Specs and Selection Guide for Arducam OV7251 MIPI Camera Module
Introduction
Global shutter cameras eliminate rolling shutter artifacts to better capture moving objects, and OV7251 is just one of them. Arducam OV7251 MIPI cameras are mainly designed for the Raspberry Pi and connected directly to its CSI connector. They support the official V4L2 camera driver and Arducam userland driver.
Models in this Series
Currently, there are 2 models in Arducam OV7251 Series. The main difference between them is the sensitivity to infrared.
| SKU | B0161 | B0206 |
|---|---|---|
| Light Sensitivity | Visible Light Only | Infrared and Visible Light |
| IR filter | Built-in 650nm IR cut-off filter | No IR filter |
- If you operate only in visible light, get B0161.
- If IR is needed in your application, get B0206.
Common Specs
The following specs applies to all products in this series.
Image sensor
| Sensor Model | OV7251 |
| Shutter Type | Global Shutter |
| Active Pixels | 640×480 |
| Resolution | 0.3 MP |
| Image Sensor Format | Type 1/7.5″ |
| Pixel Size | 3μm×3μm |
| Color Filter Array | None(Monochrome) |
Lens
| Interchangeability | NOT Interchangeable |
| F/NO | 2.2 |
| Focus Type | Fixed Focus |
| Focusing Range | 65 mm~infinity |
| Effective Focal Length(EFL) | 1.3 mm |
| Field of View(FoV) | 86.5°×72.9°×57.7°(D×H×V) |
Camera Board
| Camera Board Size | 40×40 mm |
| Pin No. | Pin Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FSIN | Input | Frame Sync Input |
| 2 | STROBE | Output | LED Strobe Output |
| 3 | GND | Ground | Ground |
Connector & Cable
| Camera Connector | MIPI CSI-2 15-pin |
| Cable Length | 150mm (15-pin), 73mm(15-22pin) |
| Pin No. | Pin Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DGND | Ground | Power ground |
| 2 | MDN0 | Output | Pixel Data Lane0 Negative |
| 3 | MDP0 | Output | Pixel Data Lane0 Positive |
| 4 | DGND | Ground | Power ground |
| 5 | MDN1 | Output | Pixel Data Lane1 Negative |
| 6 | MDP1 | Output | Pixel Data Lane1 Positive |
| 7 | DGND | Ground | Power ground |
| 8 | MCN | Output | Pixel Clock Output from Sensor Negative |
| 9 | MCP | Output | Pixel Clock Output from Sensor Positive |
| 10 | DGND | Ground | Power ground |
| 11 | POWER-EN | Output | Power Enable |
| 12 | LED-EN | I/O | LED Enable |
| 13 | SCL | Input | SCCB serial interface clock input |
| 14 | SDA | I/O | SCCB serial interface data I/O |
| 15 | VCC | Power | 3.3V power supply |
Driver Performance (With Official V4L2 Driver)
| Picture Format | |
| Video Format | |
| Output Interface | 1-lane MIPI serial output |
| Output Formats | 8/10-bit BW RAW |
| Maximum Frame Rates | 30fps |
Quick Start Guide for Arducam OV7251 MIPI Camera Module
Introduction
Arducam OV7251 MIPI Camera Module is a 0.3MP monochrome camera module with a global shutter, and it can be used on all Raspberry Pi models with a camera interface.
Setup
Hardware Setup
NOTE:
Please shut your Pi down and disconnect it from power supply before connecting the camera module.
For Standard Raspberry Pi Models with 15-pin connector
- Locate the camera port (CSI). It’s between the HDMI and audio port of the Raspberry Pi board.
- Pull up on the plastic edges. Do it gently to avoid pulling it off.
- Push in the camera ribbon. Make sure the silver contacts are facing the HDMI port. Do not bend the flex cable, and make sure it’s firmly inserted.
- Push the plastic connector down. Do it while holding the flex cable until the connector is back in place.
For Raspberry Pi Zero and Compute Module with 22-pin connector
- Remove the default white ribbon cable
- Push in the gold ribbon cable to the camera board’s connector
- Connect the Module to the Raspberry Pi Zero/Compute Module
Software Setup
Using ROS?
Please check this Stack Overflow answer on OV7251 in RPi to use with ROS.
1. Check your firmware support
OV7251 is not native to the Raspberry Pi kernel, so it is not supported in the older firmware. Please first confirm whether you are on a proper firmware.
- Open your Terminal with
CTRL+ALT+T - In your Terminal, type the following command then hit
Enter:
ls /boot/overlays/ov7251.dtbo
If you get a successful result like the following picture, then you are good to go.
I get error no such file or directory?
If you get no such file or directory, please first double check whether you’ve typed the wrong command.
If not, then update your firmware with the following commands.
- In your Terminal, type the following command then hit
Enterline by line:
sudo apt update sudo apt full-upgrade sudo reboot
2. Enable OV7251 overlay for your Raspberry Pi
We will edit the config.txt to enable the OV7251 overlay.
- In your Terminal, type the following command then hit
Enter:
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
Edit config.txt to add OV7251 overlay.
- Use
↓to navigate to the bottom of the config.txt file, and - Add the following line to it as the picture shows.
dtoverlay=ov7251
Save the change and exit.
- Press
Ctrl+oto save the changes, then hitEnter - Press
Ctrl+xto exit.
After you exit Nano, go back to the Terminal and reboot so the changes can take effect.
- In your Terminal, type the following command then hit
Enter:
sudo reboot
3. Check your camera device
You can list the video device node to test whether your Raspberry Pi sees this camera module.
- Open your Terminal with
CTRL+ALT+T - In your Terminal, type the following command then hit
Enter:
ls /dev/video0
My RPi does not list the device?
If your Raspberry Pi does not list the device, make sure you have:
- Gone through the steps above, and then
- Double-check the cable connection, especially the orientation of the contacts on the cable and connector.
If the problems still exist after your troubleshooting, please:
- Contact Arducam with your order number included.
To take a step further, you can use the following command to know the camera runs well.
- In your Terminal, type the following command then hit
Enter: - If you get successful results, press
Ctrl+Cto stop the program.
v4l2-ctl --stream-mmap --stream-count=-1 -d /dev/video0 --stream-to=/dev/null
Need Higher Frame rates?
You can:
– Use the Arducam userland driver for OV7251
– Wait for a official kernel driver update
– Try the OV9281 camera module with official V4L2 driver
First Use
Preview the camera feed
We will use yavta to preview the camera feed. yavta stands for “Yet Another V4L2 Test Application”.
We need to clone yavta and then compile it.
- In your Terminal, type the following command then hit
Enterline by line:
git clone https://github.com/6by9/yavta.git cd yavta make
Preview the video feed in UYUV format.
- In your Terminal, type the following command then hit
Enter: - After you’ve done with the preview, hit
Ctrl+Cto exit.
./yavta --capture=1000 -n 3 --encode-to=file.h264 -f UYVY -m -T /dev/video0
What’s Next
Here are the things you can do after this quick start:
- Check the Datasheet for details like pin and mechanical definition.
- Check the Application Note for applications like using Arducam userland MIPI camera drivers.
- Check other Arducam global shutter cameras like OV9281 and OV2311.
- Join the discussion in our forum.
Application Note for Arducam OV7251 MIPI Camera Module
Use OV7251 with Arducam Userland MIPI Camera Driver
Arducam is among the earliest to enable the use of OV7251 cameras on the Raspberry Pi. Before the OV7251 camera driver was officially merged to the Raspberry Pi kernel tree, there had already been Arducam drivers.
Check our userland driver SDK and examples for more details.
