~ubuntu-branches/ubuntu/precise/photopc/precise : contents of usage.htm at revision 1

~ubuntu-branches/ubuntu/precise/photopc/precise : (revision 1)
<html>
<head>
<!--
	$Id: usage.htm,v 2.7 1999/03/22 06:55:47 lightner Exp $

	$Log: usage.htm,v $
	Revision 2.7  1999/03/22 06:55:47  lightner
	Add back RCS revision info

	Revision 2.5  1999/01/17 13:36:50  crosser
	fix Bruce's address

	Revision 2.4  1998/10/18 13:18:27  crosser
	Put RCS logs and I.D. into the source

	Revision 2.3  1998/02/27 03:44:11  lightner
	Update for -z and -V options
	
	Revision 2.2  1998/02/15 13:21:13  lightner
	Update HTML to match Web page; add RCS ID to end
	
	Revision 2.1  1998/01/18 02:16:45  crosser
	edit text
	
	Revision 2.0  1998/01/17 11:01:44  crosser
	initial version

-->
<title>Epson PhotoPC Software for Unix/Linux, Windows, and MS-DOS</title>
</head>
<body>
<img src="http://www.lightner.net/lightner/images/photopc1.gif" align=right valigh=top width=182 height=107>
<h1>Epson PhotoPC Software for Unix/Linux, Windows, and MS-DOS</h1>

This page describes "freeware" software which may be used to control
and retrieve photos from Epson PhotoPC digital cameras under Unix/Linux,
Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, and MS-DOS.  This software
also may work with Agfa ePhoto, Olympus D-xxxL/Z, Sanyo, Nikon Coolpix,
Toshiba PDR-2, and other digital cameras based on firmware from
<A HREF=http://www.sierraimaging.com/>Sierra Imaging, Inc.</A>.

<h2>The Camera</h2>

The <A HREF="http://www.lightner.net/lightner/photopc.html">Epson
PhotoPC</A> is one of a family of digital cameras based on Fujitsu's
SPARCLite microprocessor and <A HREF=http://www.sierraimaging.com/>Sierra
Imaging's</A> chipsets and firmware.  The least expensive Epson
camera model produces quality photos in JPEG format at a resolution
of 640x480 at a moderate price (~$250 "street price").  Other camera
versions, including those from Olympus, produce higher-resolution
JPEG images, up to 1280x1024 pixels, using a SRL format much like a
conventional 35mm film camera, at a price closer to $1,000.  All <A
HREF="http://www.average.org/digicam/cameras.html">cameras compatible
with this software</A> offer a serial port connection to a PC for the
purposes of downloading photos from the camera.

<p>Supported camera models include:
<A HREF="http://www.agfa.com/">Agfa</A>
	ePhoto 780,
	ePhoto 1280 and
	ePhoto 1680;

<A HREF="http://www.epson.com/cam_scan/">Epson</A>
	PhotoPC "classic",
	PhotoPC 500,
	PhotoPC 550 and
	PhotoPC 600;

<A HREF="http://www.nikonusa.com/">Nikon</A>
	CoolPix 900S and
	CoolPix 900;

<A HREF="http://www.olympusamerica.com/">Olympus</A>
	D-220L,
	D-320L,
	D-340L,
	C-400L,
	C-400Z,
	D-400 Zoom,
	C-410L,
	D-500L,
	D-600L,
	D-600 Zoom,
	C-820L,
	C-840L,
	C-900 Zoom,
	C-1000L and
	C-1400L;

<A HREF="http://www.toshiba.com/taisisd/dsc/">Toshiba</A>
	PDR-2;

and
<A HREF="http://www.sanyodigital.com/">Sanyo</A>
	VPC-G200,
	VPC-G200EX,
	VPC-G210 and
	DSC-X300.

<h2>The Software</h2>

The software is command-line oriented, and <em>does not</em> make use of a
graphical user interface (GIU).  By using this software with a "batch
file", or a Windows short-cut icon, photos can be quickly downloaded 
from the camera to a PC via a serial cable, with a minimum of effort.

<p>The software is available for download (in source
code form) for Unix/Linux platforms from the Eugene
Crosser's (the author's) digital camera Web site,
<A HREF="http://www.average.org/digicam/">www.average.org/digicam/</A>.
A list of compatible digital cameras can be found there.
Software for MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95/98, and Microsoft
Windows NT, in both executable and source code formats,
can be found at Bruce Lightner's PhotoPC Web site,
<A HREF="http://www.lightner.net/lightner/bruce/photopc/">
www.lightner.net/lightner/bruce/photopc/</A>.

