V4L2 mode for Raspberry Pi
How to use VEYE and CS series camera module on Raspberry Pi(V4L2 mode)
1 Introduction
For the use of VEYE series and CS series camera modules on the raspberry Pi platform, we provide veye_raspicam software, an application layer open source software similar to the raspicam. This series of software, without driver support, has good compatibility with different versions of piOS.
However, we think that the V4L2 driver mode also has a wide range of applications. The two modes cannot be used at the same time, which is embodied in whether the driver is installed or not. It will be described in detail later.
This article describes how to call the camera modules of VEYE series and CS series through V4L2 on the raspberry Pi platform.
1.1 Camera module list
| Series | Model | Status |
|---|---|---|
| VEYE series | VEYE-MIPI-IMX327S | Done |
| VEYE series | VEYE-MIPI-IMX385 | Done |
| VEYE series | VEYE-MIPI-IMX462 | Done |
| CS series | CS-MIPI-IMX307 | Done |
| CS series | CS-MIPI-SC132 | Done |
In addition, FPD-Link3 mode connection is now supported.
2 Hardware Setup
VEYE series camera module setup on rpi
CS series camera module setup on rpi
3 RaspberryPi System Setup and Configuration
RaspberryPi System Setup and Configuration
4 Driver Installation
We have saved the code for v4l2 driver mode in this github repository.
4.1 Download the driver
wget https://github.com/veyeimaging/raspberrypi_v4l2/releases/latest/download/raspberrypi_v4l2.tgz
4.2 Install the driver
tar -xzvf raspberrypi_v4l2.tgz
cd raspberrypi_v4l2/release/
chmod +x *
- For Raspberry Pi 5
sudo ./install_driver_rpi5.sh camera_module_name
It will install both CAM1 and CAM0 overlays in /boot/config.txt.
- For other Raspberry Pi
sudo ./install_driver.sh camera_module_name
camera_module_name：could be veye327,csimx307,cssc132,veyecam2m.
Note: veyecam2m is a new version driver that can replace veye327 and supports all modules of the VEYE series with 200W resolution.
please use veyecam2m instead of veye327 which will be discarded.
Note: For VEYE-MIPI-IMX327S or VEYE-MIPI-IMX462, please make sure hdver must >= 0x5.
http://wiki.veye.cc/index.php/VEYE-MIPI-IMX327S_version_log
4.3 Uninstall the driver
If you need to change to using the camera by veye_raspicam software, or if you want to change to a driver of another camera module model, you must first uninstall the current driver.
sudo ./uninstall_driver.sh camera_module_name
camera_module_name：could be veye327,csimx307,cssc132,veyecam2m.
4.4 Camera in FPD-Link3 Mode
For a camera operating in FPD-Link3 transmission mode, it is necessary to ensure that the ds90ub954 driver is loaded and initialized before loading the camera driver and performing probe.
Take the VEYE-MIPI-IMX327S camera in FPD-Link3 mode as an example:
Install the drivers correctly:
sudo ./install_driver.sh ds90ub954
sudo ./install_driver.sh veyecam2m
5 Check and Test the Camera
Check the camera probe status
- VEYE-MIPI-327
dmesg | grep veye
You can see:
veye327 camera probed
- CS-MIPI-IMX307
dmesg | grep 307
You can see:
camera id is cs-mipi-imx307
- CS-MIPI-SC132
dmesg | grep 132
You can see:
camera id is cs-mipi-sc132
5.1 List the video device
ls /dev/video0
The device node exsit.
5.2 List the available video modes
v4l2-ctl --list-formats-ext
6 Raspberry Pi 5 Setting
On Raspberry Pi 5,the drivers now use the media controller API, and we must setup the media graph correctly first. This includes setting up the media pad formats correctly and correctly linking them together.
We provide a series of scripts to implement this functionality, saved in the rpi5_scripts directory.
- ./find_entity.sh
$ ./find_entity.sh
Found veyecam2m @ i2c-6 entity on /dev/media0
Plese get frame from /dev/video0 and use /dev/v4l-subdev2 for camera setting.
After a reboot of Raspberry Pi 5, the media node and video node of the camera may change. Therefore, it is recommended to execute ./find_entity.sh before performing subsequent operations to identify the device nodes.
The above prompt shows that the system has detected two cameras and their corresponding device nodes.
i2c-4 corresponds to the CAM1 port on the board, and i2c-6 corresponds to the CAM0 port on the board.
