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Author Topic: Sheddy-cam View  (Read 11044 times)

broadstairs

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #15 on: April 07, 2013, 05:54:26 PM »

I suspect you will find this a lot with peripherals and Linux, the usual problem is that for Windows the hardware comes with a driver or it is already supplied in Windows and a lot of hardware manufacturers wont supply drivers for Linux because everyone expects the code to be open source. I have a Logictech webcam which works with Linux although I dont use it much. I cant remember what model though and its not on the cam itself.

Stuart

PS> I just found the manual which says its a QuickCam E3500
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c6em

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #16 on: April 07, 2013, 06:21:19 PM »


this is was amuses/gets me about Linux.....
We get told how everything is open sourced etc and it's one happy family but then I read endless stories on forums over many years of the various problems people have getting all sorts of things to work: from wireless cards to graphics cards and the rest - because they don't have the driver - or because the open source driver they have..well, it sort of works but doesn't really.
Now I appreciate some derive enjoyment from sorting it out/fixing.......but this is not how mainstream computing for the masses can ever work....

I tend to sit here scratch my head and think time is money. In MSWindows you buy the thingy, download the driver run the installation program - and it works end of.
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asbokid

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #17 on: April 07, 2013, 06:27:54 PM »

There's a bit of a teardown of a device with the same UVC controller as used in that Sweex [1]. It looks good.  The controller is the VC0342 from Vimicro.   [2]  The datasheet for that IC isn't available, and at least part of the API for it is closed standard. [3]

Once bitten, twice shy.  When buying new hardware, I always check beforehand that there's a Linux driver. And where there's no Linux driver, I pointedly tell the manufacturer that I won't be buying it for that reason!   :o

cheers, a


[1] http://tim.cexx.org/?p=750
[2] http://www.vimicro.com/english/product/d_vc0342.htm
[3] http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.uvc.devel/5880/match=vc0342
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sheddyian

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #18 on: April 07, 2013, 06:53:49 PM »

There's a bit of a teardown of a device with the same UVC controller as used in that Sweex [1]. It looks good.  The controller is the VC0342 from Vimicro.   [2]  The datasheet for that IC isn't available, and at least part of the API for it is closed standard. [3]

Once bitten, twice shy.  When buying new hardware, I always check beforehand that there's a Linux driver. And where there's no Linux driver, I pointedly tell the manufacturer that I won't be buying it for that reason!   :o

Thanks!  I'll have a look at that!

As this is all new to me, some of my stumbling and frustration is from ignorance.  I've just been reading up some more and found (possible) ways of adjusting camera exposure levels and suchlike, though as yet I don't know if it's an X-Windows program or command line - I'm deliberately sticking to command line stuff on the Pi to keep memory usage down.

As to telling the manufacturer, yes I agree, though at the moment I'm trying to get the thing to work with existing hardware :)

The Sweex camera isn't bad, was nice and cheap, and has the increasingly-rare manual focus adjustment, so I'd be keen to carry on using that if I can.

Ian
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asbokid

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #19 on: April 07, 2013, 07:05:42 PM »

Does it work okay on the PC in Debian?  Is it possible that the driver hasn't ported properly to the arm platform of the Raspberry Pi?

cheers, a
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sheddyian

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #20 on: April 07, 2013, 07:07:25 PM »


this is was amuses/gets me about Linux.....
We get told how everything is open sourced etc and it's one happy family but then I read endless stories on forums over many years of the various problems people have getting all sorts of things to work: from wireless cards to graphics cards and the rest - because they don't have the driver - or because the open source driver they have..well, it sort of works but doesn't really.
Now I appreciate some derive enjoyment from sorting it out/fixing.......but this is not how mainstream computing for the masses can ever work....

I tend to sit here scratch my head and think time is money. In MSWindows you buy the thingy, download the driver run the installation program - and it works end of.

I kind-of agree with that, though I am trying to stay open minded about it, and I am interested in learning more about Linux.

My experience so far is this :

When you want to do straightforward stuff, it all works ok.

When you start getting a bit more involved, it suddenly feels like Windows 3.11 / DOS - it quickly gets very complicated and there's lots of files to edit and parameters to change.

Perhaps Windows has made us all a bit lazy though :)

BTW, a lot of the software that I run on my Windows machines is open source.  I'll have to do a tally, but I use remarkably little proprietary software, though my biggest usage (web/email) is Chrome and Windows Live Mail, so I ought to address that at some stage :)

The "buy the thingy, download the driver, it just works" argument is true, although market share of Windows is the main thing driving this. 

