My parents like film cameras but they are finding film harder and harder to find. So, they have decided to get a digital camera. I convinced them that before they go out and buy something that I might look around to see what good cameras there are out there. I’m thinking of all the closed source image formats there are out there that are used in cameras and was wondering what options there were for open source image capturing cameras? (I’m hoping I don’t have to mention all the problems with closed source for you guys to understand why nobody should want it.) Don’t bother with price yet, I’d like to know whats out there first, they will decide if the price is right. The camera should have optical zoom (Always a good thing.) They don’t care much if it is 1080p. If you suggested a video camera that could take stills, that would be fine too.
well since I am not sure where you are globally speaking I will only comment on several thing in general.
#1. most if not all cameras nowadays do not use any kind of proprietary format.
most consumer grade cameras use jpg/jpeg format, some will also allow you to use RAW format (!CAUTION! very big files and not really needed for all but professional photographers)
most consumer grade cameras can take still pics and movies.
the difference is only is that some cameras will limit the movie length to from 30 sec clips to up to 1 or 2 min. regardless of your storage size i.e. will not let you shoot continues movie longer then the limit.
some will not have this restrictions and will allow you to shoot a continues movie limited only by the storage card in your camera. (many will accept cards up to 32GB few will accept bigger storage.)
the more closer to professional cameras you go, high grade, high quality, high price, the more options you will get.
in my personal opinion for average person a 10-12 mega-pixel camera is plenty
unless you plan to print pictures bigger than 8x10 in size.
There is a slightly out of date but comprehensive feature on digital photography with Linux at http://www.bradlug.co.uk/may-27th-2009-digital-photography/.
That means; most things are even easier to do than they were five years ago.
I use a Pentax DSLR professional camera, takes all my Pentax lenses back to the early 1970s, operates very similar to my old 35mm profressional cameras (only better!).
Everything needed for digital darkroom work, prepress work, and professional production are available in openSUSE and as FOSS, so far cheaper than doing the processing in Windows. And, despite what many misguided “experts” might tell you, the Windows or Mac programs offer nothing that cannot be done with the Linux FOSS photography programs.
I suspect this is true for all DSLRs, and I doubt that there are any digital cameras that produce image files that are not readable by the plethora of processing options.
On Wed, 09 Apr 2014 20:36:02 +0000, vl1969 wrote:
> #1. most if not all cameras nowadays do not use any kind of proprietary
> format.
That’s not strictly true, because …
> most consumer grade cameras use jpg/jpeg format, some will also allow
> you to use RAW format (!CAUTION! very big files and not really needed
> for all but professional photographers)
… RAW is in fact a proprietary format, and most manufacturers use their
own “spin” on the format.
That said, dcraw is an /excellent/ open source tool that can handle most
of those formats. I have a Canon digital camera I bought years ago that
works fine, even capturing RAW images and converting with dcraw.
RAW format does give you the flexibility of adjusting the exposure and
applying other transformations that you really can’t with jpg or other
formats (those formats tend to lose information that’s necessary for
adjusting exposure, for example).
ballsystemlord, look at the formats converted by dcraw, and use that as a
guide to what works well with Linux. If the camera uses an sdcard/microsd
card, or CF card (if anyone still uses those storage devices), you should
be able to plug it into your Linux box and just read it like any other
storage device. Some of the newer ones might use exfat (rather than
vfat), so you may have to fiddle a bit to get it to read OK, but there
are ways to read exfat filesystems on Linux (as I recall, it’s not
something supported directly by the kernel).
Jim
–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C
ballsystemlord, look at the formats converted by dcraw, and use that as a
guide to what works well with Linux. If the camera uses an sdcard/microsd
card, or CF card (if anyone still uses those storage devices), you should
be able to plug it into your Linux box and just read it like any other
storage device. Some of the newer ones might use exfat (rather than
vfat), so you may have to fiddle a bit to get it to read OK, but there
are ways to read exfat filesystems on Linux (as I recall, it’s not
something supported directly by the kernel).
