gphoto2 is a command line application which enables you to transfer digital photos from almost any serial-port or USB digital camera.

gPhoto2 uses the programming interface provided by libgphoto2.

Digital cameras have the balance of quality, features, and price that appeals to users looking for a fast and convenient way to get images into their PC. You can spend a lot more -- or a lot less -- for one than the $100 to $3000 (or even more) these cost, but you won't like the quality at the low end or the prices at the high end. With digital cameras, the best place to be is in the middle.

No other image-capture option for your computer matches the fun, immediacy, and convenience of a digital camera. Unlike with a scanner, you don't need an preexisting image: A digital camera lets you capture what you see. And unlike film-to-disk services, development is instantaneous: You don't have to wait hours or days before you can use an image on your computer.

Operating a digital camera is also inexpensive, because the only recurring cost is batteries. The camera's storage is reusable once you download a batch of images. And since you don't have to pay for film processing, you can go wild.

Unfortunately, many digital camera manufacturers refuse to share their camera communication specifications with their customers and millions of users who run free operating systems.

This is a big obstacle to development of free photo applications, and it blocks free software developers from writing free programs, that support the same features as the proprietary digital camera programs for Microsoft Windows and MacOS that usually are shipped with the camera. It renders the camera quite useless if you don't run one of those proprietary operating systems.