Can I hack my digicam firmware?

[watdahel]

I wonder if I can hack the firmware for my digicam so I can add RAW capture or adjust the compression?

 

[phisrow]

Theoretically possible; but not generally practical.

There have been a few instances, usually where two cameras from the same manufacturer were distinguished mostly by software and price, that enterprising geeks were able to unlock extra features on the cheaper model. That sort of thing is rather dependent on having the more featureful; but otherwise quite similar camera to work with and/or the firmware being hacked having just a few simple feature disable switches.

In general, though, cameras are usually treated as black boxes.

 

[MichaelD]

To add on to what Phisrow said:

You might try searching the web for forums related to your make/model camera or searching for "firmware for Minolta 123" or something like that.

I've heard of it being done, but like Phisrow said, it's usually due to "identical" cameras being differentiated only by feature set as opposed to hardware. I.E. same lenses, same CCD, etc.