WebCam Options for Linux?

Doesn't_Comment_Code asks: "I am working on a motion capture system, and I plan to implement it with several webcams viewing the same space from different angles. I have looked into some webcams and drivers for Linux, but I'm not sure which are best. Specifically, I need to connect three, four, or five cameras to a single machine. Can any current Linux drivers accommodate this? Also, I'm looking for basic, no-frills cameras, as automatic gain control and other features may amplify dark parts of the image that I need to stay dark."

Linux USB Camera Support

[Gefd]

http://www.qbik.ch/usb/devices/showdevcat.php?id=9
You'll probably find this page/list useful as a starting point

- Gef

Creative Video Webcam Plus

[JimmyGulp]

I have a Creative Video Webcam Plus, its USB, uses the ov511 driver, and according to the module info, can support multiple cameras, and you can apparently turn off the auto brightness stuff, but I've not tried it. Why not modinfo a bunch of webcam modules? :)

Video4Linux

[kinema]

Slashdot really isn't the best place to ask a question like this. I would recomend the Video4Linux mailing list. You can subscribe at https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4linu x-list or you can find their web site at http://bytesex.org/v4l/ , subscribe to their mailing list at https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4 linux-list or look at the (searchable) archives at http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=linux-video&r=1&w= 2 .

"Webcam" no good for motion...

[Kevin Burtch]

If you're talking USB(1), then even a single "webcam" is useless for motion-capture unless you're talking about using really low resolutions. USB is just too darned slow.

As another person stated above, get some capture cards with BrookTree chips. The Bt848 and Bt878 are very well supported in Linux, and have been for many years (used to use one on a 486).
The cards can be had around $50-$75 usually, sometimes as cheap as $20-$25 at local computer shows.

According to the docs for the bttv driver, the PCI bus doesn't get saturated with 4 cards, so this is probably the way to go.

Another plus is the fact that not only are these capable of much higher resolution than any USB camera out there, the signals you can pipe into these cards can be much higher quality and from a variety of sources (old camcorder, mail-order pinhole camera, DVD-player via S-video, etc.).
In other words, you can use a high-quality CCD rather than a low-res/low-quality/low-light-sensitivity CMOS imager (that nearly all USB "webcams" have).

Another possible option is ieee1394 ("firewire") cameras.
Anyone know if any firewire webcams (not camcorders) are supported in Linux? (I've only seen two brands, years ago)

BTW: I have an IBM and a Labtec USB webcam. While both work with Linux, both suck horribly in every category compared to my Sun Camera connected to my Bt878 card (which also contains TV and FM tuners).