Mustek MDC-800 USB camera and Microtek X6USB scanner drivers
Kernel-side support for two early USB imaging gadgets: the Mustek MDC-800 digital camera from 1999, which used USB to transfer photos to a PC, and Microtek's ScanMaker X6USB-class flatbed scanners from the same era. Both were consumer devices typical of the late-1990s and early-2000s USB peripheral wave, paired in userspace with libgphoto2 or SANE.
recommendation
Worth keeping but documenting as legacy because the hardware is long obsolete (the Mustek MDC-800 dates to 1999 and Microtek's X6USB-era scanners haven't been sold new for over two decades), yet the code is still receiving real bug fixes upstream, including a reviewed mdc800 patch queued for stable in early 2026. SANE has already marked its matching microtek2 backend unmaintained, so deployments are residual at best, but the maintenance pulse means there's no reason to rush removal.
repository signals
sources
- spinics.net
In February 2026 the mdc800 driver received a reviewed bug-fix patch, indicating current upstream maintenance activity rather than abandonment.
- spinics.net
The 2026 mdc800 fix was queued for stable backport, suggesting maintainers consider the driver worth preserving for existing users.
- cateee.net
LKDDb shows CONFIG_USB_MDC800 and related USB IDs are still present through current 6.x kernels, covering Mustek MDC800 and Microtek-family devices in this directory.
- sane-project.gitlab.io
SANE still documents Microtek X6USB support via the microtek2 backend, but labels that backend unmaintained, consistent with residual legacy deployment rather than active new sales.
- digitalkameramuseum.de
The Mustek MDC-800 is a 1999 digital camera, supporting the conclusion that this hardware family is long obsolete and not sold new in 2025.
- gphoto.org
libgphoto2 still carries support for many legacy cameras, aligning with the kernel Kconfig/help text that this driver exists for old camera download workflows.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory with module entry points in mdc800.c and microtek.c (checked via local shell/rg). Local git log showed substantive touches in 2024-2026, including two February 2026 mdc800 fixes; one exact-subject web search found the reviewed patch thread on spinics, and another source showed the same fix in stable review. A web search for LKDDb confirmed the configs/USB IDs remain in current kernels. A web search for scanner deployment evidence found SANE's backend table listing X6USB support but marking microtek2 unmaintained. A web search for product history found the Mustek MDC-800 museum page dating the camera to 1999. No concrete removal series was found in the limited exact-path/exact-subject searches, so active bug-fix traffic outweighs hardware age: keep the driver but annotate it as legacy/obsolete hardware.