Return/Line-Feed commands, quotation-marks, and others. The simplest of text-editors will suffice. (Notepad in Windows, for example.)
- Keep all uBASIC commands, camera commands, and variables in lower-case.
- You are limited to 8k (8192 bytes) for the size of your script - CHDK Build 119 or later. (2k (2048 bytes) in CHDK Build 116 or earlier.)
- Be aware that not all commands work on all cameras, if you plan on sharing your script try to keep it as generic as possible unless you have a special need for the camera-specific commands. Try to also provide a more generic version so that all may benefit from it.
- If using earlier CHDK Builds some commands listed here will not be available to you and cause errors, this tutorial will be updated as new commands and changes are made to CHDK.
- If you write an interesting script, please share it with the rest of us on the User Written Scripts pages so we may learn from you! Beginner script-writers can be some of the most creative!
- See these pages for some ideas and examples if you are just starting out: User Written Scripts
The Script Header
- When viewing scripts you'll often see the opening section look something like this:
@title Interval shooting @param a Shoot count @default a 5 @param b Interval (Minutes) @default b 0
Let's break down what each of those lines mean and how they are used by CHDK.
- @title Your Script Title
This is the title that will appear when you have the script loaded in CHDK and go to "Scripting Parameters" menu selection. It will appear under the line "----Current Script----" as well as in the lower-left corner of your viewfinder when you are in <ALT> mode. Keep your title short (24 characters or less). Otherwise the title will cover up the <ALT> label.
- @param x (label)
- @default x n
- This is where you will define the begining values of any variables used in your script. These are often used to set how many exposures you want, how long of a delay you want, how many bracketing steps you want, etc. These variables can be changed by the end-user from the "Scripting Parameters" menu items. In that sub-menu, they will appear under the line "----Script Parameters-----"
- @param x (label)
- The "x" in that line will be one of any lower-case latin letter from a to j. The (label) is the text string that will appear in your "----Script Parameters----" list, to let the end user know which of the variables they are changing (i.e. number of shots, how many steps, etc.).
- Up to 10 @param statments, user-controllable variables, may be used in any one script.
- @default x n
- This statement sets up the default, or beginning value of your (lower-case letter) variable, where "x" is the variable from the @param statement above, and "n" is the default value to start with. This value is only used when script is loaded first time.
- Notes:
- If there is no @title command the filename of script is used.
If there are no @param commands HDK assumes that there are three adjustable variables: a, b and c.
Remember -- when naming @param variables, use only a character from a thru j
After your default variable values have been defined here, it is good to add some lines right after this section to ensure those numbers will be used in case the user has input 0 (zero) for some value that needs to be higher (or lower). You will see this in scripts as:
if a<2 then let a=5
- If your default value that you wanted the user to start out at for parameter variable a was 5, then if they left that setting at 0 (zero) or 1, then this will automatically increase that variable's value back up to 5.
After you have set up your variable parameters, then comes the brunt of your script, the part that does the actual work and tells the camera what to do, when to do it, and what buttons or commands need to be executed. Since we are working with a very small subset of the larger uBASIC programming language, it might be good to list and explain only those that are availble to the CHDK script writer.
The Basics of BASIC Programming
Logic Commands
- All programs are designed to mindlessly repeat some commands. In order to make them work in the proper order, and the correct number of sequences, they have to be contained in some simple recurring loops and counters. Testing for when some condition has been met, before it can go onto the next command, or finally end the program (script).
There are several ways this can be done in BASIC. By using numeric counters, and loops. There are some built-in commands to simplify these tasks.
The LET Command
- This one is simple. If you see a command that says "let a = 2" then that's exactly what happens. It defines the value of 2 to the variable a.
- This command is mostly included just for legibility. You can leave off the let command and it will still work. Example: let a=2 can be written more simply as a=2. Or this example: if z>5 then let b=0 can be simplified to if z>5 then b=0. Doing so will greatly save on script space if you have to define and redefine many variables many times.
The IF / THEN / ELSE Commands
- These are used to test for the truth of a certain condition. IF something is true, THEN this takes place, ELSE (otherwise) do this if it is not true.
- A simple example:
if a > 2 then goto "subroutine1"
- If in your script, the variable a has been assigned to a value greater-than 2, then the script will jump to the labeled subroutine1.
if a >2 then goto "subroutine1" else goto "subroutine2"
- In this case if a is NOT greater than the value of 2, your program will jump to subroutine2.
- The conditional expressions allowed in uBASIC are: = (equal to), > (greater than), < (less than),
<> (not equal to), <= (less than or equal to), >= (greater than or equal to)(strike-out portion no longer applicable to build 144 or later)
The FOR / TO / NEXT Commands
- These are used to set up simple loops. You will often see them in scripts as in this example:
for n=2 to a
sleep t
print "Shoot", n, "of", a
shoot
next n
- The first line "for n=2 to a" means that the "for / to / next" loop will run while variable-n equals the sequence of numbers of 2 up to whatever the number variable-a has been assigned to. The commands that take place in the loop are containted between the FOR statement and the NEXT statment. "next n" tells the loop to go back to the beginning "for ..." statement until the the a value has been reached.
For example:
for n=1 to 10 print "This is line number", n next n
This will produce the sequence of:
This is line number 1 This is line number 2 This is line number 3 . . . This is line number 9 This is line number 10
And then that loop will end and go onto the next sequence of commands.
