OESF Portables Forum

Everything Else => Zaurus Distro Support and Discussion => Distros, Development, and Model Specific Forums => Archived Forums => OpenBSD => Topic started by: mathemajikian on July 30, 2006, 03:21:32 pm

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: mathemajikian on July 30, 2006, 03:21:32 pm

So I'm guessing that this little $19.99 camera could never be made to work under openbsd?  

Sharp Zaurus Camera (http://www.scienceblog.com/store/shop.php?c=7&n=172282&i=B0000645V8)

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: Hrw on July 31, 2006, 02:41:37 am

no documentation, no open driver for it == no OpenBSD support, no Linux-2.6 support

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: dhns on July 31, 2006, 04:28:31 am

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no documentation, no open driver for it == no OpenBSD support, no Linux-2.6 support
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=137003\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Documentation is (or at least was) open by Sharp (I do not have the link at the moment).

It just needs a serial PCMCIA driver for some /dev/tty

There are some command bytes that must be sent to the camera and it will return a JPEG image and/or the status of the button or if the camera has been rotated.

-- hns

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: dhns on July 31, 2006, 04:34:26 am

Quote

Documentation is (or at least was) open by Sharp (I do not have the link at the moment).

Here it is: http://www.vanille.de/tools/camera-API.pdf (http://www.vanille.de/tools/camera-API.pdf)

-- hns

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: koen on July 31, 2006, 04:43:06 am

Quote

Quote

Documentation is (or at least was) open by Sharp (I do not have the link at the moment).

Here it is: http://www.vanille.de/tools/camera-API.pdf (http://www.vanille.de/tools/camera-API.pdf)

-- hns
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=137009\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I didn't know the linux kernel was written in C++ and returned QImages for image data.

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: dhns on July 31, 2006, 05:44:45 am

Quote

I didn't know the linux kernel was written in C++ and returned QImages for image data.

???

This is not at all kernel documentation - it is user space. And it is the documentation of a Sharp library which defines the class QImages to encapsulate a very simple serial line interface protocol.

If you read into it, it says e.g.:

Quote

This process is implemented by writing following String to the device:
“S=w,h,z,l” (r=false: capture camera image as-is)
“R=w,h,z,l” (r=true: capture camera image with 90-degree rotation)

So, you can write

Quote

echo "S=128,128,256,0" >/dev/tty???

.

As long as any device has a CF slot and a serial CF driver, it can use the camera. It does not need a special kernel driver!

What else is needed to make it work?

-- hns

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: iamasmith on July 31, 2006, 06:02:59 am

You can see the list of currently supported hardware on the Zaurus project page at www.openbsd.org. It does still omit a few known to work cards like the Socket 10/100 CF card that I added but it covers the Zaurus stuff generally quite well.

I don't actually have one of these cards to test.

It is feasible that it may look like a CF serial card to a driver and be immediately recognised and you would then be into writing a camera application to manage it.

It is also feasible (I haven't looked at any of the Sharp kernel source for a while) that the camera may need a firmware download from the driver and/or the card may need special handling because it doesn't actually look like a CF serial card and the driver abstracts it - this could be a lot of work, but as I said I don't really know because I haven't looked at the original source for the driver.

-Andy

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: dhns on August 01, 2006, 07:39:29 am

Quote

It is also feasible (I haven't looked at any of the Sharp kernel source for a while) that the camera may need a firmware download from the driver and/or the card may need special handling because it doesn't actually look like a CF serial card and the driver abstracts it - this could be a lot of work, but as I said I don't really know because I haven't looked at the original source for the driver.

What I don't know is if there is a firmware download - but I heavily doubt it.

I have made the card working for QuantumSTEP by a simple open() to the serial device - but admittedly on the standard Sharp Linux kernel.

-- hns

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: Sequethin on August 01, 2006, 09:20:42 am

List price 199 - Buy new 19.99?! What am I missing here?

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: dhns on August 01, 2006, 11:33:12 am

Quote

List price 199 - Buy new 19.99?! What am I missing here?
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=137147\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Probably a good opportunity. The cam design is approx. 4 years old - was developed with the SL5500. And since then in over-stock. Quality is ok - but a little outdated. Might not be lead free.

-- hns

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: moi on August 01, 2006, 12:28:43 pm

The price difference are four years.

even for that price, 20$ for a third of a megapixel is really expensive. It's even worse than the first camera-phones. A good painting/sketching soft would make you get better shots

What about the cheapest camera and USB? That would do better results, or at least, better results/effort ratio.

