Webcam Compatibility (was Re: Logitech 9000 webcam)

[Graham Todd]

On Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:14:00 -0800
NoOp <glgxg at sbcglobal.net> uttered these words:

> > What tool are you using to view the camera? Have you tried setting
> > different resolutions, using Cheese?

[snipped]
   
> I much prefer guvcview over cheese. guvcview provides considerably
> more control settings.
[snipped]

As reported before, I have a Trust webcam that was given to me.  The
model has now been determined as the WB-1400T (or, for our friends in
the USA, its marketed as the WB-1400T US).

This is *NOT* a UVC (USB Video Class) compatible webcam.  

When connected, if you turn on guvcview you get an error message to the
effect that guvcview couldn't find a UVC compatible device.  Under
cheese, the display is out of focus (even with adjustments to the
focusing dial), dark and green-looking.

Using xawtv doesn't work either, so I guess it is not compatible with
the Video4Linux protocol, either Versions 1 or 2, so its best *not* to
presume you can get it working under Linux.

It works fine with WinXP so I think we can say its a Windows-only
device and it wont work under Linux.

This made me investigate a couple more webcams that others have, on my
Ubuntu-only box, with the following results:

Logitech QuickCam3000 for Business
_______________________________________

This provides a sharp, in-focus display out of the box and provides a
decent colour display that many would find perfect, but I found a
little bright - easily solved with guvcview.

I was told that this model cost about £16.00 through eBay, but was
found to be great for video calls without tweaking its display (she is,
after all, a WinXP user).

Logitech QuickCam E 1000
____________________________

Another UVC webcam which worked out of the box and this time perfectly.
The Ubuntu display isn't as sharp as its Windows alternative, but that
just to be down to the drivers used by guvcview.

Best of all, this webcam cost £6 through eBay and now can be found for
£10.00 plus post


-- 
Graham Todd