Sub-Routines
- For complex programming tasks, it is often helpful to split the program into smaller subroutines that can be called with gosub and goto commands. A sub-routine can be nearly anything but it is generally used for a set of commands that will be called-up more than once. Instead of writing the same set of commands over and over again you put that code into a subroutine and then call it up from within the main program by using gosub "label" or goto "label". Subroutines are generally placed after the main code. A labeled subroutine that will be called by gosub "label" needs to end with the return comand, to tell the script to jump out of that section of code and return back to from where it was called.
- GOSUB and GOTO are similar but you should refrain from using GOTO unless you know what you are doing. GOSUB will always return from a subroutine as soon as it reaches the RETURN command. GOTO does not behave this way. GOTO should only be used when you are going to jump to a section of the script one time and under special circumstances.
GOSUB and GOTO Examples
- A simple GOSUB example (the subroutine's label and subroutine are in bold):
for x=1 to 10 gosub "display" next x :display print x return
- A longer example that would capture 3 images with increased ISO settings would look something like this:
shoot for i=1 to 3 gosub "incISO" shoot next i for i=1 to 3 gosub "decISO" next i end :incISO click "menu" [some more clicks] return :decISO click "menu" [some more clicks] return
- An example using the GOTO command taken from an endless intervalometer script. NOTE: This situation creates an endless loop. Until you manually override the script it will continue. This is generally considered BAD FORM! Any script should include/end-with all the commands to reset the camera to its original configuration prior to running the script, and properly end with the END command. Do not do this kind of thing unless you have a special need for it and know what you are doing.
@title Interval Shooting Non-stop @param a Interval (Minutes) @default a 0 @param b Interval (Seconds) @default b 5 @param c Interval (10th Seconds) @default c 0 t=a*60000+b*1000+c*100 if t<100 then let t=5000 n=1 print "Interval shooting." print "Until you interrupt it." print "Use with caution." sleep 1000 goto "shot" :shot print "Shot number", n shoot n=n+1 sleep t goto "shot"
(author's note: this section needs some help I think)
The "print" Command
- This will print whatever text follows the statement, to your LCD or EVF display in the mini-console area (see firmware usage) while the script is running.
- Syntax: print "24 characters of text"
- You are limted to 24 characters being displayed in any one line of text. You may also include the values of variables or integer-equations in your print statement.
- Examples:
rem Print total duration of interval to viewfinder
print "Total time:", t*a/60000; "min", t*a%60000/1000; "sec"
sleep 1000
rem Start actual camera operation in a loop
print "Shoot 1 of", a
shoot
for n=2 to a
sleep t
print "Shoot", n, "of", a
shoot
next n
The "print_screen" Command
Whatever the script prints on the mini-console screen is also written to file '/CHDK/SCRIPTS/PR_SCREEN.TXT'.
First call is either,
print_screen 0 The text is appended to the last file. If the file was there already, the text is written at the end and the older text is not removed.
print_screen 1 The text is written to "A/CHDK/BOOKS/PS00000.TXT". The new text overwrites any existing text in the file if there was any .
print_screen N The text is written to the next file number. The file number cycles between 0 and N-1. If the resulting file number is 5, then the text is written to file "A/CHDK/BOOKS/PS00005.TXT".
The file number of the last written file is kept in file "A/CHDK/BOOKS/PS_COUNT.TXT". Delete the file to reset the counter.
'print_screen 0 turns off writing to the file and print_screen 1 turns it back on.
Example:
@title printscreen test @param a None @default a 0 @param c mode: 0-append, 1-replace, other-modulo c @default c 1 print_screen c print "START "c print_screen 0 print "Not written to file" print_screen 1 print "This should be written to the file." print "a="a print_screen 0 end
The "cls" Command
CLS stands for "Clear Screen". This is used to clear the mini-console screen from any "print" statements in an easy way. Instead of having to issue 5 command lines of print " ", you just need to issue this one small cls command.
The Sleep Command
- This pauses the script to allow some action to take place, or to delay when the next action should occur.
- Syntax: sleep x
- Where x is any variable or whole number. The value is in 1000ths of a second.
- Example: sleep 1500 means to pause for 1.5 seconds.
The REM Command
- The "rem" (which stands for "remark") command is sometimes used to place a comments in a script. It is only used as a reminder for the person writing or viewing the sciprt. Like an internal note. This command is not exectued nor seen when the script is run. However, keep in mind that scripts for CHDK can be only 8k (8,192 characters) in length. (Only 2k in CHKD before Build 119.) Too many REM statements can slow down your script as well as taking up valuable space.
- An (overzealous) example of REM commands in a script
rem Interval shooting
@title Interval shooting
@param a Shoot count
@default a 10
@param b Interval (Minutes)
@default b 0
@param c Interval (Seconds)
@default c 10
rem Calculate 1000ths of seconds from variables
t=b*60000+c*1000
rem Sets some default variables to initial values
if a<2 then let a=10
if t<1000 then let t=1000
rem Print total duration of session in viewfinder
print "Total time:", t*a/60000; "min", t*a%60000/1000; "sec"
rem Delay actual shooting so they can read the above print statement.
sleep 1000
rem Start actual camera operation in a loop
print "Shoot 1 of", a
shoot
for n=2 to a
sleep t
print "Shoot", n, "of", a
rem This takes the actual exposure.
shoot
next n
rem Ends this script
end
- REM statements can always be removed from a script if you feel there are too many or unneeded. Removing a rem line will not impact the operation of the script in any way (other than speeding it up and using up less memory space).
