One of my favorite scripts sets time-lapse recordings. This tool will automatically fire your camera shutter on an interval that you select. Later, on a PC, you can import the individual photos into a video editor, and create sped-up shots of flowers opening, street traffic, and other progressive scenes.

Scripts are written in a version of BASIC. You can download many of them through the CHDK Web site. Visit this Web page for a time-lapse script, and just copy the BASIC text from the gray box. Paste the text in a plain-text editor, and save the file as 'ult_intervl.bas' in your SD Card's Scripts folder.

Insert the card into your camera, enter Alt mode, push the Menu button, and select Scripting parameters. Choose Load script from file..., navigate to the script, and select it. In the script menu, you can change some of the variables--the 'Script parameters'--to make it ideal for time-lapse photos.

The "delay" settings cause the camera to wait a fixed amount of time until your first shot is taken. I usually leave that off and then set a total number of shots that I would like to record. The "interval" settings are the most important because they govern the pause between photos. For fast-moving scenes, such as a busy sidewalk, I might wait just a few seconds. For slow scenes, such as stars drifting in the sky, I would set it to wait a minute or more.

Set the camera on a tripod or in another stationary position. Push the camera's Menu button, but stay in Alt mode. Push the shutter button to activate the script. When you're finished, leave Alt mode to go back to regular shooting.