[digiKam-users] How to interpret DigiKam error message when connecting to camera
Stuart T Rogers
stuart at stella-maris.org.uk
Mon Jun 29 17:01:27 BST 2020
Well I have been able to recreate the message from Digikam but only by
having the camera open in Dolphin file manager and accessing the files,
then Digikam fails to connect.
One interesting point I have found is that if I have the camera open in
Dolphin accessing the files then I can also open the camera in Gwenview
at the same time but still not in Digikam. This does mean to me that
Digikam is accessing the camera using a different method to that of some
other applications. I have also tested Darktable and it also is unable
to access the camera if it is open in another app like Dolphin or
Gwenview, so it looks like Darktable uses the same method as Digikam and
would likely exhibit the same issue on your system (it shows no
supported devices when I try to scan for devices on import).
Also on checking how my distro manages removable devices I have it set
to NOT auto mount anything at all!
I think the only resolution for you would be to raise this as an issue
with your distro as it looks like Digikam is working as designed.
Stuart
On 29/06/2020 14:50, a squared wrote:
> Thank for the observations. My procedure is just about identical until I
> get to step 4. There is no pop-up identification and I do know what you
> mean because I have seen this in the past, but this no longer happens,
> even if I insert a simple USB memory stick.
>
> Starting DigiKam at this point leads me back to the inevitable message
> that DK cannot connect to the camera - even though it can auto-detect
> it. In addition, other apps. like Rapid Photo Downloader and XnView are
> able to 'see' and open the SD card in the camera.
>
> There are no other messages from DK.
>
> The system log is of course huge and mostly beyond my understanding. I
> can see in it the detection of my USB memory sticks and also a "USB PTP
> Camera" but the messages do not imply any error, to me. The final entry
> in the log might be significant; is says "gvfsd-metadata(2179) :
> g-udev_device _has_property: assertion 'G_UDEV_IS_DEVICE (device)'
> failed" - that is the only obvious error message I can see, but it has
> no meaning to me.
>
> The camera, is as previously stated, a Fujifilm X-T20, with body
> firmware at the latest level announced by Fuji; I know of no way of
> further specifying the term 'exact model'
>
> The USB connection type is, of course, USB 2.0, as fixed by the camera.
>
> The type of cable is, as specified by Fuji:, a Micro-USB 2.0 Type B.
> Fuji give a very clear close-up photo illustration of both ends of the
> necessary cable in an FAQ, dated 16 March 2020, on their camera support
> web-site. In fact I have 3 such cables, of 30, 75 and 120 cm length, all
> within the cable length limit of 1.5m. The failure of DK to connect to
> the camera happens with all of these cables. I am able to use Lightroom,
> rapid Photo Downloader and XnView (at least) successfully with all 3 of
> these cables, on 4 different computers.
>
> I'm using DK version 6.4.0 in Appimage form.
>
> Actually I have the belief that a key to the issue as hinted at in the
> post by Maik Qualmann: Ubuntu (or Mint) immediately seizes the camera
> device upon connection and does not release it again. I had tried
> altering the preferences found in the Nemo File Explorer in Mint. Under
> the 'Behaviour' tab in <Edit><Preferences> there is a section for 'Media
> Handling' containing 4 on/off options. Specifically I have tried setting
> the 'Automatically mount removable media when inserted and on startup'
> option on and off. I was advised in another forum, dealing with the same
> issue in DarkTable, that this option prevents the device being seized by
> the Kernel in this way, but I don't believe it: setting this option
> makes no difference to DK's ability to connect to the camera. Setting
> the option on has the only one effect I can observe of placing a 'USB
> PTP CAMERA' folder on my desktop. Attempts to open this folder in DK
> fail; attempts to open in RPD succeed, but the folder is immediately
> deleted from the desktop.
>
> I have tried all possible combination of the settings of these 4 media
> handling options, with a system restart between each change. DK is
> unable to connect to the camera in all circumstances.
>
> I know of no further steps to do definitive Problem Source
> Identification; the DK developers have published no relevant MAPS for
> this purpose.
>
>
> On Sun, 28 Jun 2020 at 15:34, Stuart T Rogers
> <stuart at stella-maris.org.uk <mailto:stuart at stella-maris.org.uk>> wrote:
>
> I do not want to enter into the discussion here about the rights and
> wrongs of the thread.
>
> I just wanted to say that as a test I decided to download my latest
> photos from my camera using a USB cable to see what happened as I
> normally use a card reader. I am using openSUSE Tumbelweed and Digikam
> 6.4 and my Pentax K-70 camera on a USB 2 connection using a standard
> USB
> cable.
>
> So here is what I did
>
> 1. plug in USB cable into camera
> 2. plug USB cable into computer
> 3. turn on camera
> 4. PC pops up the notification about the camera being connected with
> the
> usual options about viewing or downloading photos with a file manager,
> Gwenview or Digikam, all of which I ignored.
> 5. started Digikam and when up selected target album to import into.
> 6. selected Import/Cameras and then my camera which was marked as
> auto-detected.
> 7. Digikam opened the window and loaded a preview of all the images on
> the camera.
> 8. selected the newest images and then Download Selected and images
> appeared in the album just fine.
>
> So I can say without doubt that Digikam does indeed support import from
> a camera.
>
> So if it does not work on your setup all I can say is that it needs
> more
> information, you need to explain exactly what of the above process
> fails
> and whether or not there are any error messages from digikam and your
> system log which might indicate where an error might exist, knowing
> what
> the exact model of camera, type of USB connection (USB 1 2 or 3), what
> type of cable and which version of Digikam might help to resolve you
> issue.