The End Command
- This should be the last line in your script. It tells the script to cease all operations and return camera control back to you. Before ending a script, it is good-form to always reset any camera settings that the script took control of during initialization of your routine or during. So that the end user doesn't have to undo all the keypresses and menu changes that the script created.
Math Expressions allowed in uBASIC
+ Addition - Subtraction * Multiplication / Division % Remainder (explanation see below) < Less Than > Greater Than = Equal <= Less Than or Equal (CHDK Build #144 or later) >= Greater Than or Equal (CHDK Build #144 or later) <> Not Equal (CHDK Build #144 or later) & And | Or ^ Xor
- [Added by GrAnd
- I'm afraid, but CHDK uBasic supports only integer type of variables
and expressions. Just +, -, *, /, %, |, &, <, > and = operations. And just simple assignment =.)](strike-out portion no longer applicable to build 144 or later)
Most of the expressions are easy to understand, but the % (remainder) operation might like a short explanation.
- Example: Let's say you have computed a number to equal how many seconds something will take for a duration. Such as s=(some math expression) Where s is being assigned the number of seconds computed.
- Now you want to display that as minutes and seconds. You will need a print statement such as:
- print "Total Time:" , s/60; "min", (the remainder of s/60); "sec"
- There is a very simple way to do this using the % command. Think of % as "the remainder of s being divided by". So all you need to do is have this print statement:
- print "Total Time:" , s/60; "min", s%60; "sec"
- If s had the value of 328 seconds, then this would print out to
- Total Time: (328/60)=5 min (the remainder of 328/60)=28 sec
- or more simply
- Total Time: 5 min 28 sec
Some further notes:
< Less Than > Greater Than = Equal <= Less Than or Equal >= Greater Than or Equal <> Not Equal
are relational operators. In "if" statements, only single relational operators are allowed. This means, you can't have something like "if a<2 and b>3 then...". Strike-out portion no longer applicable to build #144 or later.
& And | Or ^ Xor
are bitwise operators, not logic operators. (The logic operators of and, or, and not have been added to CHDK build #144 or later.) Example use of the bitwise &, |, and ^ binary operators are:
e=5|3 print e
will return "7".
5&3 will result in "1"
5^3 will result in "6"
For an explanation refer to bitwise operation
Logical Operators: AND, OR, NOT
not logical not (best to use in form with parentheses ie. not (expression), and logical and or logical or
Priority for evaluation order has been updated so expressions like
if a=1 or b=3 and c>4 or d<>7 then ...
are being correctly calculated, although one would preferably use parentheses just to understand what is being calculated.
Also priority for "&" and "|" has been changed the same way.
NOTE: Multiple relational operators are allowed!
Camera Operation Commands
These commands are designed to allow your script to control your camera much like you would manually. Nearly anything you can do by pressing buttons on your camera with your own fingers, you can also do automatically with these script commands. The complexity and time-line of your script is only limited by your imagination and trying to keep your script under the 8K character (8192 byte) limit.
Camera commands can be written in 3 flavors / command-methods:
- click "button-name"
- Presses the button momentarily, used for one time, instantaneous commands. This will be the most often used method of issuing a camera command.
- press "button-name"
- Presses and HOLDS the required camera button, it remans pressed until the same button-name is given the release command. Some camera commands can only be accessed when a button is held down during use. Example: In Manual Focus in the S-series cameras the MF button needs to be held down while the focus commands are being issued. Or when shooting in high-speed burst mode, then the shutter button must be held down during its needed duration with the press "shoot_full" command.
- release "button-name"
- Ends the press "button-name" command. If using a press "button-name" command be sure to end it with the release "SAME-button-name command at the appropriate sequence in your script to reset things back to normal.
All camera command buttons that you can press manually you may use in your scripts using this syntax. The only exception is the often-used shoot command. shoot is used by itself without the leading click, press, and release command methods.
All button-pressing commands (except shoot) should be written in the following syntax:
command-method "button-name"
Where command-method may be click, press, or release, and the button-name must be enclosed in double-quotes.
For example, a simple script using all 3 command-methods which makes AELock and AFLock on A-series cameras:
sleep 2000 press "shoot_half" sleep 1000 click "erase" click "down" release "shoot_half"
shoot
- Records an image.
- This command is similar to the click "shoot_full" command (see below), but it waits for the camera to perform some normally automatic actions, such as auto-focusing, charging the flash, etc. For example: if in AUTO, P, Tv, Av, or any SCN modes, using the "shoot" command causes the camera to check focus and exposure for each shot. When "shoot" is used in intervalometer scripts this far surpasses the camera's own built-in intervalometer in that the camera only sets exposure and focus once for the initial exposure, as if it was only using the "click 'shoot_full'" command. This "shoot" command in an intervalometer script allows it to compensate for all the things that can change over the course of many minutes and hours. For more precise manual control of the camera in scripts, see the click "shoot_half", click "shoot_full", when used in conjunction with the get_tv, set_tv, set_tv_rel, get_av, set_av, set_av_rel commands below.
click/press/release "up", "down", "left", "right"
- Actuates the respective directional button of your "Omni-Selector" (navigational buttons).
click/press/release "set"
- Actuates the set button.
