1. libcamera-dev and libcamera-apps Installation
wget -O install_pivariety_pkgs.sh https://github.com/ArduCAM/Arducam-Pivariety-V4L2-Driver/releases/download/install_script/install_pivariety_pkgs.sh chmod +x install_pivariety_pkgs.sh ./install_pivariety_pkgs.sh -p libcamera_dev ./install_pivariety_pkgs.sh -p libcamera_apps
You can also be following the step to install the driver by yourself
1.1. Use pre-compiled binaries
Note: If you don’t want to compile, you can choose to use our pre-compiled deb package.
1.1.1 Install libcamera
wget https://github.com/ArduCAM/Arducam-Pivariety-V4L2-Driver/releases/download/v0.0.2/libcamera-dev.deb -O libcamera-dev.deb
sudo apt install ./libcamera-dev.deb1.1.2 Install libcamera-apps
wget https://github.com/ArduCAM/Arducam-Pivariety-V4L2-Driver/releases/download/libcamera-apps-v0.0.2/libcamera-apps.deb -O libcamera-apps.deb
sudo apt install ./libcamera-apps.debIf you use the pre-compiled package please go to the chapter of Select the correct graphics driver.
1.2. Build from the source code
1.2.1 Install dependency
If you need to use the plugin GStreamer, please install the GStreamer dependency before compiling libcamera.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y libboost-dev libgnutls28-dev openssl \
libtiff5-dev qtbase5-dev libqt5core5a libqt5gui5 \
libqt5widgets5 meson libegl1-mesa-dev cmake \
libboost-program-options-dev libdrm-dev \
libexif-dev libegl1-mesa-dev
sudo pip3 install pyyaml ply
sudo pip3 install --upgrade mesonOptional dependencies (for GStreamer plugin).
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y libgstreamer1.0-dev \
libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev1.2.2 Download and compile libcamera
Please note that Pivariety can’t be supported by Raspistill, you need to download libcamera to make it work. You can follow the installation steps listed in the code library.
cd ~
git clone git://linuxtv.org/libcamera.git
cd libcamera
meson build
cd build
meson configure -Dpipelines=raspberrypi -Dtest=false
cd ..
ninja -C buildOn some lower memory platforms (e.g. 1GB) there have been cases of ninja exhausting all the system memory and aborting (as it will attempt to use all the CPU cores). If this happens, please try replacing ninja -C build by ninja -C build -j 2 – this will restrict Ninja to only 2 cores.
After downloading and compiling libcamera, you need to replace the code ipa_rpi.so with.
cd ~
wget https://github.com/ArduCAM/Arducam-Pivariety-V4L2-Driver/releases/download/ipa-v0.01/ipa_rpi.tar.xz
tar xvf ipa_rpi.tar.xz
cp ipa_rpi.so libcamera/build/src/ipa/raspberrypi/
cd libcamera && sudo ninja -C build install1.2.3 Download and compile libepoxy
libcamera-apps requires libepoxy to be installed.
cd
git clone https://github.com/anholt/libepoxy.git
cd libepoxy
mkdir _build
cd _build
meson
ninja
sudo ninja install1.2.4 Download and compile libcamera-apps
cd
git clone https://github.com/raspberrypi/libcamera-apps.git
cd libcamera-apps
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j4
sudo make installTo check everything is working correctly, type ./libcamera-hello – you should see a preview window displayed for about 5 seconds.
Note for Pi 3 devices
As we saw previously, 1GB devices may need make -j2 instead of make -j4.Also, Pi 3s do not by default use the correct GL driver, so please ensure you have dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d in the [all] (not in the [pi4]) section of your /boot/config.txt file.
1.2.5 Select the correct graphics driver
There are 3 different graphics drivers available on the Raspberry Pi: firmware, FKMS, and KMS.
The firmware graphics driver cannot be used with libcamera-apps. The Raspberry Pi 4 and 400 use the newer FKMS graphics driver by default: this is compatible with libcamera-apps.
For all other models of Raspberry Pi, you must select the FKMS driver by adding the following line to the /boot/config.txt file(Note: Please add it under the [all] tag ).
[all]
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3dNOTE: If you want to modify the file of /boot/config.txt, you need to reboot your device after modifying.
