---
name: "sane-qcam"
section: "5"
platform: "linux"
package: "sane"
version: "1.4.0-4"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/sane-qcam"
---

# sane-qcam(5)

SANE backend for Connectix QuickCam cameras

## NAME

sane-qcam - SANE backend for Connectix QuickCam cameras

## DESCRIPTION

The **sane-qcam** library implements a SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) backend that provides access Connectix QuickCam cameras.

## DEVICE NAMES

This backend expects device names of the form:

*port*

where *port* is the I/O port address at which the device resides.  This address is normally specified in hexadecimal using C syntax (e.g., 0x37b) and may be prefixed with the letter "u" (e.g., u0x37b) to force the backend to access the camera in uni-directional mode.

## CONFIGURATION

The contents of the *qcam.conf* file is a list port addresses that may be connected to a Connectix QuickCam.  Empty lines and everything starting from a hash mark (#) up to the end of a line are ignored.  A sample configuration file is shown below:

0x37b  # /dev/lp0\
 0x378  # /dev/lp1\
 u0x278 # /dev/lp2 forced in uni-directional mode\
 0x3bc  # /dev/lp0 (alternate address)

In general, it is safest to list only the port addresses that really correspond to a QuickCam.  For example, if one of the listed addresses actually connect to a printer, then starting up this backend will cause the printer to perform a device reset (which is generally undesirable).

## FILES

- */etc/sane.d/qcam.conf*

  The backend configuration file (see also description of **SANE\_CONFIG\_DIR** below).

- */usr/lib/sane/libsane-qcam.a*

  The static library implementing this backend.

- */usr/lib/sane/libsane-qcam.so*

  The shared library implementing this backend (present on systems that support dynamic loading).

## ENVIRONMENT

- **SANE\_CONFIG\_DIR**

  This environment variable specifies the list of directories that may contain the configuration file.  On \*NIX systems, the directories are separated by a colon (\`:'), under OS/2, they are separated by a semi-colon (\`;').  If this variable is not set, the configuration file is searched in two default directories: first, the current working directory (".") and then in */etc/sane.d*. If the value of the environment variable ends with the directory separator character, then the default directories are searched after the explicitly specified directories.  For example, setting **SANE\_CONFIG\_DIR** to "/tmp/config:" would result in directories *tmp/config*, *.*, and */etc/sane.d* being searched (in this order).

- **SANE\_DEBUG\_QCAM**

  If the library was compiled with debug support enabled, this environment variable controls the debug level for this backend.  E.g., a value of 128 requests all debug output to be printed.  Smaller levels reduce verbosity.

## AUTHOR

David Mosberger

## BUGS

Support is currently limited to the color version of the QuickCam. The black-and-white camera is starting to work too, but I don't believe it works in all cases yet.  Reportedly, acquiring images of certain sizes work fine, but others result in shifted images (sounds like a problem due to byte-padding).

The program needs root-privileges since it needs to be able to access the camera's I/O ports.

## SEE ALSO

[**sane**(7)](/sane/7.md)