- Note: press and release would not normally be used with this button, but without knowing each and every camera model's functions and the creative ways some might use scripts, these two command-methods are also mentioned.
click/press/release "shoot_half"
- Actuates the shutter-release in the half-press position. This is often used to lock focus, exposure, or other camera settings.
- (Note: In dim light it can sometimes take up to 2+ seconds for a camera to hunt for focus. If your script is using this command to set auto-focus, and is designed for or intended to also be used in low-light conditions, it would be good to follow a press "half_shoot" command with a sleep x command, where x can have a value from 1500 to 2500.)
click/press/release "shoot_full"
- Actuates the shutter-release button completely, irregardless if the camera has finished charging the flash or other normally automatic camera operations.
click/press/release "zoom_in", "zoom_out"
- Initiates your camera's zoom control one zoom-step at a time. (It is uncertain at this time (I didn't test it), how this will act using the press and release commands.) The A-Series cameras have 9 or 15 zoom steps (0 to 8/14), and the S-series cameras have 129 zoom steps (0 to 128). This command may require an extra sleep command after each zoom step. When using click the S-series cameras implement this command very slowly. Here's an example of how it may be used in a loop:
for s=2 to a
for n=1 to b
print "Zooming-in ", n; "..."
click "zoom_in"
sleep 600
next n
print "Shoot", s, "of", a
shoot
next s
- Note the 0.6 second sleep command after each zoom_in step.
- Actuates the menu button.
- This is used to alter some of the cameras settings that can only be set through the record menus, to set up the camera before a script-session, or during.
- Note: press and release would not normally be used with this button, but without knowing each and every camera model's functions and the creative ways some might use scripts, these two command-methods are also mentioned.
- Example:
:slowsync click "menu" sleep 400 click "down" sleep 400 click "down" sleep 400 click "down" sleep 400 click "right" sleep 400 click "menu" sleep 400 return
- This :slowsync" sub-routine will initialize the camera's flash setting into slow-sync mode. Note also the sleep commands, giving your camera time to respond to the new settings between each directional button-press. Button-press delay times may be camera specific. (Meaning it might be a good idea to set up a user-defined variable for these in some scripts to save on script-size and make the script more adaptable to more makes and models of cameras. A note could be made in the accompanying script's documentation on what button-press delays are needed per make and model of camera.)
click/press/release "display"
- Actuates the camera's display button.
- Note: press and release would not normally be used with this button, but without knowing each and every camera model's functions and the creative ways some might use scripts, these two command-methods are also mentioned.
click/press/release "print"
- Actuates the camera's print button. (Note: actuates the shortcut button for S-series cameras.)
- Note: press and release would not normally be used with this button, but without knowing each and every camera model's functions and the creative ways some might use scripts, these two command-methods are also mentioned.
click/press/release "erase"
- Actuates the camera's erase button. (Note: actuates the FUNC (function) button for S-series cameras.)
- This will often be used to select some shooting parameters like exposure-compensation, movie frame-rates, white-balance settings, ... any of the options that can be reached by pressing this button on your camera. It is then used in conjunction with directional button-presses to choose the desired settings.
- Note: press and release would not normally be used with this button, but without knowing each and every camera model's functions and the creative ways some might use scripts, these two command-methods are also mentioned.
- Example:
@title EXP bracketing
@param a Number of +/- steps
@default a 2
@param b Step size (1/3EV)
@default b 3
if a<1 then let a=2
if b<1 then let b=3
sleep 1000
print "Preparing..."
click "erase"
for n=1 to a*b
click "left"
next n
for s=1 to a*2
print "Shoot", s, "of", a*2+1
shoot
for n=1 to b
click "right"
next n
next s
print "Shoot", a*2+1, "of", a*2+1
shoot
print "Finalizing..."
for n=1 to a*b
click "left"
next n
click "erase"
end
- In this "Exposure Bracketing" script, if you follow the embedded button-presses, you'll see that your Exposure Compensation setting is being selected by using the click "erase" command. The click "right" and click "left" commands are moving the Exposure compensation settings to the right and left (more exposure and less exposure), just as you would if you were doing this manually from one shot to the next.
click/press/release "iso", "flash", "mf", "macro", "video", "timer" (S-series only)
- Actuates the S-series specific buttons.
(this will need to be added on with a few examples, specifically in using the new press/release commands with some of these)
The wait_click and is_key commands
(CHDK Build 129 or greater)
- Syntax:
- wait_click timeout (waits for any button is clicked; timeout is optional)
- is_key x "button-name" (if last clicked key was "button-name" the 1 will be placed to variable x; for timeout checking "no_key" is used as button name)
- Examples
...
:wait
wait_click
is_key k "set"
if k=1 then goto "continue"
goto "wait"
:continue
...
...
:loop
wait_click 5000
is_key k "left"
if k=1 then gosub "k_left"
is_key k "right"
if k=1 then gosub "k_right"
is_key k "set"
if k=1 then goto "k_set"
is_key k "no_key"
if k=1 then goto "timeout"
goto "loop"
:timeout
print "Timeout"
goto "end"
:k_left
...
return
:k_right
...
return
:k_set
...
