Questions[uvc](ubuntu)

I bought the webcam Grandstream GUV3100 which is Full HD capable (1080p video at 30fps) but all the apps for videoconferencing, such as Discord, MS Teams, or Jitsi use only 720p stream from the webcam. I confirmed the fullHD stream is available by $ lsusb -s 003:0016 -v | grep -E "Width|Height" (003 is Bus of the webcam, 016 is its Device number, obtained by lsusb). Also visible in the list I get with $ v4l2-ctl -d2 --list-formats-ext (I attached the list at the bottom of this post). Apparently, all the apps get the 1st stream listed by v4l2-ctl, I'd like them to use one of the fullHD streams.

When I tell WhatsApp that I want to send a photo from my webcam, it uses the fullHD stream to get the photo. Also, when I connect the webcam to a Windows 10 machine and open the Camera app, the video is fullHD 30FPS there.

Is there a way to tell the apps to use one of the other formats listed below? (Preferably the 1920x1080px 30FPS).

I'm using Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS.

$ uname -osrm
Linux 5.4.0-52-generic x86_64 GNU/Linux

Thanks for any help or guidance.

$ v4l2-ctl -d2 --list-formats-ext
ioctl: VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
    Type: Video Capture

    [0]: 'YUYV' (YUYV 4:2:2)
        Size: Discrete 1280x720
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 1024x576
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 800x600
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 800x448
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 640x480
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 640x360
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 480x270
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 320x180
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
    [1]: 'MJPG' (Motion-JPEG, compressed)
        Size: Discrete 1920x1080
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 1600x896
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 1280x720
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 1024x576
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 960x540
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 800x600
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 800x448
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 720x576
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 720x480
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 640x480
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 640x360
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 480x270
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 352x288
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 320x240
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
    [2]: 'H264' (H.264, compressed)
        Size: Discrete 1920x1080
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 1600x896
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 1280x720
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 1024x576
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 960x540
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 800x600
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 800x448
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 720x576
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 720x480
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 640x480
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 640x360
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 480x270
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 352x288
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 320x240
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.040s (25.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.050s (20.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.067s (15.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.100s (10.000 fps)
            Interval: Discrete 0.200s (5.000 fps)
    [3]: '' (35363248-0000-0010-8000-00aa003, compressed)

I managed to get the fullHD signal to VLC by piping the /dev/video0 stream to ffmpeg, choosing the correct variant there, and then outputting it to /dev/video0. However, communication clients such as MS Teams, Discord, Jit.si, and so on don't understand it and can't display it.

$ ffmpeg -f video4linux2 -input_format h264 -video_size 1920x1080 -i /dev/video0 -c:v rawvideo -c:a none -pix_fmt yuyv422 -f v4l2 /dev/video2

I also tried OBS (https://obsproject.com/) virtual webcam (v4l2-sink) but as with encoding the stream directly with ffmpeg, app like MS Teams, Discord, Jit.si can't display the virtual webcam stream.

I am interested in the OBS solution because I see a potential to reduce the very wide angle of view of my webcam there. Or I could crop it with ffmpeg but the last time I tried that, I got a very broken image (wrong pixelformat?)

I would like to upgrade my webcam to one offering FHD (1920x1080) resolution at 60 fps (actually running 60 fps) that has full support under Ubuntu 20.04 and as far as I know, I should look for a UVC 1.5 (USB video device class) compliant device. However, I'm a bit worried about the conclusion of the following post: Logitech Streamcam not offering all modes on Manjaro

To make the long story short, on UVC Wikipedia there's stated that Linux only detects 1.5 devices without providing full capabilities, only trying to fall safe to 1.0 or 1.1 version. Does this statement still hold even in newest kernel? Still we haven't got fully-fledged 1.5 UVC?

To sum up:

• Does the newest Ubuntu 20.04 (even with kernel lifted to 5.6) has UVC 1.5 support, and if not how to patch it up? (Kernel 5.6 should give us early USB4 support, so good time to make riddance of all lacking features from the past.)

• Does we need the full 1.5 UVC support to have 1080p @ 60 fps or is there any workaround? (On https://www.ideasonboard.org/uvc/ it's stated that MJPEG payloads are already supported by current UVC implementation and the StreamCam from the aforementioned post supports it. So maybe, I should not insist on 1.5 version and it requires only a bit of tinkering in config?)

