Pi Camera
pi-camera

This page collects different ways to use Raspberry Pi computer boards (and related boards) to make small, cheap, lightweight cameras for different purposes, including #aerial-mapping, #balloon-mapping, #kite-mapping, #timelapse and #spectrometry. ## Raspberry Pi Simple Camera Kit We've [been working on some software](https://github.com/publiclab/image-builder-rpi/) for this widely used mini camera-and-computer in a tiny box (especially the lightweight "Zero W" model) to make it available with a **pre-flashed SD card** that turns this into a **ready-to-use WiFi enabled camera**. This gets over many of the barriers of using the regular Raspberry Pi kit and having to do a lot of programming/installing to get it running. We've managed to get a **plug and play** version running! Just plug it in using a Micro USB cable (or battery pack) and it'll create a WiFi network called "00PiCamera" -- password "publiclab" -- which you can log into from your phone or laptop. You'll quickly see streaming video, be able to take photos, timelapses, or videos, do motion triggered capture, and more: * [Pi Camera Kit](https://store.publiclab.org/products/raspberry-pi-camera) * [Infragram Pi Camera Kit](https://store.publiclab.org/products/infragram-pi-camera) * our [Microscope Pi kits](https://store.publiclab.org/collections/microscopes) use this as well * [Pre-flashed SD cards for Raspberry Pi cameras](https://store.publiclab.org/products/pi-builder-cards) * combine with (maybe?) [CR123a lithium battery](https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=cr123a) (and tell us how that goes!) For more on the open source Pi Builder software that made this possible, [see this blog post](/notes/icarito/10-21-2018/introducing-pi-builder) and [troubleshoot on this wiki page](/pi-builder) [notes:grid:activity:pi-camera-setup] **** ## Questions Questions can be either frequently asked questions, or "next step" challenges we're looking to solve. [questions:pi-camera] ## Activities Activities show how to use this project, step by step. [activities:pi-camera] **** ### Resources * Camera module http://m.e-cantonfair.com/#/product/552106 * Focus tricks https://raspi.tv/2013/adapt-your-raspberry-pi-camera-for-close-up-use * Very detailed documentation https://elinux.org/Rpi_Camera_Module * Datasheets and very detailed documentation on v1 camera: https://github.com/techyian/MMALSharp/wiki/OmniVision-OV5647-Camera-Module * Datasheets and very detailed documentation on v2 camera: https://github.com/techyian/MMALSharp/wiki/Sony-IMX219-Camera-Module...


Author Comment Last activity Moderation
warren "that'd be awesome. The image workflow we've built is javascript based, but it's also possible to use Pi Builder to produce reproducible python tool..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
petter_mansson1 " I was not aware of this. Very cool, I had an idea doing something of the same sort but it's better if we work together! I'd love to share what I'v..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
warren " Hi! This is awesome. Have you seen our Infragram Pi software, somewhat documented at: https://publiclab.org/infragram-pi https://publiclab.org/p..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
stoft " Ah, I've seen the curve on the web but it was not attributed to the specific sensor. It's helpful to now have that information. It looks like the ..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
Bronwen " This is fantastic! Looking forward to seeing your conclusions! " | Read more » about 5 years ago
jenjimah " Hi Dave, I just heard back from Sony regarding the IMX219 Sensor response. Here's the pdf and a screenshot: IMX219_Spectrum.pdf Although it doe..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
stoft " Jasmin, glad my previous notes were helpful. I did find one plot for the IMX219, but it was not from Sony and only covered to 700nm. The IMX265 c..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
jenjimah " Hi Dave, I looked at some of your posts before writing this one, actually! Your work is super helpful. I also couldn't find IR data from the Sony..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
stoft "Interesting project. I did not readily find spectral response curves from Sony on the IMX219 sensor though others in that family of devices appear..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
jenjimah "Hi Warren, thanks! I'll definitely try to document my process well as it comes along. I have a lot of motivation to get this going because I want t..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
warren " This is really cool! We'd love to see build photos as you go. We're also really interested in lighting setups and would love to see more documenta..." | Read more » about 5 years ago
warren "@warren awards a barnstar to imvec for their awesome contribution! " | Read more » about 5 years ago
Warrenmcdonalid "Helpful " | Read more » over 5 years ago
StevenSmith "So informative share! " | Read more » over 5 years ago
xose "Hi @icarito! What we have done with our ANOIAcam in relation to the battery is to open a regular powerbank and extract the lipo battery inside. Pow..." | Read more » over 5 years ago
icarito "Thanks @xose for your input! I've little to no experience with this sort of hacking and am still quite confused with a closing window to order the ..." | Read more » over 5 years ago
warren "(just testing something) [graph:/i/27694.csv] " | Read more » over 5 years ago
xose "Sorry, yes, the upper right is the solar panel. In relation to the battery needed I really don't know. As we turn it off for 57 minutes every hour,..." | Read more » over 5 years ago
xose "Hi @icarito! In that setup we're using this solar panel to lipo pcb, and from that to the Witty Pi energy manager → https://www.seeedstudio.com/LiP..." | Read more » over 5 years ago
warren "Some serious progress has been made on this, for running SpectralWorkbench on the Raspberry Pi and connecting to it's camera: https://github.com/pu..." | Read more » over 5 years ago
warren "We now have a great solution for this! https://publiclab.org/infrapi !! and a kit available there. " | Read more » over 5 years ago
warren "We now have a great solution for this! Pi Builder!!! https://publiclab.org/pi-builder " | Read more » over 5 years ago
warren ":-) good to know!!! We're looking for slightly better webcams now too. We found this one is pretty nice, and we are getting them for about $30, al..." | Read more » over 5 years ago
icarito "Thanks xose! I love that setup, it looks so rugged! I've been doing some research on how to power the pi with solar. Is the plaque in the upper ri..." | Read more » over 5 years ago