Ubuntu Unleashed, Second Edition

FIGURE 11.1 Right-click on an image window to access the GIMP’s cascading menus.

Using Digital Cameras with Ubuntu

Most digital cameras used in connection with Ubuntu fall into one of two categories:

webcams (small, low-resolution cameras connected to the computer’s interface) or hand-

held digital cameras that record image data on disks or memory cards for downloading

and viewing on a PC. Ubuntu supports both types. Other types of cameras, such as

surveillance cameras that connect directly to a network via wire or wireless connections,

need no special support (other than a network connection and viewing software) to be

used with a Linux computer.

Ubuntu supports hundreds of different digital cameras, from early parallel-port (CPiA

chipset-based) cameras to today’s newer USB-based cameras. You can even use Intel’s QX3

USB microscope with Ubuntu. If you prefer a standalone network-based webcam, explore

the capabilities of Linux-based cameras from Axis (at http://www.axis.com/products/

video/camera/productguide.htm). The following sections describe some of the more

commonly used still camera hardware and software supported by Ubuntu.

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Webcams

Webcams are typically small, low-resolution cameras connected to your computer typi-

cally via a USB port. The camera can act in two modes: streaming (for a series of images of

a moving object) and grabbing (for a single still image). The most common uses for

webcams include videoconferencing and web voyeurism. The latter is not as lurid as it

might sound, although some webcam sites are notorious for their pornographic content.

Webcams can be used to send almost-live images to an online correspondent; many

people include screen grabs of themselves at their computer workstations just because

they can.

Coffee Pot Cam

One of the more interesting uses of a webcam was the legendary “Internet coffee pot”

cam (started in 1991, but turned off on August 22, 2001—a day that will live in

infamy). A webcam was trained on a coffee maker, and the sysadmin could see

whether fresh coffee was available without leaving his cubicle. Some webcams take

grabs of intersections in various cities. You will likely find some similar worthwhile use

for your webcam.

You can use any of the video applications that can access a video4linux device to view

webcam or still camera images in Ubuntu. You also can use GnomeMeeting (discussed in

Chapter 8, “On the Internet: Surfing the Web, Writing Email, and Reading the News”) as a

viewer for your webcam.

Not all webcams are supported in Linux and the drivers are based on the chipset used,

rather than the model or manufacturer. If you are uncertain about whether a specific

webcam will work with Linux or Ubuntu, then consult the oracle that is Google before

you part with your greenbacks.

TIP

Sadly the pwc driver that used to be included in the Linux kernel to provide support for

Phillips-based webcams was withdrawn over issues to do with binary files being

included within the kernel. This effectively cuts off anyone who uses a Logitech or

Phillips webcam, although there may be third-party solutions available on the Internet.

Handheld Digital Cameras

Digital cameras are one of the major success stories of the last few years. Now you can

take pictures and see previews of your pictures immediately. The pictures themselves are

stored on discs or memory cards that can be easily plugged into Ubuntu for further

manipulation using the GIMP or other software. Unfortunately, most of the supplied soft-

ware that comes with the cameras tend to be for Windows users only, making you reliant

on the packages supplied with Ubuntu.

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Thankfully, due to the good development carried out in Ubuntu and GNOME, you are

now able to plug pretty much any camera into your computer using a USB interface and

Ubuntu automatically recognizes the camera as a USB mass storage device. You can even

set Ubuntu to recognize when a camera is plugged in so that it automatically imports

your photographs for you.

To do this, you need to set up your settings for removable drives and media. You can find

this in the System, Preferences menu. Click the Cameras tab and select the option to

import digital photographs when connected (see Figure 11.2).

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FIGURE 11.2 Use GNOME’s intelligent handling of removable media by setting it to import

your photographs automatically.

Now whenever you connect a digital camera to your computer GNOME will automatically

detect it (see Figure 11.3), and ask whether you want to import the photographs.

FIGURE 11.3 GNOME detects the presence of a digital camera and asks whether the photos

should be imported.

By default GNOME uses the excellent gThumb package (see Figure 11.4), which, although

basic-looking, offers an easy to use interface and powerful cataloging capabilities.