Canon PowerShot A470

Searching for info on the Canon PowerShot A470 camera I found one person
asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that it
should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it actually does
work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported cameras yet. Does
anyone know for sure if this camera works with Linux? If so, what
versions of kernel and/or gPhoto2 does it work with, if that's a useful
question.

Thanks much....

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On 2008-05-01, Kevin the Drummer <nobody@tek.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
> asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that it
> should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it actually does
> work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported cameras yet. Does[/color]

Hmmm... I looked at DigiKam, which also uses gphoto2 libs,and it's not
listed. Canon is kinda weird, as it requires a software interface for most
of its cameras. Since yours is not listed in a couple prominent linux apps,
you might just check and see if you can mount your camera as a USB storage
device, like a USB flash drive. With some cameras, you can. Then, you
could just manually dwnld the jpg files.

nb

On 01 May 2008 15:08:14 GMT, Kevin the Drummer wrote:
[color=blue]
> Searching for info on the Canon PowerShot A470 camera I found one person
> asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that it
> should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it actually does
> work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported cameras yet. Does
> anyone know for sure if this camera works with Linux?[/color]

I suggest following up the following thread:

[url]http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?[/url]
msg_id=b29654620804032134q55b0e0e3g4f44fc1c95bfc55b%40mail.gmail.com

Contact the person who was apparently unable to get it to work and see
whether he managed to get it working. With PTP cameras, I've found that
accessing it as root is sometimes the only way because of the way some
distributions set up udev rules.

Bob T.

notbob <notbob@nothome.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> On 2008-05-01, Kevin the Drummer <nobody@tek.com> wrote:
>[color=green]
> > asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that it
> > should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it actually does
> > work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported cameras yet. Does[/color]
>
> Hmmm... I looked at DigiKam, which also uses gphoto2 libs,and it's not
> listed. Canon is kinda weird, as it requires a software interface for most
> of its cameras. Since yours is not listed in a couple prominent linux apps,
> you might just check and see if you can mount your camera as a USB storage
> device, like a USB flash drive. With some cameras, you can. Then, you
> could just manually dwnld the jpg files.[/color]

Yes, with my Olympus camera I transfer files over USB, and that works
just fine.

My wife wants to buy a Canon PowerShot A470, and I want to make sure it
works with Linux *before* we buy it. So, I can't really check to see if
it shows up on USB or not. I'm hoping that someone out there has one
and can tell me that it works fine, or doesn't work.

Thanks.....

--
PLEASE post a SUMMARY of the answer(s) to your question(s)!
Show Windows & Gates to the exit door.
Unless otherwise noted, the statements herein reflect my personal
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On Thu, 01 May 2008 15:08:14 +0000, Kevin the Drummer wrote:
[color=blue]
> Searching for info on the Canon PowerShot A470 camera I found one person
> asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that it
> should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it actually does
> work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported cameras yet. Does
> anyone know for sure if this camera works with Linux? If so, what
> versions of kernel and/or gPhoto2 does it work with, if that's a useful
> question.
>
> Thanks much....[/color]

1) Canon is legendary for their LACK of Linux support. For that reason, I
eschew everything Canon.

2) most recent cameras appear as mass storage devices when plugged into a
USB port with any modern Linux. It should work fine.

3) if it does not all you need is an inexpensive USB card reader - see
crucial.com for examples. I recommend getting one anyway - it frees up the
camera so you don't run the batteries down transferring images, and they
are faster - particularly if the camera is only USB 1.1.

["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.misc.]
On 1 May 2008 18:51:10 GMT, ray wrote:[color=blue]
> On Thu, 01 May 2008 15:08:14 +0000, Kevin the Drummer wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Searching for info on the Canon PowerShot A470 camera I found one person
>> asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that it
>> should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it actually does
>> work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported cameras yet. Does
>> anyone know for sure if this camera works with Linux? If so, what
>> versions of kernel and/or gPhoto2 does it work with, if that's a useful
>> question.[/color]
>
> 1) Canon is legendary for their LACK of Linux support. For that reason, I
> eschew everything Canon.
>
> 2) most recent cameras appear as mass storage devices when plugged into a
> USB port with any modern Linux. It should work fine.[/color]

Look at the list of Canon PowerShot cameras currently supported by
gphoto:

[url]http://www.gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php[/url]

Canon's lack of support isn't relevant. Although the A470 isn't on the
list, this is almost certainly because the developers haven't been able
to test it yet. I would say the chances that gphoto won't support the
A470 very soon if not immediately are vanishingly small.

Bob T.

