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I just purchased a Logitech QuickCam Sphere camera. When I connect the device to my Ubuntu box using a 6-ft usb extension cable, the option to use the highest resolution is gone.

Does this mean I have a faulty cable or is this to be expected from a device pushing 940x720 through usb? If it doesn't mean I have a bad cable, is there some sort of powered USB extension I could get that would take care of this?

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So you get 1600x1200 resolution when you plug it in directory as promises by logitech (logitech.com/index.cfm/webcam_communications/webcams/devices/…)? Also, when you plug it in directly versus with the extension cable does dmesg output differ? Finally, do you plug it in the same port with and without the extension cable? Is there a hub involved? Other devices on the same usb bus? – Justin Dearing Nov 21 '09 at 17:28
When using extension cable I get some things like [2253733.528566] 4:3:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x86 in dmesg. I can never get 1600x1200, only whateverx720. Yes I used the same port. It was the only thing on the Bus. If I do plug it into a hub that has other things on it, it works okay. It is the extension cable that causes the problems. – Kyle Brandt Nov 21 '09 at 19:11
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Is the camera powered from the USB port? If so, the extension cable may be causing enough of a voltage drop that the camera can't draw enough current to operate at max resolutuion.

Try plugging the camera into an externally powered USB hub. The hub can be on the extension cable, since it will get it's power from a wall adapter, not the USB port on the PC.

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I did try PC-->Regular Cable-->Powered Hub-->extension-->Camera, but that didn't work for me. The Camera does have external power, so yes it is usb powered. Going to wait until I can grab another powered hub to try changing it to PC-->Extension-->Powered Hub-->Camera , you think that will make the difference? – Kyle Brandt Nov 22 '09 at 17:21
Yes, try plugging the camera directly into the powered hub, with no extension between the hub & camera. Put any extension between the pc & hub if you need one for positioning the camera. – Joe Internet Nov 23 '09 at 22:30
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