:end
end
The set_tv, get_tv, etc commands
- There are several commands for getting and seting the aperture and the speed. They only work in Manual mode; well you can change the settings in any mode, but they are effective in manual mode, probably also in Av and Tv modes). I put a test script for these commands in the "user written sripts"
The commands are
get_tv target set_tv_rel val set_tv val get_av target set_av_rel val set_av val
- Target is the name of a variable (a, b, ..z), val is an expression.
- An example of setting and printing the values.
:set_get set_av c set_tv b print "AV,TV set to",c,b sleep 1000 click "shoot_half" sleep 100 get_av n get_tv m print "AV,TV got",n,m end
- You can change the settings relative to existing values:
rem increase light (1/3+1/3 steps) set_tv_rel 0-1 set_av_rel 0-1 shoot end
- This migt make bracketing easierand faster
- For A710is the Av and Tv settings provide the following actual values; roughly +/-1 setting means +/-1/3 EV change.
set_av set_tv set_tv set_tv
9 2.8 -13 15" 3 0.5" 19 1/80
10 3.2 -12 13" 4 0.4" 20 1/100
11 3.5 -11 10" 5 0.3" 21 1/125
12 4.0 -10 ? 6 1/4 22 1/160
13 4.5 -9 8" 7 1/5 23 1/200
14 5.0 -8 6" 8 1/6 24 1/250
15 5.6 -7 5" 9 1/8 25 1/320
16 6.3 -6 4" 10 1/10 26 1/400
17 7.1 -5 3.2" 11 1/13 27 1/500
18 8.0 -4 2.5" 12 1/15 28 1/640
-3 2" 13 1/20 29 ???
-2 1.6" 14 1/25 30 1/800
-1 1.3" 15 1/30 31 1/1000
0 1" 16 1/40 32 1/1250
1 0.8" 17 1/50 33 1/1600
2 0.6" 18 1/60 34 1/2000
- For A610 the Av and Tv settings provide the following actual values:
set_av set_tv set_tv set_tv
9 2.8 -13 15" 3 0.5" 19 1/80
10 3.2 -12 13" 4 0.4" 20 1/100
11 3.5 -11 10" 5 0.3" 21 1/125
12 4.0 -10 ? 6 1/4 22 1/160
13 4.5 -9 8" 7 1/5 23 1/200
14 5.0 -8 6" 8 1/6 24 1/250
15 5.6 -7 5" 9 1/8 25 1/320
16 6.3 -6 4" 10 1/10 26 1/400
17 7.1 -5 3.2" 11 1/13 27 1/500
18 8.0 -4 2.5" 12 1/15 28 1/640
-3 2" 13 1/20 29 ???
-2 1.6" 14 1/25 30 1/800
-1 1.3" 15 1/30 31 1/1000
0 1" 16 1/40 32 1/1250
1 0.8" 17 1/50 33 1/1600
2 0.6" 18 1/60 34 1/2000
35 1/2500
- For the S2/S3 IS the Av and Tv settings provide the following actual values:
Aperture Exposure
Value index Value index Value index
F/2.7 0 15" -13 1/15 12
F/3.2 10 13" -12 1/20 13
F/3.5 11 10" -11 1/25 14
F/4.0 12 8" -9 1/30 15
F/4.5 13 6" -8 1/40 16
F/5.0 14 5" -7 1/50 17
F/5.6 15 4" -6 1/60 18
F/6.3 16 3"2 -5 1/80 19
F/7.1 17 2"5 -4 1/100 20
F/8.0 18 2" -3 1/125 21
1"6 -2 1/160 22
1"3 -1 1/200 23
1"" 0 1/250 24
0"8 1 1/320 25
0"6 2 1/400 26
0"5 3 1/500 27
0"4 4 1/640 28
0"3 5 1/800 30
1/4 6 1/1000 31
1/5 7 1/1250 32
1/6 8 1/1600 33
1/8 9 1/2000 34
1/10 10 1/2500 35
1/13 11 1/3200 0
- For Tv, 2 values are equal, 1" and 1/3200 with 0.
CHDK Build 119 Remapped Values (* = change)
S3-IS (Should be the same on all camera models now? If so we can remove the previous tables. Please confirm on other models.)
Aperture Exposure
Value index Value index Value index
* F/2.7 9 * 15" -12 1/15 12
F/3.2 10 * 13" -11 1/20 13
F/3.5 11 * 10" -10 1/25 14
F/4.0 12 8" -9 1/30 15
F/4.5 13 6" -8 1/40 16
F/5.0 14 5" -7 1/50 17
F/5.6 15 4" -6 1/60 18
F/6.3 16 3"2 -5 1/80 19
F/7.1 17 2"5 -4 1/100 20
F/8.0 18 2" -3 1/125 21
1"6 -2 1/160 22
1"3 -1 1/200 23
1"" 0 1/250 24
0"8 1 1/320 25
0"6 2 1/400 26
0"5 3 1/500 27
0"4 4 1/640 28
0"3 5 * 1/800 29
1/4 6 * 1/1000 30
1/5 7 * 1/1250 31
1/6 8 * 1/1600 32
1/8 9 * 1/2000 33
1/10 10 * 1/2500 34
1/13 11 * 1/3200 35
- Usage Notes
When using the set_tv, set_tv_rel, or set_av, set_av_rel commands it was found that it may not be effective if inserted into a sequence of commands that used the press and in some instances the click "button" commands. If when testing your script that you find these commands will not alter the shutter-speed or aperture, try moving them to a position just before any press "shoot_half/full" or click "timer" (unique s-series) commands. For an example see the "Lightning Photography" scripts on where the set_tv command had to be placed before it would work. It was tried in all other locations before the actual shooting was to begin, setting the shutter-speed in other locations in the script wouldn't work otherwise.