I found these figures the other day, and they quite surprised me :

Worldwide O/S market share, March 2013

Linux 1.17%
Mac 6.94%
Windows 91.89%

(there's furhter breakdown of what versions of Windows make up that share in this link)
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/04/01/windows-8-now-up-to-3-31-market-share-as-vista-finally-falls-below-the-5-mark/

I had genuinely expected Mac and Linux to be higher than that.

Ian
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sheddyian

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #21 on: April 07, 2013, 07:13:33 PM »

Does it work okay on the PC in Debian?  Is it possible that the driver hasn't ported properly to the arm platform of the Raspberry Pi?

That's probably a thing to try another day.  The Sweex webcam is clamped in position in the shed to try and keep it steady and aligned, and the Debian PC is indoors and not as portable as the Raspberry Pi for carrying up the shed :)

(This is why I've been testing the Pi with a different camera, because it was more convenient.)

But it's an interesting thought, and if I don't get any further with the Pi, it's one to try and prove or discount.

I'm currently trying to work out how to find the version of the Kernel on the Pi, and if it's the latest one....

uname -a 
07/04/2013 Linux cam2 3.6.11+ #371 PREEMPT Thu Feb 7 16:31:35 GMT 2013 armv6l GNU/Linux

(is that good?)
Ian
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sheddyian

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #22 on: April 07, 2013, 07:17:03 PM »

Oh, just to add

One possibility that ocurred to me just now is that the Sweex webcam is unhappy with the voltage / current available at the Raspberry Pi USB port

So I need to test it via a powered USB hub to see if that makes any difference.

Ian (turning Kitz into a live blog to remind me of stuff to do)
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asbokid

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #23 on: April 07, 2013, 07:34:56 PM »

I'm currently trying to work out how to find the version of the Kernel on the Pi, and if it's the latest one....

Code: [Select]
uname -a 
07/04/2013 Linux cam2 3.6.11+ #371 PREEMPT Thu Feb 7 16:31:35 GMT 2013 armv6l GNU/Linux

(is that good?)

Compiled two months ago today!  See kernel.org - it's reasonably up-to-date. Certainly loads newer than the version of the AMD64 kernel on this Debian Wheezy laptop:

Code: [Select]
$ uname -a
Linux l502x 3.2.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.2.39-2 x86_64 GNU/Linux

You might get an answer from the author of the uvc driver, Laurent Pinchart:

Code: [Select]
# modinfo uvcvideo
filename:       /lib/modules/3.2.0-4-amd64/kernel/drivers/media/video/uvc/uvcvideo.ko
version:        1.1.1
license:        GPL
description:    USB Video Class driver
author:         Laurent Pinchart <laurent.pinchart@ideasonboard.com>
srcversion:     965043822331624B00136FE
alias:          usb:v*p*d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00*
[..]
alias:          usb:v0458p706Ed*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00*
depends:        videodev,usbcore,media
intree:         Y
vermagic:       3.2.0-4-amd64 SMP mod_unload modversions
parm:           clock:Video buffers timestamp clock
parm:           nodrop:Don't drop incomplete frames (uint)
parm:           quirks:Forced device quirks (uint)
parm:           trace:Trace level bitmask (uint)
parm:           timeout:Streaming control requests timeout (uint)
#

cheers, a

edit: see the quirks parameter/s.. maybe something there? :

http://www.ideasonboard.org/uvc/faq/
« Last Edit: April 08, 2013, 09:18:54 PM by asbokid »
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sheddyian

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #24 on: May 14, 2013, 11:52:27 PM »

Brief update on Shedcam in Pi land :

Earlier today I ordered one of the shiny-new static sensitive Raspberry Pi camera modules from CPC.

My reasoning being that it will be extremely well supported, and with plenty of blog posts within weeks if not days on how to use it correctly.

The only downside I can see at the moment is that it's stated to be fixed focus, whereas I'd prefer a manually adjustable focus to get the garden in all it's glory, but let's see how it turns out.

Hopefully It'll inspire some "lenses and optics for dummies" blogs that I can pilfer ideas from to extend the focal range  :D

Ian

Pi camera board - isn't it small!
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roseway

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Re: Sheddy-cam View
« Reply #25 on: May 15, 2013, 06:55:15 AM »

Isn't it cute? You're going down a path that I've wanted to go down for some time, but unfortunately I can never find the time.
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