>
> Stuart
>
> On 28/06/2020 13:33, a squared wrote:
> > I do not know who Dilbert, or his boss, are and knowing now that
> I sound
> > like them hasn't informed me more about the cause of the problem
> I am
> > having. Please explain the significance of your assessment.
> >
> > I have now examined the SD Card Association's Simplified
> Specification
> > for these cards. The insertion/ejection life cycle data has been
> removed
> > from the specification. Other analyst's assessments, discoverable
> by a
> > Google search, suggest a life-time of thousands of cycles. This
> implies
> > that these devices are physically robust beyond average consumer
> > requirements. Electrical read/write cycle life time appears, from
> > similar sources, to be in the many 10's of thousands of cycles. My
> > comment about SD cards not being meant to be
> repeatedly inserted/removed
> > was an opinion that is/was wrong. Mea culpa.
> >
> > However, I believe there is more work involved in using a card
> reader
> > than in directly connecting a camera. I think it is not necessary to
> > detail the individual steps of the two techniques in order to
> support my
> > view. On my Fuji camera, if I don't exploit the technique of
> allowing
> > the spring to forcibly eject the card, then it takes quite a bit of
> > messing about, in a very confined space, to get one's fingers
> around
> > the card to pull it out. If I use the spring, the card is fired
> more
> > than a meter or two away from the camera and has been known to
> land in
> > my cup of tea. Directly connecting the camera is easier.
> >
> > My point about the function of reading the card while it is in the
> > camera being implemented within DK is that DK should therefore
> provide a
> > more meaningful error message than that which I receive. You have
> > elaborated and provided a more complete analysis, confirming
> that DK is
> > involved in this process. My point stands, does it not ?
> >
> > About your numbered comments:
> > 1. The number of people successfully using DK, or the size of
> their data
> > transfers, has no bearing on the fact that it doesn't work in my
> > environment. I have few skills, but I do clearly remember, almost 40
> > years ago when I had global responsibility for technical support -
> > hardware and software - for a range of computer systems , that
> one of
> > my biggest challenges was to teach my staff that because we
> didn't have
> > a problem didn't mean that our customers didn't have problems. The
> > operating environments are different. the factors that can invoke an
> > error situation are different. Don't castigate the victim.
> >
> > 2. If you have a mind set that looks for insulting assertions,
> you are
> > possibly bound to find them. That is no proof that they exist or
> were
> > intended.
> >
> > 3. I thought that my original post was a request for help.
> >
> > 4. I'm not sure what level of detail you are suggesting should
> have been
> > included in my original post; cables, for instance: what are the
> > salient and relevant properties and how could I assess and enumerate
> > them? How would I know what else is running that is relevant? The
> list
> > of active processes in Cinnamon is pretty daunting; how do I know
> > which are relevant? In fact this is a back-to-front approach to
> PSI: a
> > technical support person should be telling me precisely what
> information
> > is required and how I should acquire it. It is my contention that DK
> > knows precisely why it is unable to communicate with my camera
> and that
> > this should point me to the necessary solution, instead of
> providing me
> > with a generic 'computer says no' style of error. That is just lazy
> > programming. if somebody feels insulted by that they need some
> > counselling on self assurance.
> >
> > In conclusion, I have decided that my installation of DK is
> functionally
> > unable to read from a directly connected camera and I
> have reverted to
> > using a card reader. Life is too short -for me.
> >
> > On Sat, 27 Jun 2020 at 18:29, <digikam at 911networks.com
> <mailto:digikam at 911networks.com>
> > <mailto:digikam at 911networks.com
> <mailto:digikam at 911networks.com>>> wrote:
> >
> > On Sat, 27 Jun 2020 17:20:55 +0100
> > a squared <amfev44 at gmail.com <mailto:amfev44 at gmail.com>
> <mailto:amfev44 at gmail.com <mailto:amfev44 at gmail.com>>> wrote:
> >
> > > I have to ask: was this function fully tested?
> >
> > You sound like Dilbert's pointy-hair boss :(
> >
> > > The scenario suggests there is some difference of opinion
> between
> > > Linux and DK. I'm not capable of figuring this out. Yes,
> I could
> > > remove the SD card and use a card reader, but this is a hassle
> >
> > Yes I understand but to me it's not anymore hassle than
> plugging and
> > unplugging the camera into the computer
> >
> > > and the card is not really meant to be repeatedly removed
> from and
> > > re-inserted into the camera.
> >
> > Uh? Why? What qualification do you have to make such a statement?
> >
> > > The function to read from the card while still in the
> camera is,
> > > apparently, a function of DK.
> >
> > Actually it's a function of the OS, the camera, the transport
> > protocol and the software (DK)
> >
> > >
> > > When will it be offered in a working form or when will
> effective
> > > problem source identification procedures be provided (that's a
> > > question to the developers)?
> >
> > 1. There are tenS of thousandS of users that are using DK
> everyday,
> > including me, getting their images into DK with some very large
> > libraries.
> > 2. I find your assertions very insulting to the people that have
> > worked and have contributed very hard to DK.
> > 3. Instead, you could state that you have a problem with...
> and some
> > people would try to help.
> > 4. You have not provided any useful information like computer,
> > camera, cables, what else is running... what are the exact
> steps?...
> >
>
> --
> Website: https://www.stella-maris.org.uk
> or: https//www.broadstairs.org <http://www.broadstairs.org>
>
--
Website: https://www.stella-maris.org.uk
or: https//www.broadstairs.org
More information about the Digikam-users
mailing list