[GLLUG] digital cameras for unix

[Marr]

On Thursday 09 January 2003 03:47pm, Brian Hoort wrote:
> I'm thinking about purchasing an inexpensive digital camera, and would like
> it to work on GNU/Linux. After a short bit of web surfing, it looks like
> cameras either connect with gphoto or the USB mass storage driver.

This is generally the case, but some cameras offer both methods. For example, 
PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) is used by newer Kodak models and some other 
manufacturers' models as well. From what I've heard, certain models have a 
switch to select 'mass storage' mode versus 'some other protocol' (e.g. PTP) 
mode.

The advantage of 'mass storage' mode is that it's essentially very compatible 
with Linux (et al) since the camera appears as an ordinary mountable drive 
over the USB port without need of a separate Compact Flash (etc) [hardware] 
reader.

The disadvantage of 'mass storage' mode is that you can't do any of the cool 
things with software (like gphoto2) that some of these cameras support like 
remote setting of camera parameters and remote photo snapping. That's why a 
camera with a well-supported protocol is an advantage over 'mass storage' 
mode.

The 'gphoto2' library and the gphoto2 frontends (like 'gtkam') are unneeded 
(and useless) with cameras that support _only_ USB 'mass storage' mode.

> Does this mean that any that connect with gphoto are serial connections?

No, definitely not, assuming that by 'serial' you mean 'RS-232 serial'. 
Although many of the gphoto2 library drivers support RS-232 serial 
connections, most people seem to be using USB (for obvious reasons), which is 
also well supported by gphoto2.

For example, my own Kodak DC-260 (old but still useful) camera can be used 
with gphoto2/gtkam in either RS-232 serial or USB mode.

> Which do you recommend? Are there any other issues or suggestions
> you all have for me?

Check out Hubert Figuiere's gphoto2 camera support list(s) at:

   (NEWER) http://www.teaser.fr/~hfiguiere/linux/digicam.html

   (OLDER) http://www.teaser.fr/~hfiguiere/linux/digicam-support.html

In the past, his list has often been more up-to-date than the gphoto website, 
but that appears to have changed since there was a push a while back to get 
the (grossly outdated) gphoto website updated.  See here for details:

   http://gphoto.sourceforge.net/proj/libgphoto2/support.php

HTH....

Bill Marr
small-time gphoto2 contributor