Linux Webcam Help
One of the trickiest parts about using Linux is in getting all your hardware to work, especially hardware that comes with a Windows driver. While most Linux distributions come with a robust generic driver, this doesn't mean that it's necessarily going to work out of the box with yours. You can run a handful of tests to find out if your webcam will work with your distribution.
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Basic Issues
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When you're having trouble with your webcam on a Linux machine, keep in mind the number of variables that might be contributing to your problem. If you're using an external webcam, make sure that the port you're using to connect your device is working by testing it with another device; for example, test a USB port with a flash drive. Test the webcam with another computer to ensure that it is also working. Check the USB cable and plug for damage. Different webcams might behave differently on different distributions; what might work well with Fedora might not work at all with Ubuntu. Check the documentation for your specific distribution and webcam model when determining hardware compatibility.
Webcam Drivers
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Most generic webcam drivers are included with your Linux distribution. You'll want both Video4Linux (v4l) and Video4Linux2 (v4l2), as some webcam applications do not support v4l2. The Linux UVC driver, included in Ubuntu since 10.04, offers compatibility for devices that use USB Video Class; the website for the Linux UVC driver lists known compatible webcams. Some webcams have specific drivers; for instance, several specific drivers have been made for QuickCam webcams.
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Faulty Software
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Test your webcam input in a couple different programs to check that any problems aren't just from an individual program. If the video encounters the same errors in a variety of programs, then you can narrow the issue down to your webcam and not your software. Cheese is a basic webcam recording program available for the GNOME desktop environment. You can also test your webcam in VLC by going to "Open Capture Device" and clicking play; this automatically chooses your default webcam using Video4Linux. You can also use a video chatting program, such as Skype or Empathy, to test your webcam.
Using Dmesg
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You can see if the kernel is viewing your webcam by connecting it to the computer and typing "dmesg" in a terminal window (without the quotes). Dmesg displays an output of all the devices detected by the kernel, split up by different drivers. This works for both internal and external webcams. You want to look for a line starting with "uvcvideo:" which indicates a USB Video Class Linux device driver. If your webcam isn't listed beside "uvcvideo:" this means that your kernel does not see it at all. According to Carla Schroder in her article for LinuxPlanet, this is pretty much the end of the line in terms of compatibility for your webcam.
User Groups
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If your user account is not in the right group, you may not be able to access your webcam. How you access your distributions group setting varies, but generally you want to look for the option "Users and Groups." Find "Manage Groups," edit or view the properties for the "Video" group and add your user account to the group. Log out of your system and log back in to enact the change. If you do not have administration privileges, you will have to ask an administrator how to handle this.
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References
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