On Thu, 01 May 2008 18:28:25 +0000, Kevin the Drummer wrote:
[color=blue]
> notbob <notbob@nothome.com> wrote:[color=green]
>> On 2008-05-01, Kevin the Drummer <nobody@tek.com> wrote:
>>[color=darkred]
>> > asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that
>> > it should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it
>> > actually does work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported
>> > cameras yet. Does[/color]
>>
>> Hmmm... I looked at DigiKam, which also uses gphoto2 libs,and it's not
>> listed. Canon is kinda weird, as it requires a software interface for
>> most of its cameras. Since yours is not listed in a couple prominent
>> linux apps, you might just check and see if you can mount your camera
>> as a USB storage device, like a USB flash drive. With some cameras,
>> you can. Then, you could just manually dwnld the jpg files.[/color]
>
> Yes, with my Olympus camera I transfer files over USB, and that works
> just fine.
>
> My wife wants to buy a Canon PowerShot A470, and I want to make sure it
> works with Linux *before* we buy it. So, I can't really check to see if
> it shows up on USB or not. I'm hoping that someone out there has one
> and can tell me that it works fine, or doesn't work.
>
> Thanks.....[/color]

My Canon Powershot SD500 works with gphoto but I stopped using gphoto
because it wasn't stable. I just plug the SD card into my SD card reader,
it's much faster and it's completely stable. I wouldn't worry about
compatibility, just get the camera you want. Cameras all use either SD or
Compact FLASH cards which are standard and are fully supported. The USB
cable on my Canon is behind a crappy rubber door that is held on by a
tiny band. If I were to use it on any sort of regular basis that band
would break, popping out the SD card is much more reliable so I would do
it that way even if the USB connection on the Powershot were as fast as
my SD card reader.

On 2008-05-01, General Schvantzkopf <schvantzkopf@yahoo.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> My Canon Powershot SD500 works with gphoto but I stopped using gphoto
> because it wasn't stable. I just plug the SD card into my SD card reader,[/color]


I use gphotofs with my Nikon Coolpix, and it works great. I use my own
scripts to quickly download and edit photographs with xv.

i

[color=blue]
> it's much faster and it's completely stable. I wouldn't worry about
> compatibility, just get the camera you want. Cameras all use either SD or
> Compact FLASH cards which are standard and are fully supported. The USB
> cable on my Canon is behind a crappy rubber door that is held on by a
> tiny band. If I were to use it on any sort of regular basis that band
> would break, popping out the SD card is much more reliable so I would do
> it that way even if the USB connection on the Powershot were as fast as
> my SD card reader.[/color]

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On Thu, 01 May 2008 16:05:36 -0500, Ignoramus3962 wrote:
[color=blue]
> On 2008-05-01, General Schvantzkopf <schvantzkopf@yahoo.com> wrote:[color=green]
>> My Canon Powershot SD500 works with gphoto but I stopped using gphoto
>> because it wasn't stable. I just plug the SD card into my SD card
>> reader,[/color]
>
>
> I use gphotofs with my Nikon Coolpix, and it works great. I use my own
> scripts to quickly download and edit photographs with xv.
>
> i[/color]

It's been a long time since I've used gphoto, probably Fedora Core 6, it
could even have been Fedora Core 5. At the time gphoto could crash my
system, it's the only thing that I've ever seen that could cause a kernel
crash. However it's been so long since I've used it that I'm sure the
fatal bugs have been fixed by now. Even so I find card readers so
convenient that I haven't been tempted to try gphoto again.

On 2008-05-01, General Schvantzkopf <schvantzkopf@yahoo.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> On Thu, 01 May 2008 16:05:36 -0500, Ignoramus3962 wrote:
>[color=green]
>> On 2008-05-01, General Schvantzkopf <schvantzkopf@yahoo.com> wrote:[color=darkred]
>>> My Canon Powershot SD500 works with gphoto but I stopped using gphoto
>>> because it wasn't stable. I just plug the SD card into my SD card
>>> reader,[/color]
>>
>>
>> I use gphotofs with my Nikon Coolpix, and it works great. I use my own
>> scripts to quickly download and edit photographs with xv.
>>
>> i[/color]
>
> It's been a long time since I've used gphoto, probably Fedora Core 6, it
> could even have been Fedora Core 5. At the time gphoto could crash my
> system, it's the only thing that I've ever seen that could cause a kernel
> crash. However it's been so long since I've used it that I'm sure the
> fatal bugs have been fixed by now. Even so I find card readers so
> convenient that I haven't been tempted to try gphoto again.
>[/color]

It works OK for me. I find it more convenient not to take the card out
of the camera.

--
Due to extreme spam originating from Google Groups, and their inattention
to spammers, I and many others block all articles originating
from Google Groups. If you want your postings to be seen by
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posting on Usenet.
[url]http://improve-usenet.org/[/url]

I have the canon powershot A75 and it works. Via gphoto2 or just
extracting the card and using a card reader. I generally used the card
reader, since using the tether drains like 90x's more battery power than
just taking pictures.

And my A75 no longer works and has always been a PITA. Left it in the car
overnight, tried using it while still slightly chilled and the zoom
stopped working. A few months later and the zoom would work sometimes.
Oddly enough when I was traveling and in a bigger metropolis the zoom
worked. But if I formatted the CF card, it'd stop working. And now about
three years later something else is whacky on it. It'll take pictures, but
for some reason all that the camera part sees anymore is sort of a black
screen with lots of random static. Banged it around some and got it to
take actual pictures for a bit, but now nothing but static. Complete junk,
worthless IMO.

