Digikam under Ubuntu/Linux

[oldgreygary]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone uses Digikam under Ubuntu/Linux. In the documentation it says two things that don't seem to work. One is that it auto detects a camera (which it does) but it does not download the images?. Secondly, it says in the settings options that under camera it gives you a selection of cameras to setup. This does not exist on my version. Version was downloaded from the Ubuntu software centre and is version 2.1.1. That seems to be another point as this seems to be way behind the version on the Digikam website.

Thanks

Cheers for now

Gary

[revi]

To start from the end: yes, the latest version is 2.5.0 (but there's a bug in the code that prevents it to compile :/ ), and 2.6.0 should come out soon. Problem is that they code against the latest (upstream) KDE version, so newer versions of Digikam don't always make it to the standard repositories. If you want a newer version, try to use Philip Johnsson's repositories, he usually has the latest versions compiled for various (K)ubuntu versions.

As for documentation not corresponding to the actual code, that's unfortunately the case in a lot of places (to the point that I don't even bother downloading it any more). The downloading section might be a case in point, as most cameras nowadays use standard USB protocols (proprietary protocols seem be be dying out, luckily).

To download your images, you could try to either use your memory card with a card reader (which works w/o problems for me) or make sure your camera is seen as external mass storage (i.e. a hard disk).

If you have more problems, try the Digikam mailing list

Disclaimer: I'm not using Ubuntu, but openSuse.

Remco

[oldgreygary]

Thanks for your reply Remco. Ubuntu/Linux recognises the camera as an external drive. So, I ended up copying the files that way. I guess like a lot of Open Source software it is let down by its lack of documentation. As well as updated software not making it into the depositories.

With such a program you do need it to be able to work your way around.

Cheers for now

Gary

[Hero]

Thanks for your reply Remco. Ubuntu/Linux recognises the camera as an external drive. So, I ended up copying the files that way. I guess like a lot of Open Source software it is let down by its lack of documentation. As well as updated software not making it into the depositories.

With such a program you do need it to be able to work your way around.

Cheers for now

Gary

Nobody ever seems to like to update documentation. It's one of the main issues in sw development (even more so in source-code comments).

When it comes to the latest versions in a distribution, there's a very good reason why they are hardly ever updated to the latest version. in Linux everything is based on stability. when a distribution is released, every program in that distribution has been checked that it will run alongside every other program in that distribution and no conflicts will occur. With a few thousand programs, it's virtually impossible to keep track and check every updated version of a program. So to guaranty the stability of a distribution, one has to sacrifice being up to date with the latest and greatest versions.
On the bright side of things, developers usually offer their latest version on their own website. But do keep in mind that it is completely at your own risk.

Last point, some applications work better with your camera in msc mode (your camera will be seen as a mass storage device/ thumb-drive) other apps work better with the camera in ptp mode (your camera will be seen as an interactive device like a printer or webcam) Try the two modes and see which works best with digikam.

[oldgreygary]

Could you explain msc/ptp mode? Are these options that can be set on a camera? At the moment all I use is a switch on the top of the camera that sets it to 'play' mode which allows the images to be downloaded.

Addition to post. This is the response from the Ubuntu forum:

I'm a newbie but I think I know what the problem is - I have another post on this site (Autorun Digikam when Camera Switched On) waiting for an answer. The problem is the same in 10.10 - you cannot import. The issue is that when you plug the camera in, Ubuntu mounts it - this is a problem for Digikam. In order to import pictures you have to configure Ubuntu to not mount the camera when it is switched on - the way to do this is in my thread/question above. When you do this the import function works very well. The issue is - how do we do the same thing (use configuration editor) to do something that is easy in 10.10 in 11.10?

I do use v11.10 of Ubuntu

Thanks

Gary

[Derek G]

I too had problems with Ubuntu recognising DIGIKAM,I dual boot with linux and win 7,{ I do all my financial transactions in linux much more secure} so now I use a derivative of Ubuntu { ZORIN} found on the Distrowatch site and problem solved I have tried most distros in the linux world and found this to be the most stable for my uses, ptp mode look here. http://www.diyphotobits.com/set-came...-not-usb-mode/ hope this helps.

[oldgreygary]

I've had this response from another forum.

Yes, the official digikam 2.1.1 packages from Ubuntu 11.10 have disabled the gphoto2 support during build so it doesn't matter if you have installed what's needed.

So, it appears that the latest release of Ubuntu doesn't support Digikam. This tends to beg the question, why the heck do they have it in the software depository to download then?!

Sometimes open source software has the effect of making you chase your own tail very successfully!

Gary

Gary

[Hero]

Could you explain msc/ptp mode? Are these options that can be set on a camera?

It's something you set on the camera.
On nikon cameras that support this switch you can find it in the set-up menu under USB. I don't know where to find it on cameras of other brands (if it's there)

About the package still being in the repository is because you can still use it with some cameras

[Hero]

Found these interesting bits after some searching:

more about this bug and a solution
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...am/+bug/865032

It's a packaging issue. The official Digikam 2.1.1 packages from Ubuntu is
built intentionally without libgphoto2 support to prevent crashes in libdc1394.
Think this was the only way at the moment to be able to get Digikam 2.x into
Ubuntu 11.10 before freeze.

I have built my packages on my PPA against OpenCV 2.3.1 and will have patched
libdc1394 to solve this issue instead of disable the features that comes with
libgphoto2 support.

Here is the link to his ppa:
https://launchpad.net/~philip5/+archive/extra

[revi]

...
Here is the link to his ppa:
https://launchpad.net/~philip5/+archive/extra

His repositories seem to have a good reputation, and he's quite active on the KDE mailing list. Just make sure that you use the proper packages and repositories. Mixing blind can give strange errors on startup (due to incompatible versions of libraries).

[oldgreygary]

I must admit that I am very much moving towards use Gimp and another photo management package(?). For me anyway, I don't want to spend ages messing around with areas that I do not know enough about if things go wrong!

Cheers for now

Gary

[revi]

From what you said, you could import your photos when using your camera as a hard disk, so that problem seems solved. For the rest, it depends what you expect from your photo management program (there's quite a list available, see here for instance, although they mix managers and editors). From what I've seen, Digikam offers the most possibilities, and is quite solid.

And in any case you'll need a program like the GIMP as well, as it allows you to work on pixel level, and with layers/masks etc. Digikam doesn't do editing at that level.

And if you don't mind not having the latest features immediately, the packaged versions are usually good. Compared to commercial software, free software tends to get upgraded very often (sometimes even too often)

[oldgreygary]

Hello Remco,

Thats fair comment. That would make sense to retain and use the best of Digikam and supplement with Gimp. Yup, that sounds like a better idea to me. Thanks for your opinions it helps to balance the pros and cons.

Cheers for now

Gary