if only Pentax made a RAW P&S

GerryL · 06-23-2009, 04:49 PM

Originally posted by tybeck

I never really understood why more P&S cameras don't offer RAW compatibility. My understanding is that the camera is producing the data anyway, so I'm guessing it's an issue of memory buffering or speed. Many of the Canon Powershots can be hacked with CHDK which is listed as having a RAW file save option (haven't tried it myself). I wonder how hard it would be to reverse engineer the Pentax P&S firmware?

I actually tried this myself with my Canon S3 IS.
Cool features came out, not just RAW as people were able to input their own .txt file programs for motion detection (the camera shoots when it detects motion), gets to have the histogram, makes it do bracketing. Most everything that a DSLR can do!
The hack is just some sort of instruction on the memory card which doesn't harm the actual firmware of the camera so, if you want to disable the hack, you can do so and revert to normal.
I'm sure this can be done for the Pentax if somebody would just be patient enough and have knowledge enough to make some sort of a CHDK hack.

Gabe · 06-26-2009, 10:55 PM

Originally posted by ManuH

I guess Panasonic fixed their annoying noise reduction then.

I guess so because straight prints from the LX3's JPEG's are amazing. This is the only Panasonic camera I've used, so I don't know what the noise was like with others and can't compare to yours. But to my eyes the quality is really good and noise is practically irrelevant at ISO up to 400.

Actually, one thing I love about the LX3 is shooting in low light on a mode called Dynamic Black & White, with the lens wide open at f/2.0, and in ISO1600. Yes, at that ISO it has significant noise, but it's really interesting noise that really contributes to the feel of the photograph.

amicah22 · 07-04-2009, 09:30 PM

Try opening the lx3 raw files with ufraw (free) it limited but produces good resolution and gives you the entire sensor --I'm guessing 22mm equivalent (about the same as the sigma 10-20 set at 15mm.)

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06-23-2009, 04:49 PM	#16
GerryL Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: CA Posts: 2,731	Originally posted by tybeck I never really understood why more P&S cameras don't offer RAW compatibility. My understanding is that the camera is producing the data anyway, so I'm guessing it's an issue of memory buffering or speed. Many of the Canon Powershots can be hacked with CHDK which is listed as having a RAW file save option (haven't tried it myself). I wonder how hard it would be to reverse engineer the Pentax P&S firmware? I actually tried this myself with my Canon S3 IS. Cool features came out, not just RAW as people were able to input their own .txt file programs for motion detection (the camera shoots when it detects motion), gets to have the histogram, makes it do bracketing. Most everything that a DSLR can do! The hack is just some sort of instruction on the memory card which doesn't harm the actual firmware of the camera so, if you want to disable the hack, you can do so and revert to normal. I'm sure this can be done for the Pentax if somebody would just be patient enough and have knowledge enough to make some sort of a CHDK hack.

06-26-2009, 10:55 PM	#17
Gabe Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 7	Originally posted by ManuH I guess Panasonic fixed their annoying noise reduction then. I guess so because straight prints from the LX3's JPEG's are amazing. This is the only Panasonic camera I've used, so I don't know what the noise was like with others and can't compare to yours. But to my eyes the quality is really good and noise is practically irrelevant at ISO up to 400. Actually, one thing I love about the LX3 is shooting in low light on a mode called Dynamic Black & White, with the lens wide open at f/2.0, and in ISO1600. Yes, at that ISO it has significant noise, but it's really interesting noise that really contributes to the feel of the photograph.

07-04-2009, 09:30 PM	#18
amicah22 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Queen creek, az Photos: Gallery Posts: 81	Try opening the lx3 raw files with ufraw (free) it limited but produces good resolution and gives you the entire sensor --I'm guessing 22mm equivalent (about the same as the sigma 10-20 set at 15mm.)