When I boot Ubuntu 18.04 I get this error in the register:

uvcvideo: Failed to query (GET_INFO) UVC control 4 on unit 2: -32 (exp. 1).
uvcvideo: Failed to query (GET_INFO) UVC control 4 on unit 2: -32 (exp. 1).
uvcvideo: Failed to query (GET_INFO) UVC control 4 on unit 2: -32 (exp. 1).

My web camera works fine.

What could be the cause of this message?

My webcam worked like a charm until I ran a simple python code to take photo. I ran it with root permission by sudo python myapp.py. The program crashed. Then I ran sudo killall -9 python.

From that time, I lost my webcam. If I run my program, I get this error: VIDEOIO ERROR: V4L: can't find camera device. Cheese cann't find device as well.

I google my issue and I find some pages saying that I should re-enable uvcvideo module. I've done it by sudo modprobe -r uvcvideo && sudo modprobe uvcvideo but the problem isn't solved.

This is the result of some of my commands:

$ lsmod | grep uvc
uvcvideo               86016  0
videobuf2_vmalloc      16384  1 uvcvideo
videobuf2_v4l2         24576  1 uvcvideo
videobuf2_core         40960  2 videobuf2_v4l2,uvcvideo
videodev              184320  3             
videobuf2_core,videobuf2_v4l2,uvcvideo
media                  40960  2 videodev,uvcvideo

$ sudo v4l2-ctl --list-devices
Failed to open /dev/video0: No such file or directory

I should also notice that if I restart the computer I get nothing from lsmod | grep uvc until I run sudo modprobe uvcvideo again.

How should I solve the issue?

I bought a Maozua 5mp USB microscope off Amazon (after checking in the reviews that it worked on Linux). Sadly when I connected it on Lubuntu 16.04 it does not work in guvcview or cheese.

I did some investigation. I show the relevant parts below:

ls /dev | grep video
video0
video1

The microscope is on video1 and a logitech webcam on video0. The webcam works when the microscope is not connected, but guvcview and cheese cannot retrieve video from it when the microscope is connected:

lsusb 
Bus 003 Device 009: ID 0c45:6366 Microdia 

more detailed info:

lsusb -v
Bus 003 Device 008: ID 0c45:6366 Microdia 
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               2.00
  bDeviceClass          239 Miscellaneous Device
  bDeviceSubClass         2 ?
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Interface Association
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x0c45 Microdia
  idProduct          0x6366 
  bcdDevice            1.00
  iManufacturer           2 
  iProduct                1 
  iSerial                 3 
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength          662
    bNumInterfaces          2
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0 
    bmAttributes         0x80
      (Bus Powered)
    MaxPower              500mA
    Interface Association:
      bLength                 8
      bDescriptorType        11
      bFirstInterface         0
      bInterfaceCount         2
      bFunctionClass         14 Video
      bFunctionSubClass       3 Video Interface Collection
      bFunctionProtocol       0 
      iFunction               5 
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      1 Video Control
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              5 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                13
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      1 (HEADER)
        bcdUVC               1.00
        wTotalLength          108
        dwClockFrequency       15.000000MHz
        bInCollection           1
        baInterfaceNr( 0)       1
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                 9
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      3 (OUTPUT_TERMINAL)
        bTerminalID             5
        wTerminalType      0x0101 USB Streaming
        bAssocTerminal          0
        bSourceID               4
        iTerminal               0 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                28
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      6 (EXTENSION_UNIT)
        bUnitID                 3
        guidExtensionCode         {7033f028-1163-2e4a-ba2c-6890eb334016}
        bNumControl            24
        bNrPins                 1
        baSourceID( 0)          2
        bControlSize            3
        bmControls( 0)       0xff
        bmControls( 1)       0xff
        bmControls( 2)       0xff
        iExtension              0 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                29
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      6 (EXTENSION_UNIT)
        bUnitID                 4
        guidExtensionCode         {b42153bd-35d6-45ca-b203-4e0149b301bc}
        bNumControl            32
        bNrPins                 1
        baSourceID( 0)          3
        bControlSize            4
        bmControls( 0)       0x03
        bmControls( 1)       0x80
        bmControls( 2)       0x3f
        bmControls( 3)       0x9f
        iExtension              0 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                18
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      2 (INPUT_TERMINAL)
        bTerminalID             1
        wTerminalType      0x0201 Camera Sensor
        bAssocTerminal          0
        iTerminal               0 
        wObjectiveFocalLengthMin      0
        wObjectiveFocalLengthMax      0
        wOcularFocalLength            0
        bControlSize                  3
        bmControls           0x0000000e
          Auto-Exposure Mode
          Auto-Exposure Priority
          Exposure Time (Absolute)
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                11
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      5 (PROCESSING_UNIT)
      Warning: Descriptor too short
        bUnitID                 2
        bSourceID               1
        wMaxMultiplier          0
        bControlSize            2
        bmControls     0x0000177f
          Brightness
          Contrast
          Hue
          Saturation
          Sharpness
          Gamma
          White Balance Temperature
          Backlight Compensation
          Gain
          Power Line Frequency
          White Balance Temperature, Auto
        iProcessing             0 
        bmVideoStandards     0x 0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x83  EP 3 IN
        bmAttributes            3
          Transfer Type            Interrupt
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0010  1x 16 bytes
        bInterval               6
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           0
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            15
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  1 (INPUT_HEADER)
        bNumFormats                         2
        wTotalLength                      411
        bEndPointAddress                  129
        bmInfo                              0
        bTerminalLink                       5
        bStillCaptureMethod                 2
        bTriggerSupport                     1
        bTriggerUsage                       1
        bControlSize                        1
        bmaControls( 0)                    11
        bmaControls( 1)                    11
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            11
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  6 (FORMAT_MJPEG)
        bFormatIndex                        1
        bNumFrameDescriptors                5
        bFlags                              0
          Fixed-size samples: No
        bDefaultFrameIndex                  1
        bAspectRatioX                       0
        bAspectRatioY                       0
        bmInterlaceFlags                 0x00
          Interlaced stream or variable: No
          Fields per frame: 1 fields
          Field 1 first: No
          Field pattern: Field 1 only
          bCopyProtect                      0
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         1
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2592
        wHeight                          1944
        dwMinBitRate                1209323520
        dwMaxBitRate                1209323520
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize    10078285
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         2
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2320
        wHeight                          1744
        dwMinBitRate                971059200
        dwMaxBitRate                971059200
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     8092749
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         3
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2048
        wHeight                          1536
        dwMinBitRate                754974720
        dwMaxBitRate                754974720
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     6292045
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         4
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1920
        wHeight                          1080
        dwMinBitRate                497664000
        dwMaxBitRate                497664000
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     4147789
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         5
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1280
        wHeight                          1024
        dwMinBitRate                314572800
        dwMaxBitRate                314572800
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     2622029
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            26
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  3 (STILL_IMAGE_FRAME)
        bEndpointAddress                    0
        bNumImageSizePatterns               5
        wWidth( 0)                       2592
        wHeight( 0)                      1944
        wWidth( 1)                       2320
        wHeight( 1)                      1744
        wWidth( 2)                       2048
        wHeight( 2)                      1536
        wWidth( 3)                       1920
        wHeight( 3)                      1080
        wWidth( 4)                       1280
        wHeight( 4)                      1024
        bNumCompressionPatterns             5
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            27
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  4 (FORMAT_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFormatIndex                        2
        bNumFrameDescriptors                5
        guidFormat                            {59555932-0000-1000-8000-00aa00389b71}
        bBitsPerPixel                      16
        bDefaultFrameIndex                  1
        bAspectRatioX                       0
        bAspectRatioY                       0
        bmInterlaceFlags                 0x00
          Interlaced stream or variable: No
          Fields per frame: 2 fields
          Field 1 first: No
          Field pattern: Field 1 only
          bCopyProtect                      0
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         1
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2592
        wHeight                          1944
        dwMinBitRate                161243136
        dwMaxBitRate                161243136
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize    10077696
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        5000000
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           5000000
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         2
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2320
        wHeight                          1774
        dwMinBitRate                131701760
        dwMaxBitRate                131701760
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     8231360
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        5000000
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           5000000
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         3
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2048
        wHeight                          1536
        dwMinBitRate                150994944
        dwMaxBitRate                150994944
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     6291456
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        3333333
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           3333333
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         4
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1920
        wHeight                          1080
        dwMinBitRate                 99532800
        dwMaxBitRate                 99532800
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     4147200
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        3333333
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           3333333
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         5
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1280
        wHeight                          1024
        dwMinBitRate                104857600
        dwMaxBitRate                104857600
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     2621440
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        2000000
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           2000000
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            26
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  3 (STILL_IMAGE_FRAME)
        bEndpointAddress                    0
        bNumImageSizePatterns               5
        wWidth( 0)                       2592
        wHeight( 0)                      1944
        wWidth( 1)                       2320
        wHeight( 1)                      1744
        wWidth( 2)                       2048
        wHeight( 2)                      1536
        wWidth( 3)                       1920
        wHeight( 3)                      1080
        wWidth( 4)                       1280
        wHeight( 4)                      1024
        bNumCompressionPatterns             5
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                             6
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                 13 (COLORFORMAT)
        bColorPrimaries                     1 (BT.709,sRGB)
        bTransferCharacteristics            1 (BT.709)
        bMatrixCoefficients                 4 (SMPTE 170M (BT.601))
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       1
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0080  1x 128 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       2
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0100  1x 256 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       3
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0320  1x 800 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       4
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0b20  2x 800 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       5
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x1320  3x 800 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       6
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x1400  3x 1024 bytes
        bInterval               1