There also seemed to be no problem setting a set_tv 0 value on S-series cameras with 0 being 1 second or 1/3200 second, it always defaulted to a 1 second shutter-speed. Since the 1/3200 speed is only available with an f/8.0 aperture setting, it might take a special way to trigger the 1/3200 shutter speed using a set_tv 0. Perhaps it can be done with a set_av 18, set_tv 35, set_tv_rel 1 sequence. Obsolete info for CHDK Build 119 or later.
The set_zoom, set_zoom_rel, get_zoom, set_zoom_speed commands
(CHDK Build 119 or greater, command set_zoom_speed is available in Build 122 or greater)
- Syntax:
- set_zoom x (where x is 0 to 8, 14, or 129, see Range)
- set_zoom_rel x (x is +/- relative change)
- get_zoom x (zoom-step value placed in variable x)
- set_zoom_speed x (where x can be from 5-100 range. Will do nothing for A-series)
- (5 is 5% of high-speed, 100 is 100% of high-speed)
- Range:
- A-series: x = 0 to 8 or 14 (9 or 15 steps)
- S-series: x = 0 to 128 (129 steps)
Note 1: Camera does not refocus automatically after the end of zooming. Use a click or press/release "shoot_half" command to implement a refocusing if needed.
Note 2: It was found that if using the slowest speed (5), that an S3 IS might shut down after it has waited too long for the zoom to traverse the whole range of 129 steps, a speed of 10 did not exhibit this behavior on an S3 IS. 5 is so slow though, that I doubt it would rarely be needed, except in movie-shooting scripts, and then the range could be limited to prevent camera shut-down.
Note 3: CAUTION! (found on S3 IS) If set_zoom_speed is not written into the script when set_zoom x is used, the camera will refocus some of your optics to make it where the camera is unable to focus on anything in any mode. The camera (when zooming without a set-zoom speed) appears to move an internal lens element that puts the lens into a Super-Macro mode where it focuses on internal lens elements at widest-angle. If this command is left out of a script using the set_zoom x command, you will have to shut down your camera and restart it to reset the zoom-lens' optics back to defaults. However, an interesting thing is found -- when running the "Zoom-Shoot" script by rem-ing out the set_zoom_speed command (removing it from being implemented), after the camera resets its zoom, the lens is now in a ZOOMED tele-macro SUPER-MACRO MODE! Giving you close-up focusing ability at fullest zoom! (as if you had placed a +4 or so close-up lens on your camera) Far surpassing the capabilities that Canon designed. Perhaps this "bug" could be put to great use? Or it might damage your focusing and zooming mechanisms. USE WITH CAUTION. Because you can hear the camera strain up against some internal lens-adjustment stops when it's trying to reset the zoom. And the only way to "un-do" this (really nice!) tele-super-macro mode is by turning the camera off and on again.
(Leaving this small chart here for reference, but is no longer applicable to the new set_zoom commands.)
- S-Series Zoom Speed: 36mm-432mm or 432mm-36mm
- slow = 6 seconds (available in single-shot & movie mode)
- medium = 4 seconds (available in movie mode)
- high-speed = 1 second (available in single-shot mode)
The set_focus and get_focus commands
(CHDK Build 125 or greater)
- Syntax:
- set_focus x (where x is the distance in mm)
- get_focus x (the distance value placed in variable x)
The set_iso and get_iso commands
(CHDK Build 125 or greater)
- Syntax:
- set_iso x (where x is one of the following values: 0 - AutoISO; 1,2,3,4,5 - 50(80),100,200,400,800; -1 - HiISO (where applicable))
- get_iso x (the ISO value placed in variable x)
Motion Detection Commands (Special Build Only)
- Note: These uBASIC script commands are only available to a special build of CHDK (available here) It is unknown at this time if this will become a standard feature of CHDK or not, so these commands are being placed in their own section. To also not confuse people that these will work with the standard CHDK platform.
- I am not the author of this feature, so some errors may exist in the information below. Hopefully the author will check in to see if this is all correct or not. The main brunt of it being taken from MX3's own demo and test script files.
Available Commands
md_detect_motion
This command is the main brunt of setting all feature parameters.