I now have a Sony Cybershot, and love it. Came with a special rechargeable
battery that lasts forever. Got a $59 2GB memory stick for it, which you
pretty much have too. Since with it's onboard 54MB of memory, you can
only take about 15 pictures per download. But with 2GB of space, I can
even take movies (25 fps) with audio. Connects via usb-storage, but you
have to select that mode from the cameras menu. Not saying that it's the
worlds greatest camera, just noticeably better than any canon I've owned.
I also owned a Canon printer (MPC-5000), and it's linux status is
PAPERWEIGHT. Canon didn't even bother making Windows XP or better
drivers for it.

[email]nobody@tek.com[/email] (Kevin the Drummer) wrote in
news:slrng1jn8j.j7r.nobody@lwe128481.central.tektronix.net:
[color=blue]
> Searching for info on the Canon PowerShot A470 camera I found one person
> asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that it
> should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it actually does
> work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported cameras yet. Does
> anyone know for sure if this camera works with Linux? If so, what
> versions of kernel and/or gPhoto2 does it work with, if that's a useful
> question.
>
> Thanks much....
>[/color]

Both my wife's A510 and my 40D work. The 40D as a PTP and the A510 are
either plain USB or PTP. I tend to just use my card reader for the A510
but plug the 40D in on USB. Sometimes Linux reports it can't see the 40D
but click retry a few times and it works.

Tweetie Pooh <brj601553@cia.gov> wrote:[color=blue]
> [email]nobody@tek.com[/email] (Kevin the Drummer) wrote in
> news:slrng1jn8j.j7r.nobody@lwe128481.central.tektronix.net:
>[color=green]
> > Searching for info on the Canon PowerShot A470 camera I found one person
> > asked when it will work with Linux, and another person responded that it
> > should work already. But, nowhere can I find info that it actually does
> > work. It's not in the gPhoto2 list of supported cameras yet. Does
> > anyone know for sure if this camera works with Linux? If so, what
> > versions of kernel and/or gPhoto2 does it work with, if that's a useful
> > question.[/color]
>
> Both my wife's A510 and my 40D work. The 40D as a PTP and the A510 are
> either plain USB or PTP. I tend to just use my card reader for the A510
> but plug the 40D in on USB. Sometimes Linux reports it can't see the 40D
> but click retry a few times and it works.[/color]

What's "PTP"?

Thanks....

--
PLEASE post a SUMMARY of the answer(s) to your question(s)!
Show Windows & Gates to the exit door.
Unless otherwise noted, the statements herein reflect my personal
opinions and not those of any organization with which I may be affiliated.

Kevin the Drummer wrote:
[color=blue]
> What's "PTP"?[/color]

Picture Transfer Protocol

This protocol also allows (if the camera supports it), to remote
control the camera over USB. This is e.g. usefull if you want to
setup a high resolution webcam, taking a picture every 10s or
so.

Wolfgang Draxinger
--
E-Mail address works, Jabber: [email]hexarith@jabber.org[/email], ICQ: 134682867

["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.hardware.]
Kevin the Drummer staggered into the Black Sun and said:[color=blue]
> Tweetie Pooh wrote:[color=green]
>> (Kevin the Drummer) wrote in[color=darkred]
>>> Searching for info on the Canon PowerShot A470 camera I found one
>>> person asked when it will work with Linux[/color]
>> Both my wife's A510 and my 40D work. The 40D as a PTP and the A510
>> are either plain USB or PTP. I tend to just use my card reader for
>> the A510 but plug the 40D in on USB.[/color]
> What's "PTP"?[/color]

I believe it stands for "Picture Transport Protocol". The camera
manufacturers decided that cameras acting as Mass Storage Devices wasn't
enough, because there's no way to convey the message "take a picture
now" or "change aperture and shutter speed" using that protocol. So
they invented a new protocol, with hundreds of variants depending on
camera model and how much crack the firmware developers were smoking
that day. While it works for many cameras, the thing that always works
is as another poster has said: Get a card reader and use it on the
camera's memory card.

--
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phasers on the Heffalump; Piglet, meet me in transporter room three."
My blog and resume: [url]http://crow202.dyndns.org:8080/wordpress/[/url]
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see

For what it's worth, I tried our new camera on our desktop computer
running Mandriva 2007.0. digiKam found a camera, but couldn't operate
it. 'lsusb' produced this

Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 04a9:317a Canon, Inc.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

I never did get it to work.

I tried the new camera on an HP laptop running Mandriva 2008.1 (aka
Mandriva 2008 Spring). digiKam again found the camera, but this time
everything works fine. It looks like a modern version of the operating
system combined with a modern version of digiKam is fine. I'm not sure
how modern the Linux software needs to be.

FYI.....

--
PLEASE post a SUMMARY of the answer(s) to your question(s)!
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Unless otherwise noted, the statements herein reflect my personal
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