Raspberry Pi is hoping to capitalize on the pandemic pastime boon with a brand new 12.3-megapixel Excessive High quality Digital camera and vary of interchangeable lenses. It’ll let you kickstart your pictures facet hustle with an camera for $50 and lenses beginning at $25 every.
The camera is appropriate with most Raspberry Pi single-board computer systems—from the unique Pi 1 Mannequin B onward—the so-called “Excessive High quality Digital camera” contains a 12.3-megapixel Sony IMX477 sensor, with 7.9mm diagonal picture dimension, back-illuminated sensor structure, adjustable again focus, and assist for C- and CS-mount lenses.
“There has at all times been a giant overlap between Raspberry Pi hackers and camera hackers,” senior principal engineer Simon Martin wrote in a weblog publish. “Even again in 2012, individuals have been discovering attention-grabbing methods to squeeze extra performance out of DSLR cameras utilizing their Raspberry Pi computer systems.” The inspiration launched its first camera board in 2013, adopted rapidly by the unique Pi NoIR board with infrared sensitivity—well-liked amongst astronomers and drone pilots, who used the tech to spice up telescopes and monitor plant well being.
When the 5-megapixel camera was discontinued, Raspberry Pi changed it with an 8-megapixel Sony IMX2019 sensor, launched in 2016. “It has discovered a house in all kinds of cool tasks, from line followers to cucumber sorters,” in line with Martin. “Going by means of our gross sales figures whereas penning this publish, we have been amazed to find we have offered over 1.7 million of those up to now.”
These cellular phone-type fixed-focus modules, nevertheless, have sure limitations: small sensors, low signal-to-noise ratio, poor low-light efficiency, and, maybe most notably, no choice to exchange the lens. “These are the shortcomings that the high-quality camera is designed to deal with,” the weblog mentioned.
You’ll be able to be taught extra in regards to the earlier Digital camera Module and new Excessive High quality shooter with the Official Raspberry Pi Digital camera Information, accessible in print from the Raspberry Pi Press retailer for $12.50, or as a free PDF from The MagPi journal web site.
