Re: recommendation for digital camera -=> Shameless Nikon plug

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> In that case I would also suggest you avoid anything Sony. I've never
> seen worse customer support (and that even for very high end equipment
> company customers, not just the small end user), and when they do
> bother making a proper piece of hardware they seriously cripple it with
> their copyright paranoia (see NetMD for example).

Yipes...  I've bought some of their consumer electronics and had good
luck with it (including service), but never anything support-intensive
(i.e. programmable in any way).  I can easily believe they could have
gone bad when they got into anything with intelligence in it...

I just don't buy anything that has copy protection or blocked channels
or anything of the sort, without making sure whatever is
blocked/banned/etc.
can be defeated somehow.  It's a matter of principle; as soon as a
government
or industry decides to ban something, I run out and buy lots of whatever
it is immediately whether I want it or not.

> I am looking at linux support for coolpix 4500, and it seems to exist
> (haven't had a chance to test yet, its not mine). Nikon seems to
> support both mass storage and ptp on their cameras.

They do on some of their cameras, at least, according to the website
you mention below (interesting site, btw...).

> For some more information have a look
> http://www.teaser.fr/~hfiguiere/linux/digicam.html
> 
> Canon may be a bit more troublesome, then nikon. You should look for a
> camera with both usb-storage support (easiest way to download pictures)
> and ptp support which will give you access to some more advanced camera
> features. I am not sure if it will allow you to access all the features
> of the camera from linux (some of the high end cameras are customizable
> and may require dedicated software).

*That* is the thing I'm concerned about, when thinking about going to
direct
Linux support, vs. using Linux with VMware to get at the Gatesware to
get at
the Nikonware.  But I haven't dug into the camera features enough to
know
what features are available that might be impacted, yet...