<h2>Documentation</h2>

<font size=+1>Basic features</font>
<ul>
<li>Query the camera
<li>Download individual photos
<li>Download entire camera
<li>Delete individual photos
<li>Delete all photos
<li>Get photo count
</ul>

The basic syntax for using <tt>photopc</tt> is:
<pre>  photopc [-h] [-v[v]] [-q] [-s speed] [-l device] [command [params]] ... </pre>
Commands are normally entered at an "MS-DOS prompt".  Under Windows,
camera control commands can be entered using an "MS-DOS Prompt" window
(sometimes referred to as a "DOS box" or "console window"), or invoked
using a Windows "short-cut" icon (or a PIF).

<p>To get help on using the program:
<pre>  photopc -h</pre>
This will  print a brief (somewhat bewildering) summary of the program's
options and commands.  For a complete description of the program's options
and commands see the
<A HREF="http://www.lightner.net/lightner/bruce/photopc/photopc.html">photopc manual page</A>.
This file, "photopc.man", is included with the software source package
in Unix `man' format.

<h3>Specifying the Camera Port</h3>

To specify the serial port to which the camera is attached: 
<pre>  photopc -l <b>device</b></pre>
where <b>device</b> is the name of the serial port (a.k.a. "line") which
has the camera attached.  Under Windows and/or MS-DOS, the allowable
"device" names are "COM1:" and "COM2:".  The default serial port is
"COM1:".  <em>(Note: That's "dash-L" and not "dash-one"!)</em>

<h3>Specifying the Serial Port Speed</h3>

To specify the speed of the serial port used to communicate with the camera: 
<pre>  photopc -s <b>speed</b></pre>
where <b>speed</b> is the requested baud rate: 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600
or 115200.  The default speed is usually the highest.  You may find that
with older PCs a slower speed is needed for reliable operation.

<h3>Querying the Camera</h3>

To query the camera:
<pre>  photopc query </pre>
This will dump the entire state of the camera including information
like the number of photos taken, the amount of free memory, the current
date/time set in the camera, the camera's model and serial number, the
user-specified camera setting, etc.

<h3>Downloading a Single Photo</h3>

To download a single photo:
<pre>  photopc image <b>num</b> <b>filename</b></pre>
where <b>num</b>
is the number of the image to be downloaded
and <b>filename</b> is the name of the file to receive
the JPEG image.
For example "<tt>photopc image 4 photo4.jpg</tt>" will download the 4th
photo into the file "photo4.jpg".

<h3>Downloading the Entire Camera</h3>

To download all the photos in the camera:
<pre>  photopc image all <b>directory</b></pre>
where <b>directory</b> is the name of the directory to receive
the JPEG files.

<p>For example, the command "<tt>photopc image all .</tt>", will
downloaded all images from the camera into the current working directory,
into files named "MMDD_CCC.jpg" where "MM" is the month the photo
was taken, "DD" is the day of the month the photo was taken, and "CCC"
is a sequence number.

<p>The user can control the program's JPEG file naming algorithm
using the "-f" option.  Two useful options under MS-DOS are:
<pre>
    -f 1    (image file names are MMDD_CCC.jpg (default))
    -f 2    (image file names are YYMMDDCC.jpg)
</pre>
where "YY" is a two-digit year, "MM" is a two-digit month, "DD" is a
two-digit day of the month (all based on the the time that the photo was
taken), and "CC" (or "CCC") is a sequence number.  The user actually has
complete control over the file naming through the use of "-f" and a
format string...the description of which is beyond the scope of this
document.

<h3>Deleting a Single Photo</h3>

To delete a single photo:
<pre>  photopc erase <b>num</b></pre>
where <b>num</b> is the number of the photo to be deleted.

<h3>Deleting All Photos</h3>

To erase all photos from the camera:
<pre>  photopc eraseall</pre>
This will delete all photos from the camera.

<h3>Getting a Photo Count</h3>

To get of count of photos in the camera:
<pre>  photopc count</pre>
This will report the number of photos currently stored in the camera.

