Tag: camera module

Raspberry Pi camera module sneak peek, and Model A unboxing

Of course, Model A is not the only new bit of hardware we’re releasing in 2013. JamesH just sent me these pictures of the forthcoming camera board to whet your appetite. This is the final hardware; we’ve been working on tuning (Gert tells me that picture quality is “pretty good” at the moment, but we’re hoping to get it to “bleedin’ marvellous” before we release the hardware), and there is some work to do on the drivers, but everything’s looking pretty peachy for the moment. I don’t have a release date for you yet, but we’re probably at least a month away (and possibly more) from being able to sell these at the moment.

Raspberry Pi camera module

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Raspberry Pi camera module, back

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Meanwhile, Model A boards are already starting to appear in the wild. Alex from Raspi.TV, a fan site, has what I think is the first blog post about the Model A from someone who’s bought one. (The blue splodge he mentions, which can be removed with meths, is an artefact of the testing process. At certain times of day, when the production line is relatively quiet, that splodge is added as a visual demonstration that the Pi has been through the whole battery of factory tests.)

He also has some video of the board. Plug it in, Alex!

Camera module – first pictures!

I was sent this image this morning from Gert (not pictured), Naush (right eye and half-moustache) and JamesH (stripy shirt and chin). It’s not a terribly exciting photo – until you realise that it’s the first picture ever taken from the prototype camera add-on board we’re developing for release later in the year, which will plug into those CSI pins we expose in  the middle of the Raspberry Pi. I will ask Gert, Naush and JamesH, who have been working on this in their free evenings, to answer questions in the comments below – they are also very active on our forums, so please come over and have a chat.

We may downgrade the super-duperness of the camera to something with fewer than its current 14 megapixels before release; we need to keep things affordable, and a sensor of that size will end up pricey. Before you ask (I know it’ll be the first question most of you have), we don’t have a price for the camera module yet; we’ll need to finalise exactly what hardware is in it first, but we will, of course, be ensuring that it’s very affordable.

More pictures, including some of the camera module itself with the Raspberry Pi:

Gert (bottom left), JamesH (middle) and Naush (top right) are looking very pleased with themselves. Here's another picture from the camera module, which wishes it had something to photograph besides engineers.

The module is pretty small, which makes it ideal for some of the robotics and home automation applications people have been wanting to build.

The mechanical design still isn't complete, but the final version will attach to the Raspberry Pi with ribbon cable, like this prototype.

View from above.

JamesH now holds the record for the most random body parts (fingertip, chin) used as feature photos on this website. Congratulations James! (There is no prize.)