Further to Jim’s excellent advice regarding file formats, being able to download images is an important consideration too. Many cameras communicate via USB using the PTP protocol, and Linux supports a great deal of these via libgphoto2.
Explicitly supported models listed here:
http://www.gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php
- Other related models may also be supported as ‘generic PTP devices’
On 2014-04-09 20:56, ballsystemlord wrote:
> Don’t bother with price yet, I’d like to know whats out there
> first, they will decide if the price is right. The camera should have
> optical zoom (Always a good thing.) They don’t care much if it is 1080p.
> If you suggested a video camera that could take stills, that would be
> fine too.
You should decide what type they want first. Point and shoot, for
“remembrance” of what they see, pocket size, or larger, more “serious
amateur” or professional type. I find the serious digital camera types
even more expensive than equivalent film cameras.
The first kind are reasonably cheap, and should work with any software,
because they use standard jpg format only. The only thing to beware is
that most present themselves to the computer as an external usb disk,
while some other use PPT or other things that may be a complication.
Some use exfat filesystem format which is another added complication
with Linux.
Another thing to consider is what will the use to see the photos. A
computer? A frame? Print? Print many, print very few? At low quality or
high quality or size?
Do they need to use external gadgetry, like an external flash lighting?
I mention this because my old and expensive flash will burn the
circuitry of any modern camera, even if they are plug compatible. Those
old flashes present on the main cable or plug about 250 volts DC, and
expect a mechanical switch, very high peak or surge current capable. No
kidding, I measured it. Modern cameras use an electronic switch that can
handle a few volts at most. Some people found out how disastrous
combination this can be…
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)
you maybe right in a true sense of the word 
but what I meant is that over all nowadays you can buy any camera and most of the software on the market will be able to read and process the image files taken by it.
most software SOHO or PRO grade have ability to read and edit images in most if not all formats in use by camera sold today.
as the OP did not specified that his parents are professional photographers but simply said that they prefer film over digital. we should be able to safely assume that they are in fact not professional and will not be needing RAW format support. regardless, if their choice would swing into Hi-Grade cameras range ($300+, SLR etc.) they will get the RAW file support any way as most of those have it.
I have a Nikon D100 DSLR that was given to me, and it works fine on openSuse. I plug it into the USB port, and it’s recognized as a storage device. I just drag the files into a folder using Dolphin (KDE desktop), works fine. It’s an older camera, I guess, has a CompactFlash memory card. I don’t know much about the camera, all I wanted was a simple camera, but was given this one. When I manage to figure out how to set it, I get nice photos. Mostly by accidentlol!. I’m definitely not a photgrapher! If a lower resolution photo is ok, I used my HiDef camcorder to shoot photos, though those are widescreen. That also works the same way on the USB port.
I use digiKam. I just plug the card into the reader (or, you can attach your camera direct, if you have the connection and the cable, and the digiKam components or plug-ins will work with it), use digiKam to download and organize the files. It will translate the various RAW files, and it has DNG converter (translates the original RAW files, PEF for my Pentax, into the universal Adobe standard) and has all the image processing and editing actions you will need, outputting the edited or enhanced photos to lossless png files by default, although you can also configure it to output to lossy jpeg, if you desire.
Further work is then done in GIMP, which is as good as Adobe’s most professional version of PhotoShop, as far as I am concerned – I have used both extensively – and which (once you begin to learn it) I like a lot better than PhotoShop.
It is in GIMP where I do my cropping and final adjustments or enhancements, including any resizing and determining whether output is to photo paper or to one of my websites.
Thanks, all. You are right, my parents are not pro photographers. However, I’ve run into too many jpegs on the intranet to recommend, to anybody, that they use this format for photos. The image looses quality the moment you zoom in, and I believe that everybody is going to, eventually, want to take an old photo and blow up a person to fit a frame or what not. As for prints or just leaving the photos on a hard drive I don’t know. They may like having them on the hard drive at first and later change there mind or visa versa and I don’t want to limit their options in that respect.
