Where is my camera mounted?

[GreyGeek]

Thank you. I found the "by-id" and "by-path" sub-directories in /dev/disk, so I take it that one of the files in there would refer to the camera.

If you check the properties of the file that is in either the "by-id" or "by-path" subdirectories you will find that the both link to "../../video0", which is /dev/video0. On my system the webcam device file is /dev/video0 and all other references to the webcam link to that device file.

When you plug a camera into a USB port either /dev/usb/hidden0 or one of the device files in /bus/usb/001 through 004 will be linked to, depending on which services you have running. In the hardware section of SystemSettings are "Device Action" and "Configure Kamera" which you can configure. Device files appear and disappear as some devices are added and removed.

What I want to find out how to do, is how to navigate to the directory that shows up in Dolphin as "Canon Digital IXUS 70 (PTP mode)" when I click on the pop-up that appears when I plug the camera in.

IOW, while I can open the camera in Dolphin by clicking on the icon, I am unable to navigate to the camera using Dolphin (or Konsole) after it's mounted. ...

[Al1000]

If you check the properties of the file that is in either the "by-id" or "by-path" subdirectories you will find that the both link to "../../video0", which is /dev/video0. On my system the webcam device file is /dev/video0 and all other references to the webcam link to that device file.

When you plug a camera into a USB port either /dev/usb/hidden0 or one of the device files in /bus/usb/001 through 004 will be linked to, depending on which services you have running. In the hardware section of SystemSettings are "Device Action" and "Configure Kamera" which you can configure. Device files appear and disappear as some devices are added and removed.

Thanks for the info. I had come across Device Action and Configure Kamera before, although I haven't looked into configuring it yet.

I have now looked through all of the sub-directories in /dev, found more 'by-path' and 'by-id' directories in /dev/input, /dev/snd and /dev/usb, and experimented by mounting and unmounting two usb sticks, the camera, and switching on my printer. The files in the 'by-path' and 'by-id' subdirectories of /dev/input point to event numbers (e.g: ../event3), and seem to relate to the keyboard and mouse. The files in the subdirectories of /dev/snd point to controlC numbers (e.g: ../controlC0) and I have no idea what they relate to; there is no ''points to'' information under properties of the files in the sub-directories of /dev/usb, and I have no idea what they relate to either.

All but one of files in the sub-directories of /dev/disk relate to my HDD partitions, and the remaining file relates to the CD/DVD drive. It was only when I switched my printer on, that a new file was created in /dev/disk/by-id, while mounting and unmounting the other devices that I mentioned made no difference in any of the other 'by-path' or 'by-id' sub-directories.

Then I plugged in my webcam, which I don't recall having used with Kubuntu before, rebooted the computer, and found that I now have a v4l directory which contains 'by-path' and 'by-id' sub-directories, each of which contain a file that points to ../../video0.

Could it be that the webcam isn't treated as a PTP or MTP device, and that is why there is are directories and files relating to it, while there seem to be none for the Canon camera?

[SteveRiley]

If you check the properties of the file that is in either the "by-id" or "by-path" subdirectories you will find that the both link to "../../video0", which is /dev/video0. On my system the webcam device file is /dev/video0 and all other references to the webcam link to that device file.

When you plug a camera into a USB port either /dev/usb/hidden0 or one of the device files in /bus/usb/001 through 004 will be linked to, depending on which services you have running. In the hardware section of SystemSettings are "Device Action" and "Configure Kamera" which you can configure. Device files appear and disappear as some devices are added and removed.

Jerry -- I believe you're discussing how a webcam would be handled by the system. Instead, Al1000 is asking about how to download the files stored inside either a pocket digital camera or a digital SLR. Digital cameras typically expose only a filesystem over their USB ports. They don't advertise device tree nodes for capturing live video input.

[GreyGeek]

Jerry -- I believe you're discussing how a webcam would be handled by the system. Instead, Al1000 is asking about how to download the files stored inside either a pocket digital camera or a digital SLR. Digital cameras typically expose only a filesystem over their USB ports. They don't advertise device tree nodes for capturing live video input.

Opps, you're right, I misread it.
I usually don't plug my cameras into the USB port. I take the SD out and plug it into the SD port, which then shows up immediately in a notification windows asking if I wanted to open the device with Dolphin. I select the files and d&d them into the directory I want them to be in. I started doing that several years ago when Digikam stopped recognizing my Canon camera, and had other problems as well, and decided to just use the SD card. Popping the SD card was a lot easier than hunting down the camera supplied cable and plugging it in. Also, it didn't matter if the batteries were dead or not. I use Gwenview to browse, edit and tag the photos.

[Al1000]

I've just noticed that my printer has an SD card slot, and if I slot the SD card in there, a directory appears at /media/al/disk.

So I can now navigate to the photos through the file system.