If you have a Canon Powershot series camera (hi Dad!), you must give this a go. The power of the Internet brings you the CHDK firmware: third party firmware that unlocks so many useful features!
Start out by checking which firmware version you already have.
Then grab the current king of the hill firmware, the Allbest variant, in the right flavour for your camera model and firmware version. Put it on the root of your memory card and away you go!
RAW support, real time histograms, under/overexposed area flagging, exposure bracketing in continuous mode for easy HDR shots – and much more besides. What are you waiting for? Give your compact camera some features that rival a prosumer SLR.