- media_setting_rpi5.sh
./media_setting_rpi5.sh
Usage: ./media_setting_rpi5.sh veyecam2m/csimx307/cssc132/mvcam -fmt [UYVY/RAW8/RAW10/RAW12] -w [width] -h [height]
This shell script is designed to detect the connection of a camera on Raspberry Pi 5.
It utilizes media-ctl and v4l2-ctl commands to configure the linking relationships and data formats of the media pad.
Once completed, you can directly use /dev/video0 or /dev/video8 to obtain image data
Note: This script must be executed after each startup to complete the configuration of the parameters before proceeding with further operations.
For instance:
./media_setting_rpi5.sh veyecam2m
7 Preview
On a raspberry pi 5, VLC for preview is now having problems and not working.
7.1 Preview using VLC
1. Open VLC with command line vlc , or click the icon to launch.
2. Hit the ▶(Play) button to call the open media window.
3. In Capture Device >> Device Selection >> Video device name, select the camera video node.
4. Hit Advanced Options... button
5. In Advanced Options window >> Video input chroma format, type UYUV.
6. Type in the width and height, for example, 1920 and 1080.
7. Hit OK to save the settings and see the video feed.
7.1.1 Preview using qv4l2
Install qv4l2，
sudo apt install qv4l2
1. Open VLC with command line vlc to launch.
2. Hit the ▶(Play) button to call the open media window.
8 Gstreamer usage samples
export DISPLAY=:0
8.1 install gstreamer
sudo apt-get install gstreamer1.0-tools
sudo apt-get install libx264-dev libjpeg-dev
sudo apt-get install libgstreamer1.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-bad1.0-dev gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-gl gstreamer1.0-gtk3
8.2 Run gstreamer videotest command
gst-launch-1.0 videotestsrc ! videoconvert ! autovideosink
8.3 Snap a picture (VEYE-MIPI-327,CS-MIPI-IMX307 @1080p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src num-buffers=1 device=/dev/video0 ! 'video/x-raw, format=(string)UYVY, width=1920,height=1080' ! jpegenc ! filesink location=test_image.jpg
8.4 Frame rate test (VEYE-MIPI-327,CS-MIPI-IMX307 @1080p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! videoconvert ! fpsdisplaysink video-sink=fakesink -v
8.5 Preview (VEYE-MIPI-327,CS-MIPI-IMX307 @1080p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src io-mode=dmabuf device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! v4l2convert capture-io-mode=dmabuf output-io-mode=dmabuf ! autovideosink sync=false -v
Or：
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! videoconvert ! autovideosink sync=false -v
8.6 Preview and Scale with timestamp on (VEYE-MIPI-327,CS-MIPI-IMX307 @1080p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! videoconvert ! videoscale ! clockoverlay time-format="%D %H:%M:%S" ! video/x-raw, width=640, height=360 ! autovideosink sync=false -v
8.7 Preview (CS-MIPI-IMX307,CS-MIPI-SC132 @720p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1280, height=(int)720,framerate=(fraction)60/1" ! videoconvert ! autovideosink sync=false -v
8.8 Preview (CS-MIPI-IMX307,CS-MIPI-SC132 @vga mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)640, height=(int)480" ! videoconvert ! autovideosink sync=false -v
8.9 Preview (CS-MIPI-SC132 @1280*1080@45 mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1280, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)45/1" ! videoconvert ! autovideosink sync=false -v
8.10 Streaming to file，save as mkv file(VEYE-MIPI-X,CS-MIPI-IMX307 @1080p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 -e v4l2src io-mode=dmabuf device=/dev/video0 num-buffers=300 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=dmabuf output-io-mode=dmabuf extra-controls="controls, h264_profile=4, video_bitrate=6200000" ! 'video/x-h264, profile=high, level=(string)4' ! h264parse ! matroskamux ! filesink location=output.mkv
8.11 Streaming to file，save as mp4 file(VEYE-MIPI-X,CS-MIPI-IMX307 @1080p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 -e v4l2src io-mode=dmabuf device=/dev/video0 num-buffers=300 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=dmabuf output-io-mode=dmabuf extra-controls="controls, h264_profile=4, video_bitrate=6200000" ! 'video/x-h264, profile=high, level=(string)4' ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=video.mp4
8.12 TCP streaming
raspberrypi（sender）
gst-launch-1.0 -v v4l2src device=/dev/video0 num-buffers=-1 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! v4l2h264enc extra-controls="controls, h264_profile=4, video_bitrate=4000000" ! 'video/x-h264, profile=high, level=(string)4' ! h264parse ! rtph264pay config-interval=1 pt=96 ! gdppay ! tcpserversink host=x.x.x.x port=5000
The bandwidth of the stream is 4Mbps, continuous transmission, and the listening port is 5000.