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: mathemajikian on August 01, 2006, 05:20:30 pm

Great picture!

Quote

The price difference are four years.

even for that price, 20$ for a third of a megapixel is really expensive. It's even worse than the first camera-phones. A good painting/sketching soft would make you get better shots

What about the cheapest camera and USB? That would do better results, or at least, better results/effort ratio.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=137164\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: mathemajikian on August 11, 2006, 05:10:53 pm

ok so I went off and bought one of the little cameras. Heres the output from dmesg

"SHARP, CEAG06  " (manufacturer 0xb0, product 0x1) at pcmcia1 function 0 not configured

Quote

I don't actually have one of these cards to test.

It is feasible that it may look like a CF serial card to a driver and be immediately recognised and you would then be into writing a camera application to manage it.

It is also feasible (I haven't looked at any of the Sharp kernel source for a while) that the camera may need a firmware download from the driver and/or the card may need special handling because it doesn't actually look like a CF serial card and the driver abstracts it - this could be a lot of work, but as I said I don't really know because I haven't looked at the original source for the driver.

-Andy
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=137025\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: Mickeyl on August 12, 2006, 08:52:01 am

It just _isn't_ appearing as a serial device, that's what Hrw and Koen already told you. It implements a serial protocol over a proprietary driver.

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: kahm on August 16, 2006, 03:10:30 pm

AFAIK, the camera requires a kernel module from sharp that is binary only, and only works with the 2.4.18 kernel. I think that limits the card to the SL6000 or the 860 as the newest Zs that will work with it.

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: dhns on August 16, 2006, 03:15:26 pm

Quote

AFAIK, the camera requires a kernel module from sharp that is binary only, and only works with the 2.4.18 kernel. I think that limits the card to the SL6000 or the 860 as the newest Zs that will work with it.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=138833\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I have had it working on a 5500 and 860 but not tried on a newer model. It simply came up as a serial device. I do not remember the result on a C3100 when I had one to try with.

I will try on a c3200 when I am back at home.

-- hns

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: javahack on August 28, 2006, 07:30:23 pm

I have an sl-c3100 and got it to work with cacko 1.23 using the pdaxrom version of the driver.

Quote

Quote

AFAIK, the camera requires a kernel module from sharp that is binary only, and only works with the 2.4.18 kernel. I think that limits the card to the SL6000 or the 860 as the newest Zs that will work with it.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=138833\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I have had it working on a 5500 and 860 but not tried on a newer model. It simply came up as a serial device. I do not remember the result on a C3100 when I had one to try with.

I will try on a c3200 when I am back at home.

-- hns
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=138834\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: dhns on August 29, 2006, 08:23:51 am

Quote

I have had it working on a 5500 and 860 but not tried on a newer model. It simply came up as a serial device. I do not remember the result on a C3100 when I had one to try with.

I will try on a c3200 when I am back at home.

-- hns
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=138834\")

Hi,
I now had some time to experiment.

Yes, the Camera works only on a C860 out of the box. When plugged into the CF slot, it loads a module called sharpzdc_cs that appears in "lsmod".

This driver module adds a new device /dev/sharp_zdc which is a pseudo-serial device that allows to send commands and receive JPEG files.

Unfortunately, the module is not installed on a C3100. But I have attached the one from the C860 so you *might* be able to load the module (by using insmod).

Hope this helps.

And, you might also need the camera application software: [a href=\"http://www.myzaurus.com/licQpe_camera.asp]http://www.myzaurus.com/licQpe_camera.asp[/url]

-- hns

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: mathemajikian on September 02, 2006, 03:15:07 pm

Your attachment did not work with kernel 2.4.20 but the one that I have attached works fine. Just copy it to /lib/modules/2.4.20/pcmcia and then do depmod -a
and insmod sharpzdc_cs.o

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Until oesf.org fixes its database this file can be found here: http://mersenne.homeunix.net/zaurusforums/...topic.php?p=7#7 (http://mersenne.homeunix.net/zaurusforums/viewtopic.php?p=7#7)

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: Gatu on December 03, 2006, 12:41:13 pm

Hi mathemajikian,

 I cannot download your attachment as my browser always will open it in a browser window.
Can you please zip this and attach again? ;-)

Thanks,
Gabi

Title: Sharp Camera
Post by: mathemajikian on December 03, 2006, 12:49:23 pm

Quote

Hi mathemajikian,

 I cannot download your attachment as my browser always will open it in a browser window.
Can you please zip this and attach again? ;-)

Thanks,
Gabi

When your browser opens the page select "save page as" and then save the page as sharpzdc_cs.o