<h2>Notes</h2>

<h3>Command/Switch Order</h3>

You can use commands in almost any combination.  The program "switches"
such as "-l" and "-s" can be placed anywhere on the command line.
The commands (such as "query" and "image") are executed in the order given on
the command line.

<p>For example, to use serial port COM2 at 57600 baud to query the
camera, then download all the images in the camera to the 
directory "/photos" on drive C: (in "YYMMDDCC.jpg" file name format):

<pre>  photopc -l com2: query -f 2 image all c:/photos -s 57600</pre>

A command such as this can be invoked as part of a Windows 95
<A HREF="http://www.lightner.net/lightner/bruce/ppcshort.gif">
"short-cut" icon</A>, allowing quick, automatic downloading of a camera with
a single mouse double-click.

<h3>Communication Problems</h3>

If you have trouble communicating with your camera, try lowering the
serial port speed using the "-s" option.  (Turning the camera
<em>on</em> also solves many camera communication problems! :-)

<p>If you interrupt communication with your camera by aborting
the program (e.g., by enter ^C), you may have to turn the camera
off and back on in order to restore proper communication.

<p>If you find that the program cannot connect to your PC's serial
port under Windows, first verify that no other program is using the
serial port.

<p>The MS-DOS version of "photopc" <em>will</em> work under Windows (even
Windows 3.1), but often only at a reduced serial port speed.  However,
after running the MS-DOS version of the program one must first close the
"MS-DOS window" (to release the serial port) before switching back to
using the Windows version of "photopc".

<h3>Time Zones</h3>

Your camera has a real-time clock which can be set by the program.  This
internal clock is used to time-stamp photos as they are taken.  By
default, the program assumes that the clock in the camera is set to
"universal time" (also known as GMT or Zulu time).  Therefore, when the
program displays times and/or automatically creates file names using
photo time-stamps, "universal time" is converted into "local time"
according to your computer's "time zone" setting.

If you want to set your camera's internal clock to "local time", and
<em>not</em> have the software apply a "time zone correction", then add
the "no time zone" switch to the program's command line, as follows:

<pre>  photopc -z ... </pre>

Under the MS-DOS operating system, the time zone is set using the "TZ"
environment variable.  The TZ environment variable can be set with the
following MS-DOS command:

<pre>  set TZ=zzz[+/-]d[d][lll]</pre>

where "zzz" is a required three-character string with the name of the
current time zone, "[+/-]d[d]" is a required field with an optionally
signed number of one or two digits specifying the local time zone's
difference from GMT in hours, and "lll"is an optional three-character
field with the name of the local time zone during daylight savings time.
This command should be placed in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  For example,
the following command sets the time zone to Pacific Time:

<pre>  set TZ=PST8PDT</pre>

<p>Under MS-DOS, if the TZ environment variable is <em>not</em> set the
program will <em>not</em> apply a time zone correction, giving the same
program behavior as with the "-z" command line switch. Under MS-DOS, if
the TZ variable is set, but does not satisfy the above described syntax,
the time zone correction is undefined (i.e., probably wrong).

<p>Under Windows, unless the "-z" command line switch is set, the
program always will apply a time zone correction, as defined by the time
zone setting in the Windows operating system.  However, if the TZ
variable <em>is</em> set (using to the above described syntax), then it
overrides the Windows time zone setting, and the program will apply a
time zone correction as defined by the TZ variable.  Beware that if the
TZ variable is set under Windows, but does not satisfy the above
described syntax, the time zone correction is undefined (i.e., probably
wrong).

<h3>Software Revision Level</h3>

You can determine the revision level of the program by using the
following command:

<pre>  photopc -V </pre>

Please include this information when reporting program bugs.

<h2>Software License</h2>

<p>This software is copyright &copy;1997, 1998 by Eugene G. Crosser.
Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS support is copyright &copy;1997, 1998, 1999 by
Bruce D. Lightner.

<p> You may distribute and/or use for any purpose modified or unmodified
copies of this software if you preserve the copyright notice above.
 
<p>THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED AS IS AND COME WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY
KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.  IN NO EVENT WILL THE
COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE
USE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

<p>Trademarks referenced herein are those of their respective owners.

<HR>
<FONT SIZE=-1><I>
<A HREF="http://www.lightner.net/lightner/bruce.html">Bruce D. Lightner</A>,
$Id: usage.htm,v 2.7 1999/03/22 06:55:47 lightner Exp $
</I></FONT>

</body>
</html>