/--/-COLUMNS, ROWS to split picture into
| |
| | MEASURE MODE (Y,U,V R,G,B) - U=0, Y=1, V=2, R=3, G=4, B=5
| | |
| | | TIMEOUT
| | | |
| | | | COMPARISON INTERVAL (msec)
| | | | |
| | | | | THRESHOLD ( difference in cell to trigger detection)
| | | | | |
| | | | | | DRAW GRID (0-no, 1-yes)
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | RETURN VARIABLE number of cells with motion detected
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | OPTIONAL PARAMETERS:
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | REGION (masking) mode: 0-no regions, 1-include,
| | | | | | | | | 2-exclude
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | REGION FIRST COLUMN
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | REGION FIRST ROW
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | REGION LAST COLUM
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | REGION LAST ROW
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | PARAMETERS: 1-make immediate shoot,
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2-log debug information into file.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | OR-ed values are accepted
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | PIXELS STEP - Speed vs. Accuracy
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | adjustments (1-use every pixel,
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2-use every second pixel, etc)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MILLISECONDS DELAY to begin
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | triggering - can be useful
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | for calibration with DRAW-
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | GRID option.
md_detect_motion a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p
The minumum number of variables that must be set with this command are:
- md_detect_motion a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h
- Timeout: it is time in milliseconds for which md_detect_motion will block execution of next ubasic commands if during this period no motion detected.
this parameter is usefull if you want to execute periodicaly some other ubasic commands together with MD. i.e. MD routine waits wor changes for 1 second. if no motion detected script can continue to execute some other code and then if required can resume motion detection by calling agaign md_detect_motion. so timeout is just time for which md routine will wait for changes. (feel free to change my poor english. mx3)
- Comparison Interval: The time delay in milliseconds in which to check for a change in a cell's values. If you need to filter out small changes made frequently by faster moving objects (leaves in the wind, or flying insects, for example) you would increase this value so that timed samples are further apart. Very useful when trying to detect changes in very slow moving subjects, i.e. snails, slime-molds, a slow-moving criminal trying to avoid motion detection devices :-), etc.
- (insert more information on variable parameter functions and uses as they become known or more familiar)
md_get_cell_diff
- Usage: md_get_cell_diff (column), (row), x
- Where x will be difference of 0 to 255 between the last and present change in that cell. Triggering a script to shoot on this value may be done by detecting no change, or how much sensitivity you would like to detect in that cell.
- Examples:
- If you would like to have the camera shoot an image when all motion stops, use:
- if x=0 then "shoot"
- To shoot an image when any motion is detected at all use:
- if x>0 then "shoot"
Debugging: the Unk Alert
- This tiny version of uBASIC includes some debugging help. When running a script with a bad command you might sometimes get an Unk statement printed in the top-left corner of your EVF or LCD display. This will alert you to why your coding didn't work, albeit in a very abreviated format.
- Some exmaples of what you might see, and what they will mean:
- (insert examples and explanations here)
Some unexpected behaviour of uBASIC
- These are my observations, which might be inaccurate. Stebu
do not "execute" labels
- After release #68 this is not true, you can leave out the "goto "nega"" statement. Also the extra space after the label is not necessary any more.
if a<0 then goto "nega" let a=5*6 goto "nega" rem If this line is left out and a>=0 then an error rem (unk statement or unk label) will be generated :nega
IF / THEN / ELSE GOSUB fails in some instances
Fixed in CHDK Build #144 and later.
- The commands of:
if a=0 then shoot else gosub "routine"
- or
if a>0 then gosub "routine" else shoot
Will result in a Parse error for some reason. It cannot be discerned at this time if it's a problem with the shoot command or the shoot command used in conjuntion with a gosub command, or if this command syntax is just not normally allowed no matter what.
Using the UBASIC_TEST.EXE Console
- There is now a way where you can test your CHDK scripts without needing to load them into the camera every time, finding the error and then changing a line, loading it into the camera again and again.
- Download this small file http://grandag.nm.ru/hdk/ubasic_test.rar UnRAR (like UnZIP) it to your scripts working location on your hard-drive. You should have a file named ubasic_test.exe in your scripts-work folder now. You have to run this program from a Windows Command Prompt (the old time DOS window). Some people have a "Launch Command Prompt Here" on the right-click menu of Windows Explorer, so you can just right-click on the folder where your scripts and ubasic_test.exe file reside. (You can get this by installing "Open Command Window Here" Power Toy, available here.) Or you can go to Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt (where I have mine for some reason). And use the CD command to Change Directories until you get to where your scripts and ubasic_test.exe file reside. For example, if you start out in root directory C:\ and your scripts are on drive D: in a sub-folder called CHDK\Files\Scripts\, at the command prompt just type
cd D:\CHDK\Files\Scripts
- and you'll be where you're supposed to be. (You might want to rename that little program to just test.exe to make it easier to type each time.)
- To test one of your scripts in that folder, at the Command Prompt, just type "ubasic_test scriptname.bas" (without the quotes). Where "scriptname.bas" is the name of the script you want to test. It will use the default settings you have assigned to your variables. For testing you should change some of those values to make sure everything is working properly under new user-defined settings. (The reason I suggest you rename that ubasic_test.exe to just text.exe, is then all you have to type is "test scriptname.bas", saving you a few key-presses.)
- The easiest way to run console programs is to use a file manager which has a command line. For example, Far Manager or Total Commander.
- You can also test your scripts via drag&drop with a batch file. Here's how to do it:
- Open a texteditor and put the following lines in there:
@ubasic_test.exe %1 @pause
- Save this as "ubasic_test.bat" in the same folder where your ubasic_test.exe is. Now you can drag a script with your mouse onto this batch file and it will be executed. (This would also work without making a special batch file, but we need the "pause" command to read the output).
