The Compact High-Energy Camera (CHEC) is a design option proposed for the small-sized telescopes (SSTs) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), focusing on the gamma-ray detection at the upper end of the gamma-ray spectrum (from 1 TeV up to around 300 TeV). Thanks to the use of dual-mirror, Schwarzschild–Couder (SC) optics, CHEC can be – by design – very compact (0.5 m × 0.5 m), light (∼50 kg), and low-cost (∼150€). Using electronics based on TARGET (TeV Array Read-out with GSa/s sampling and Event Trigger) application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) allows a flexible trigger scheme and continuous sampling at 1 GSa/s. Full waveforms for all 2048 pixels are read out without loss at over 600 Hz. Two full prototype cameras have been developed. The first, based on multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMs) as photosensors, was successfully characterised in the laboratory and during on-telescope campaigns where it saw Cherenkov light from air showers, as the first CTA camera prototype and the first camera ever using SC optics. The second, featuring upgraded ASICs and Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), is under commissioning at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik in Heidelberg.