This is a description of the salient features of the setup used to develop the procedures described below. All the procedures have been tried and tested, also for Linux-2.6. The screen-like displays are precise copies of what appeared on my screen.
It is uncertain if USB-support is sufficient in kernels earlier than 2.4.xx. The following support, relevant to this document, was compiled into the kernel. A modular approach may also be followed.
In the lists above the entities in uppercase refer to the variable names to be found in the .config file in the upper level directory of the kernel source (/usr/src/linux/). The entities xxx.o refer to the modules created when a modular approach is followed. When there is no reference to a module, the option can only be hard-compiled into the kernel.
Different kernel versions may have different indications of options when, for example, make menuconfig or make xconfig are run. Variables such as CONFIG_USB, which can be gleaned from the various help options, may be a more reliable indication.
Very recent Linux distributions such as RedHat and SuSE probably have the appropriate kernel options compiled in.
Under USB-support, options for a number of digital cameras are available.
Please consult the relevant texts as set out in Section 4 if you consider (re)compiling your kernel.