1. Introduction
Arducam Pivariety is a Raspberry Pi camera solution to take the advantage of using its hardware ISP functions. Using Arducam Pivariety camera modules, users can get better performance and a wider variety of camera, lens options. For a long time, Raspberry Pi users are limited to use the closed-source official supported camera driver and camera modules (V1/V2/HQ). Now Arducam made it possible to provide well-tuned ISP for Pivariety camera modules with Auto Exposure, Auto White Balance, Lens Shading Correction, etc.
2. Specs
Image Sensor | 21MP IMX230 |
Max. Resolution | 5344H×4016V |
Pixel Size | 1.12um×1.12um |
Optical Format | 1/2.4” |
Lens Spec | Focal length: 4.77mm, F.NO: 1.75±5%, FOV: horizontal 64deg |
IR Sensitivity | Integral IR filter, visible light only |
Focus Type | Motorized focus, programmable focus control |
Frame Rate | 5344×[email protected], 3840×[email protected], 2592×[email protected], 2656×[email protected], 1920×[email protected], 1280×[email protected], 1280×[email protected], 640×[email protected] |
Sensor Output Format | RAW10 |
ISP Output Format | The output image format of JPG, YUV420, RAW, DNG The output video format of MJPEG, H.264 |
Interface Type | 2-Lane MIPI |
Board Size | 38mm×38mm |
3. Hardware
3.1. Assembly Instructure
3.2. Insert the ribbon cable
3.2.1. Connect to the adapter board


Note: You need to get the cable the right way round, or the camera will not work.
3.2.2. Connect to the Raspberry Pi

4. What’s next
After hardware setup, you probably can’t wait to use the camera, the following documents may be what you need.
How to install Kernel Driver for Pivariety Camera
How to access and program the Pivariety Camera using Python, OpenCV, and GStreamer