Client
gst-launch-1.0 -v tcpclientsrc host=x.x.x.x port=5000 ! gdpdepay ! rtph264depay ! avdec_h264 ! autovideosink sync=false
Where x.x.x.x is the IP address of the Raspberry Pi (Server).
It is recommended to use powershell if client is a windows system. gstreamer windows version download here.
9 Stream to OpenCV
pip uninstall opencv-python
sudo apt install python3-opencv
To import camera data from v4l2 devices to opencv, we provide several samples.
10 V4l2-ctl usage examples
10.1 install v4l2-utils
sudo apt-get install v4l-utils
10.2 v4l2-ctl test
- Snap one UYVY raw data picture (1080p mode)
v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=1920,height=1080,pixelformat=UYVY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=uyvy-1920x1080.yuv
- Snap 10 UYVY raw data pictures (1080p mode)
v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=1920,height=1080,pixelformat=UYVY --stream-mmap --stream-count=10 --stream-to=uyvy-1920x1080_stream.yuv
11 yavta usage examples
11.1 download yavta
git clone git://git.ideasonboard.org/yavta.git
cd yavta;make
11.2 yavta test
./yavta -c8 -Fuyvy_1920X1080.yuv --skip 0 -f UYVY -s 1920x1080 /dev/video0
PS, UYVY file can be played by YUV Displayer Deluxe.
12 Video Control Toolkits Manual
Because of the high flexibility of our camera parameters, we do not use V4L2 parameters to control, but use scripts to configure parameters.
https://github.com/veyeimaging/raspberrypi_v4l2/tree/main/i2c_cmd
VEYE Series Video Control Toolkits Manual
CS Series Video Control Toolkits Manual
13 Notes for CM4
Cm4 supports the use of two cameras at the same time. Following above steps will only be able to use CAM1. To use two cameras, follow the following steps:
13.1 Hardware Connection
Refer to this Raspberry Pi instruction ， add jumper to J6.
13.2 Upgrade dt-blob.bin
sudo wget https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/cmio/dt-blob-dualcam.bin -O /boot/dt-blob.bin
13.3 For Buster OS（kernel5.10）
Upgrade dual camera version dtbo file, Use csimx307 as an example.
sudo cp raspberrypi_v4l2/release/driver_bin/$(uname -r)/csimx307-dual-cm4.dtbo /boot/overlays/csimx307.dtbo
sudo reboot
13.4 For Bullseye OS（kernel5.15）
Edit file/boot/config.txt，Add one linedtoverlay=[camera],cam0.
Take veyecam2m as an example.
[all]
dtparam=i2c_vc=on
dtoverlay=veyecam2m
dtoverlay=veyecam2m,cam0
13.5 Device node description
The CM4 module uses two I2C channels to communicate with the two cameras, respectively.
| description | i2c bus num | video node |
|---|---|---|
| CAM0 | 0 | video0 |
| CAM1 | 10 | video2（Buster），video1（Bullseye） |
Note: If there is only one camera, video node is always video0.
13.6 Gstreamer usage samples
export DISPLAY=:0
- CAM0 preview(VEYE-MIPI-327,CS-MIPI-IMX307 @1080p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src io-mode=dmabuf device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! v4l2convert capture-io-mode=dmabuf output-io-mode=dmabuf ! autovideosink sync=false -v
- CAM1 preview(VEYE-MIPI-327,CS-MIPI-IMX307 @1080p mode)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src io-mode=dmabuf device=/dev/video1 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1920, height=(int)1080,framerate=(fraction)30/1" ! v4l2convert capture-io-mode=dmabuf output-io-mode=dmabuf ! autovideosink sync=false -v
14 Source code compilation
Please refer to: Build drivers from source for rpi.
15 Document History
- 2024-01-01
Add support for Raspberrypi 5.
- 20230607
Add FPD-Link3 Driver and Its Description.
- 20230304
Add the instructions related to CM4 in Bullseye system.
- 20220706
To optimize gstreamer's pipeline, it is recommended to use v4l2convert instead of videoconvert and try to use the capture-io-mode output-io-mode io-mode option.
- 20220505
Refine the description of CM4.
- 20220411
The source code compilation method is separate to a separate article.
- 20220302
Add v4l2-ctl and yavta examples.
- 20220301
Support 64-bit piOS
- 20220225
Add the application samples of gstreamer.
- 20211125
Add VLC preview section.