Is there any web page that lines up the cameras and gives their specs? I tried searching, but was unsuccessful.
I like Pentax DSLRs, but that is because I have used Pentax 35-mm cameras since 1970 and have all the lenses.
Unlike all the other manufacturers, the new Pentax DSLRs will use all the Pentax lenses, so no need to replace my zoom or telephoto lenses, etc. With an adapter from Pentax, they will even take the old screw-mount Pentax lenses.
If you are going for a camera that has changeable lenses and gives you full control over how you take the picture (they also have automatic settings, if preferred), your best choices are Pentax, Nikon, or Canon.
They all use some type of RAW format, and most newer point-and-shoots will, as well. Just check that out before you buy.
Otherwise, pretty much any digital camera will work well, so it really does not matter which brand.
If you want to change lenses, you find one that allows that.
If you want full control on settings, you find one that allows that.
If you want lossless photo files, make sure the camera has a RAW setting, as these contain all the information and bit-by-bit image.
Best try to see that the camera takes common rechargeable batteries, rather than a built-in rechargeable battery, so that you can just pop in fresh batteries when the charge runs out. Some of the cameras have the built-in, but have an accessory “AA” battery unit you can purchase extra.
And I recommend getting a camera that uses common memory cards, such as SD, which you can switch around when one gets full, and you can insert the card into a card reader to transfer photos to the computer.
that’s not strictly correct.
the quality of images are Dependant on the resolution they were taken not the format.
jpeg is great format if you use it right.
I had an 8mp point and shoot camera that if I choose the lowest resolution to use, the images could not be printed beyond 5x6 size. there was a limit on how big I could make them even to see on PC monitor.
but if I choose higher quality mode I could print them A4 format no problem.
keep in mind that unless you are using something close to a PRO type camera there always be a limit on how big the image can be enlarged to for printing or otherwise processing regardless of the image format it uses, sans actual RAW image.
most consumer grade point and shoot do not even let you extract images in RAW format unless you use special software manager capable of getting to them. at least it was my experience when I try to find one that did.
jpeg is a Lossy Compression Format. It is called that, because it is designed to lose some image information in exchange for file size.
RAW is huge file size, because it is bit-by-bit and contains all information.
png is a Lossless Compression Format, so it loses none of the info, but can’t quite compress as much as jpeg.
RAW and png support multiple transparency levels.
Standard jpeg does not.
you are right, I don’t dispute that.
however I haven’t see cameras that use png format yet (granted I haven’t shop for cameras in a while 
)
most of the cameras out there use either RAW or jpeg, or both
most cameras I have dealt with used jpeg as an output format, where several had allow you to specify RAW if needed.
and as a non professional, all I can say is that depending on chosen resolution, even with jpeg files I got a very good results in printing photos on 8x11 sheets.
unless you want to expand beyond that, like portrait or poster size, anything shot with enough resolution will be ok in jpeg. and if your camera supports RAW format you can choose that when you know you will need as much data as you can have. but you need to choose that beforehand not after the fact.
even with RAW format if you choose low resolution to begin with, there is only so much you can do with that image. like it or not if you take a pic @640x480 pix (a so called web quality) you can be sure that
even if you export it in RAW format, you will not be able to blow up this photo to poster size, even on the screen.(special professional($$$) software not withstanding, if such animal exists)
and shooting it in RAW format is a waist of space.
I did not want to indicate that jpeg was a bad format, rather, I wanted to point out what happens when people who don’t understand their computer try to do something with it.
I don’t want to risk the family photos by using jpeg and unlinuxatized 
(my own invented word, copyright (c) ballsystemlord 2014 all rights reversed (forward means you have to pay copyright.)) users, thereby “asking” for trouble.