Tips: How to add the /boot/config.txt under the [all] tag?
a. open the filesudo nano /boot/config.txt #Use the mouse to draw to the bottom #Add dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d under the table of [all]
b. Press the ctrl+o after editing, and press enter to save your file
c. Press the Ctrl+x to exit the editor
You can refer to here to learn more.
2. Use libcamera to access the camera
2.1. Use libcamera-app to access the camera
2.1.1 Capture image
For example, preview for 5s and save the image named test.jpg.
libcamera-still -t 5000 -o test.jpgParameter explanation
-t 5000 means preview for 5 seconds
-o test.jpg means to take a picture after the preview is over and save it as test.jpg
2.1.2 Record video
For example, record a H.264 10s video with the frame size 1920W × 1080H.
libcamera-vid -t 10000 --width 1920 --height 1080 -o test.h264Parameter explanation
-t 10000 means recording for 10 seconds.
–width 1920 means to set the width to 1920.
–height 1080 means to set the height to 1080.
-o means to output the encoded data stream to the test.h264 file.
Note: H.264 format only supports 1920×1080 and below resolution.
2.2. Create a virtual video node (Access by Python)
2.2.1 Install V4l2loopback
Download kernel source code
cd ~
sudo apt install git bc bison flex libssl-dev
sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RPi-Distro/rpi-source/master/rpi-source -O /usr/local/bin/rpi-source && sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/rpi-source && /usr/local/bin/rpi-source -q --tag-update
rpi-source -d $(uname -r)Compile driver
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/umlaeute/v4l2loopback.git
cd v4l2loopback
make clean && make
make && sudo make install
sudo depmod -a2.2.2 Use v4l2loopback
sudo modprobe v4l2loopback video_nr=3
cd ~/libcamera # Installation using deb does not need to be executed
export GST_PLUGIN_PATH=$(pwd)/build/src/gstreamer # Installation using deb does not need to be executed
gst-launch-1.0 libcamerasrc ! 'video/x-raw,width=1920,height=1080' ! videoconvert ! tee ! v4l2sink device=/dev/video3Now you can use the video 3 node to access the camera. (vlc/OpenCV etc. )
Python OpenCV:
import cv2
cap = cv2.VideoCapture(3)
while True:
ret, frame = cap.read()
cv2.imshow("Arducam", frame)
key = cv2.waitKey(1)
if key == ord('q'):
break2.3 Use GStreamer to access the camera
2.3.1 Plugin GStreamer installation
Install GStreamer
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y gstreamer1.0-toolsPreview
cd ~/libcamera # Installation using deb does not need to be executed
export GST_PLUGIN_PATH=$(pwd)/build/src/gstreamer # Installation using deb does not need to be executed
gst-launch-1.0 libcamerasrc ! 'video/x-raw,width=1920,height=1080' ! videoconvert ! autovideosink2.3.2 Streaming MJPEG
# server
libcamera-vid -t 0 --width 1920 --height 1080 --codec mjpeg -n -l -o tcp://0.0.0.0:5001# client
gst-launch-1.0 -v tcpclientsrc host=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx port=5001 ! decodebin ! fpsdisplaysink sync=false text-overlay=false2.3.3 Streaming H.264
# server
libcamera-vid -t 0 --width 1920 --height 1080 --codec h264 -n -l -o tcp://0.0.0.0:5001# client
gst-launch-1.0 -v tcpclientsrc host=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx port=5001 ! decodebin ! fpsdisplaysink sync=false text-overlay=false3. Control the Focusing Manually
Some Pivariety Camera is a program controllable motorized focus camera, its focal length can be adjusted via v4l2-ctl or script.
3.1 Control via v4l2-ctl
v4l2-ctl -c focus_absolute=3003.1 Control via script
git clone https://github.com/ArduCAM/Arducam-Pivariety-V4L2-Driver.git
cd Arducam-Pivariety-V4L2-Driver/focus
python3 FocuserExample.pyNow you can use the up and down on the keyboard to control the focus position:
4. Control the Focusing automatically
For cameras with a focus motor(like IMX230, IMX298):
4.1 Focus once
libcamera-still -t 0 --autofocus libcamera-vid -t 0 --autofocus
4.2 Enable autofocus using F
libcamera-still -t 0 --keypress
Press F to trigger autofocus.
Note: Please install the Arducam latest version of libcamera-dev and libcamera-apps, and update the firmware of Pivariety(contacting Arducam: [email protected]) if the camera can not autofocus.