- You may need to modify your BAT file to have the @ubasic_test.exe %1 line to include the full path to your ubasic_text.exe file, as well as enclosing the variable %1 in quotes, in case your script's filename includes any spaces. For example:
@H:\Tests\CHDK_Files\SCRIPTS\ubasic_test.exe "%1" @pause
- If you run into problems and this still doesn't work (using this drag & drop method):
- 1) Make sure your ubasic_test.exe file and scripts are not in any path that contains spaces. (Example: you can't have it in a sub-folder path of "D:\CHDK Files\Script Tests\ubasic_test.exe" Change those spaces to _ (underscores) in your actual folder-names if need be.)
- 2) Your BAT file association may have become corrupted. Here's a handy page of Windows® XP File Association Fixes Get the one for Batch Files. (Save them all, they may come in handy one day!)
- If you run into problems and this still doesn't work (using this drag & drop method):
- (How did I find this out? I had all these problems going for me. :-) )
An alternative drag and drop method (WinXP):-
1) Rightclick on uBasic.exe and make a shortcut on desktop, 2) Find/search for your script. 3) drag your script to uBasic icon letgo and it runs!
You may have to adjust the 'Icon' properties to keep the result on-screen
The addition of a few extra print and rem statements will help debugging, also include values to replace the @defaults.
Script-Writer's Handy Command-Reference List
- I got tired of trying to remember all the commands, so I put together this handy reference list to keep open in my text-editor alongside any scripts I might be working on. I thought it might help other script-writers too.
CHDK Command List
(Build 129 or later)
shoot
click "button-name"
press "button-name" (used in conjunction with release)
release "button-name"
button-names:
up / down / left / right
set
shoot_half
shoot_full
zoom_in / zoom_out
menu
display
print (means "shortcut" in s-series)
erase (means "func"in s-series)
S-series specific button-names:
iso
flash
mf
macro
video
timer
other commands:
set_zoom, set_zoom_rel, get_zoom
syntax: set_zoom x (where x is 0 to 8, 14, or 129)
set_zoom_rel x (x is +/- relative change)
get_zoom x (zoom value placed in variable x)
range: A-series x = 0 to 8 or 14 (9 or 15 steps)
S-series x = 0 to 128 (129 steps)
Zoom command restrictions:
* Camera does not refocus automatically after the end of zooming.
Use a click or press/release "shoot_half" command to implement
a refocusing if needed.
* The "sleep" command is needed after the "set_zoom" command.
Otherwise, camera will shutdown if other command is executed
duiring zoomming process. S-Series: pay attention to last
selected zoom-speed and range of zoom require for the sleep cycle
needed.
* S-series: The speed of zooming depends on previous manual zooming
speed. There are 3 zooming speeds, slow, medium, and high-speed.
Slow and high-speed zoom-speed in all modes except for Movie Mode.
In Movie Mode you have slow and medium zooming speed.
S-series Zoom Speed: 36mm to 432mm, or 432mm to 36mm
slow = 6 seconds (sleep = 47 * number of steps)
medium = 4 seconds (sleep = 32 * number of steps)
high-speed = 1 second (sleep = 8 * number of steps)
set_tv, set_tv_rel get_tv
syntax: set_tv x (where x is the index value)
set_tv_rel x (x is +/- relative change)
get_tv x (index value placed in variable x)
Exposure
Value index (w/ black-frame) Value index
15" -12 (~33") 1/15 12
13" -11 (~27") 1/20 13
10" -10 (~21") 1/25 14
8" -9 (~17") 1/30 15
6" -8 (~13") 1/40 16
5" -7 (~11") 1/50 17
4" -6 (~9") 1/60 18
3"2 -5 (~7") 1/80 19
2"5 -4 (~6") 1/100 20
2" -3 (~5") 1/125 21
1"6 -2 (~4") 1/160 22
1"3 -1 (~3") 1/200 23
1"" 0 1/250 24
0"8 1 1/320 25
0"6 2 1/400 26
0"5 3 1/500 27
0"4 4 1/640 28
0"3 5 1/800 29
1/4 6 1/1000 30
1/5 7 1/1250 31
1/6 8 1/1600 32
1/8 9 1/2000 33
1/10 10 1/2500 34
1/13 11 1/3200 35 (s-series)
(note: the w/ black-frame times are approximations for
true total-time needed for the longer shutter-speeds)
set_av, set_av_rel, get_av
syntax: set_av x (where x is the index value)
set_av_rel x (x is +/- relative change)
get_av x (index value placed in variable x)
Aperture
Value index
F/2.7 9
F/3.2 10
F/3.5 11
F/4.0 12
F/4.5 13
F/5.0 14
F/5.6 15
F/6.3 16
F/7.1 17
F/8.0 18
set_focus, get_focus
syntax: set_focus x (where x is the distance in mm)
get_focus x (the distance value placed in variable x)
set_iso, get_iso
syntax: set_iso x (where x is index value)
get_iso x (index value placed in variable x)
ISO
Value index
AutoISO 0
50(80) 1
100 2
200 3
400 4
800 5 (where applicable)
HiISO -1 (where applicable)
The usage as the following:
wait_click, is_key
syntax: wait_click (waits for keypress)
is_key k "<key>" (set k as 1 if the last key pressed was <key>)