I looked at the output of dmesg and found the following ominous lines:

[ 2364.670728] usb 3-2: new high-speed USB device number 8 using xhci_hcd
[ 2364.829594] usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=0c45, idProduct=6366
[ 2364.829598] usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
[ 2364.829601] usb 3-2: Product: Digital microscope
[ 2364.829604] usb 3-2: Manufacturer: Sonix Technology Co., Ltd.
[ 2364.829606] usb 3-2: SerialNumber: SN0001
[ 2364.831835] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Digital microscope (0c45:6366)
[ 2364.839225] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 4 was not initialized!
[ 2364.839229] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 3 was not initialized!
[ 2364.839232] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Processing 2 was not initialized!
[ 2364.839235] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Camera 1 was not initialized!
[ 2364.839369] input: Digital microscope: Digital mic as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb3/3-2/3-2:1.0/input/input20
[ 2637.035796] usb 3-2: USB disconnect, device number 8
[ 2646.208190] usb 3-2: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 2646.367005] usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=0c45, idProduct=6366
[ 2646.367009] usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
[ 2646.367012] usb 3-2: Product: Digital microscope
[ 2646.367015] usb 3-2: Manufacturer: Sonix Technology Co., Ltd.
[ 2646.367017] usb 3-2: SerialNumber: SN0001
[ 2646.369205] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Digital microscope (0c45:6366)
[ 2646.376527] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 4 was not initialized!
[ 2646.376531] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 3 was not initialized!
[ 2646.376534] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Processing 2 was not initialized!
[ 2646.376536] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Camera 1 was not initialized!
[ 2646.376672] input: Digital microscope: Digital mic as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb3/3-2/3-2:1.0/input/input21

I disconnected the Logitech webcam, to avoid interactions, and ran cheese from the console (using sudo to avoid permission problems). I saw the following output:

paul@clio:~$ sudo cheese
[sudo] password for paul: 

(cheese:3520): IBUS-WARNING **: The owner of /home/paul/.config/ibus/bus is not root!
libv4l2: error turning on stream: Protocol error

(cheese:3520): cheese-WARNING **: Could not read from resource.: gstv4l2bufferpool.c(1054): gst_v4l2_buffer_pool_poll (): /GstCameraBin:camerabin/GstWrapperCameraBinSrc:camera_source/GstBin:bin18/GstV4l2Src:v4l2src1:
poll error 1: Protocol error (71)

I googled 'microdia' and '0c45:6366' and found a lot of people have struggled with this microscope. Some believe they got it working, but the solutions are spread across long threads stream-of-consciouness-wise and I have not pieced together anything that works. I noted that most of the threads are dated 2008-2009. It makes me wonder whether a working driver became available after that period - but I can't find it !

Any help will be much appreciated.