[ltp] Good digital camera/reader for Debian R32?

cr linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org
Mon, 5 Sep 2005 02:43:49 +1200


On Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:43, Richard Neill wrote:
> mmalten@comcast.net wrote:
> > My trusty Canon A70 just popped its shutter.  $200 to repair, might as
> > well buy new.
> >
> > Except I discovered that my card reader was CF/SM and everyone seems to
> > be switching to SD.
> >
> > So I need to do some homework. Consumer Reports is a good source on the
> > hardware, but Linux compatibility is what I want to confirm.
> >
> > Debian Sarge, Linux debian 2.4.26-1-686, Thinkpad R32.
> >
> > Anyone using a similar config who can point me to a new camera and card
> > reader solution that is a) painless and b) cheap?
> >
> > As ever, thanks in advance.
>
> Most cameras other than Canon just mount over USB as a mass storage
> device (/dev/sdX). So you don't even need the card reader.
> (Olympus and Fuji usually "just work").
>
> Richard

Yeah, I'm running Woody on my desktop, Sarge on my old Thinkpad (and I'm 
stuck with Win2K at work).   

I bought a Fuji A205  which uses XD cards - it just mounts as a mass storage 
device on /dev/sda1  -  
modprobe usb-storage     then  
mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt 
The pics are then sitting in /mnt/dscf001/fuji/  or something like that (I 
forget the actual directory names)

XD cards (and I believe other memory cards) are usually formatted vfat.
NOTE - with a multi-card reader (see below - I've got two), the card may turn 
up on anything from  /dev/sda1 to /dev/sdg1 - it's just a case of trying to 
mount each in turn until successful.

I also found I could copy files _to_ the XD card in my Fuji and use it for 
transferring files between the desktop and the laptop (though it did pay to 
delete them before trying to use it for photography again, to avoid confusing 
the camera).    So then I just bought a cheap multi-card reader for the 
purpose  (just check the specs to make sure it includes XD).

With Win2K, ironically, I had some trouble unmounting ("stopping") the cards 
before unplugging the reader.   I say 'ironically' since the darn things are 
usually designed to work with Windoze.    

I've also used the reader for SD cards (out of a Canon at work - Canon 
cameras are a bugger to hook up to a PC) and CF cards.   

cr