GPhoto2 Troubleshooting

GPhoto2 is a software that allows taking images via Photobooth. Full documentation is available at gphoto.org.

General Known Issues

  1. Check Camera Support Ensure "Image capture" is supported for your camera: Camera Support List

  2. Try Different Camera Modes Not every mode is supported by GPhoto2.

  3. Set Camera to JPEG/JPG Only Photobooth does not support RAW images. Reducing image quality may improve performance, especially on low-end hardware like Raspberry Pi.

  4. Disable Auto-Focus GPhoto2 cannot take pictures if the camera cannot find focus.

  5. Turn Off WiFi Some cameras have connection issues when WiFi is enabled.

  6. Insert SD Card GPhoto2 may fail to trigger images if no SD card is inserted.

  7. Set Capture Target to Memory Card Sometimes, you need to manually set the capture target:

gphoto2 --get-config capturetarget

Example output:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ gphoto2 --get-config capturetarget
Label: Capture Target
Readonly: 0
Type: RADIO
Current: Internal RAM
Choice: 0 Internal RAM
Choice: 1 Memory card   <--- !!!

Adjust your capture command:

gphoto2 --set-config capturetarget=1 --capture-image-and-download --filename=%s

Hardware Issues

  • Ensure the USB port provides enough power.
  • Check for defective USB cables.

Permission Issues

  1. Test as Current User
gphoto2 --capture-image-and-download --filename=test.jpg
  • No: Recheck previous steps

  • Yes: Continue testing

  • Test as www-data User

cd /var/www/html
sudo -u www-data -s
gphoto2 --capture-image-and-download --filename=test.jpg
  • Yes: Check Photobooth configuration or reset it
  • No: Fix permissions:
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/
sudo gpasswd -a www-data plugdev
reboot
  1. Check for Conflicting Processes Disable gvfs-gphoto2-volume-monitor if necessary:
sudo chmod -x /usr/lib/gvfs/gvfs-gphoto2-volume-monitor
reboot
  1. Update GPhoto2 and libgphoto2
wget -O gphoto2-updater.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gonzalo/gphoto2-updater/master/gphoto2-updater.sh
wget -O .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gonzalo/gphoto2-updater/master/.env
chmod +x gphoto2-updater.sh
sudo ./gphoto2-updater.sh --development
sudo chmod -x /usr/lib/gvfs/gvfs-gphoto2-volume-monitor
reboot

Special Notes

Alternative Capture Commands

gphoto2 --trigger-capture --wait-event-and-download=FILEADDED --filename=%s
gphoto2 --wait-event=300ms --capture-image-and-download --filename=%s
gphoto2 --set-config output=Off --trigger-capture --wait-event-and-download=FILEADDED --filename=%s
gphoto2 --set-config output=Off --wait-event=300ms --capture-image-and-download --filename=%s

Canon EOS Models

  • EOS 1300D
gphoto2 --wait-event=300ms --capture-image-and-download --filename=%s
  • EOS 2000D
gphoto2 --set-config output=Off --trigger-capture --wait-event-and-download=FILEADDED --filename=%s