SDB:Using Digital Cameras in Linux
Version: 9.1
Concern
You want to use a digital camera with SUSE LINUX.
This article provides an overview of the available possibilities for using digital cameras with Linux.
Procedure
Currently, approximately 400 cameras are supported. Supported cameras are automatically detected and mounted. When the camera is mounted, a suitable icon is displayed on the desktop or the respective software makes the detected camera available for use.
Find a list of the supported digital cameras at:
http://www.gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php
If problems arise during the detection of your USB camera, run YOU (YaST Online Update) in order to update the hotplug package.
In this respect, also refer to the article:
SDB:Could not enter folder /media/usb-storage-07340330088E:0:0:0p1
The instructions for manually mounting a digital camera as described in SDB:Using Digital Cameras Under Linux
For more information on the subfs file system, refer to the articles:
SDB:Could not enter folder /media/usb-storage-07340330088E:0:0:0p1
and:
SDB:SUSE Linux Hotplug System Overview
Serial cameras may still need to be configured manually. In this case, use the manual configuration option in the respective software.
In addition, it might be necessary to remove the comment sign preceding the following entry in the file /etc/resmgr.conf:
# For serial gphoto cameras. # add /dev/ttyS0 desktop
By doing this, the entry will be activated. After the activation, the entry will look like this:
# For serial gphoto cameras. add /dev/ttyS0 desktop # add /dev/ttyS1 desktop
Then the resource manager configuration must be reloaded. This can be done either with YaST2 in the runlevel editor module or by entering the following command in a text console as root:
rcresmgr reload
However, this should not be necessary in most cases.
gphoto
The command line-oriented program gphoto2 can be used to address digital cameras in Linux. This program uses the modules launched at /usr/lib/gphoto2/VERSION/ by the libgphoto2 library.
In a text console, the program gphoto2 can be used to get additional information on the camera model. Moeover, the digital camera can be controlled and operated entirely from the command line. Describing all possible parameters would go beyond the scope of an SDB article. Refer to the man page of gphoto2 (man gphoto2) for more information.
Application Software
Working with digital camera data from the command line can be quite cumbersome. For this reason, there are several applications (front-ends or GUIs) that facilitate camera operation.
The following applications are included in the standard installation of SUSE LINUX:
digikam
gtkam
A detailed description of all possibilities offered by these programs would go beyond the scope of an SDB article. For more details, refer to the help files, the information the programs provide in /usr/share/doc/packages/package_name, and the help function that can be accessed from the application menus.
Note regarding Digikam: Digikam can be found in the KDE menu under Graphics -> Photograph.
The Gimp
The graphics program 'The Gimp' is a good choice to display and edit pictures from digital cameras. The Gimp is located in the KDE menu under Graphics -> Image Editing.
Select the following menu items to display pictures:
File -> Acquire ->
The digital camera model should already be listed in the submenu. When you select this entry, the images should be displayed in a new window. The pictures can now be edited with all the functions available in The Gimp.
Konqueror
Images from a digital camera can also be displayed and edited with Konqueror. Press F9 in case the Konqueror window does not display the navigation area.
Now click on the button 'Devices' (second from top) or 'KDE services' (last button). You should be able to see the camera along with any available pictures. The pictures can be edited easily. Alternatively, enter the address camera:/ in the Konqueror location bar. Then press Enter. After a brief search phase, Konqueror will display the detected digital camera.
There is a number of other freely available applications:
jPhoto
PhotoPC
Open Digita
Tips:
Image formats:
The JPEG format is a compressed file format. Thanks to the preset compression, digital images require less storage space. For this reason, the JPEG format has become the standard format in digital cameras.
The Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) is a compressed (usually LZW) file format. Despite its higher storage space requirements, the TIFF format is widely used in digital photography due to its suitability for image processing.
Some digicams also support the RAW format. In this format, raw data remain unedited and uncompressed, thus enabling the user to optimize and make corrections in the image files. Specific software is required in order to fully exploit the possibilities of the RAW format. Only few programs can tap the full potential of the RAW format.
Images and image printing:
With an average of 80 dpi, a monitor requires less pixels than a printer to display a large picture. A printer works with 300 dpi, thus requiring more pixels.
You can use the following formula to determine the image formats in which you can create photo-realistic lab print-outs.
For example, for a picture size of 10 x 15 cm:
10 divided by 2.54 x 300 dpi = 1181 pixel
15 divided by 2.54 x 300 dpi = 1771 pixel
Accordingly, a resolution of approximately 1800 x 1200 pixel is required to achieve a photo-realistic 15x10cm image format.
Technical background:
In digital cameras, pictures are digitalized by way of a CCD chip (Charge Coupled Device) and then stored on a storage medium.
Depending on the field of applications, all these media (Compact Flash cards type I/II, Microdrive, Smart Media cards, Secure Digital(SD) cards, MultiMedia cards (MMC), memory sticks, xD-Picture cards, etc.) have certain advantages and disadvantages.
If you have a USB connection, the product ID is always transmitted. If gphoto supports your USB camera, the USB support for your camera can easily be added by adding the product ID. To find out the product ID (ProdID), connect the camera to the USB port and read the product ID from the device file /proc/bus/usb/devices:
cat /proc/bus/usb/devices
The product ID can also be read from the Windows driver's *.nif file.
If your camera is connected to the serial port and is not listed under the supported cameras, try using the driver of a previous or a different model from the same manufacturer. <keyword>digicam,gphoto,gtkam,gimp</keyword>