![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/5mp-1080p-720p-video-ov5647-sensor-mini-camera-raspberry-pi-2-model-b-board-e42ec945459a5eb9fefd8d8271494e9c.jpg?resize=251%2C251&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nThis article is an introduction to the Raspberry Pi Camera V2 Module. It explains how to quickly get started with the camera: how to take photos and record video into a file.<\/p>\n
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We’ll cover the following topics:<\/p>\n
Don’t have a Raspberry Pi yet? Check the Best Raspberry Pi Starter Kits<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Raspberry Pi Camera V2 module<\/a> is very tiny and it looks like this:<\/span><\/p>\n The Raspberry Pi Camera V2 features an 8 megapixel Sony IMX219 image sensor with fixed focus lens, it is capable of 3280\u00d72464 pixel static images and supports 1080p30, 720p60, and 640\u00d7480p90 video.<\/span><\/p>\n The camera is compatible with all Raspberry Pi models.<\/p>\n To use the Raspberry Pi Camera module, you need to enable the camera software in your Raspberry Pi. In the Desktop environment, go to the Raspberry Pi Configuration<\/strong>\u00a0window under the Preferences<\/strong> menu, open the Interfaces<\/strong> tab and enable the Camera<\/strong> as shown in figure below.<\/p>\n Or, in the Terminal<\/strong> window, type the following command:<\/p>\n You should see the Raspberry Pi software configuration tool. Select the Interfacing Options<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Enable the camera and reboot your Pi:<\/p>\n Connecting the Raspberry Pi Camera Module is easy. With the Pi shutdown, connect the camera to the Pi CSI port as shown in the following figure. Make sure the camera is connected in the right orientation with the ribbon blue letters facing up as shown in the next figure.<\/p>\n The easiest way to control the Raspberry Pi Camera is using the Python\u00a0PiCamera<\/strong><\/a> package.<\/p>\n I recommend using\u00a0Python 3<\/strong> to run this script even though the PiCamera package supports Python 2. Create a new file called\u00a0take_photo.py<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Copy the following code to your newly created file:<\/p>\n View raw code<\/a><\/p>\n Press Ctrl+X to save your file, type Y and Enter.<\/p>\n When you run the script:<\/p>\n It takes a photo with the Raspberry Pi Camera and saves it with the\u00a0test_photo.jpg<\/strong> name:<\/p>\n The next Python script also uses the PiCamera<\/strong> package to record video into a file.<\/p>\n Create a new file called\u00a0record_video.py<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Copy the following code to your newly created file:<\/p>\n View raw code<\/a><\/p>\n Press Ctrl+X to save your file, type Y and Enter.<\/p>\n When you run the script:<\/p>\n It takes 5 seconds video with the Raspberry Pi Camera and saves it with the\u00a0test_video.h264<\/strong>\u00a0name.\u00a0You can modify the script to set the camera resolution and extend the video recording duration.<\/p>\n To watch the video on Raspberry Pi with the Raspbian Desktop environment, you can use the omxplayer<\/strong> software.<\/p>\n Here’s a screenshot of the recording:<\/p>\n This post was a quick introduction guide to the Raspberry Pi Camera V2 Module and how to take photos and record video into a file.<\/p>\n If you like this post, you’ll also like this project: Video Streaming with the Raspberry Pi Camera<\/a>.<\/p>\n We hope you’ve found this post useful.<\/p>\n Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This article is an introduction to the Raspberry Pi Camera V2 Module. It explains how to quickly get started with the camera: how to take photos and record video into … <\/p>\nRaspberry Pi Camera V2 Module features<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Rpicamerav2module.jpg?resize=577%2C292&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEnable the Raspberry Pi Camera Module<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Figure-13-3.png?resize=508%2C429&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\npi@raspberry:~ $ sudo raspi-config<\/strong><\/pre>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Interfacing-options.png?resize=671%2C189&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/enable-camera-raspi-config.png?resize=772%2C217&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nConnect the camera<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/connectcamera-1.jpg?resize=516%2C406&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nTake photos with the camera<\/h2>\n
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ nano take_photo.py<\/strong><\/pre>\n
from time import sleep\nfrom picamera import PiCamera\n\ncamera = PiCamera()\ncamera.resolution = (1024, 768)\ncamera.start_preview()\n\nsleep(2)\ncamera.capture('test_photo.jpg')\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\tpi@raspberrypi:~ $ python3 take_photo.py<\/strong><\/pre>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/test_photo.jpg?resize=600%2C450&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nRecording video into a file<\/h2>\n
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ nano record_video.py<\/strong><\/pre>\n
import picamera\n\ncamera = picamera.PiCamera()\n\ncamera.resolution = (640, 480)\ncamera.start_recording('test_video.h264')\ncamera.wait_recording(5)\ncamera.stop_recording()\n\nprint('Finished recording')\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\tpi@raspberrypi:~ $ python3 record_video.py<\/strong><\/pre>\n
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ omxplayer test_video.h264<\/strong><\/pre>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/image.png?resize=600%2C443&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nWrapping up<\/h2>\n