Mv series camera appnotes 4 rpi

1 Overview

The MV series cameras are cameras introduced for AI applications in the industrial field. It uses the MIPI CSI-2 interface, which is especially suitable for embedded computing platforms.

It features rich data formats and trigger characteristics, extremely low latency, extremely high bandwidth and reliable stability.

This article describes how to use the MV series camera on the Raspberry Pi platform.

1.1 Camera module list

Series	Model	Status
MV series	MV-MIPI-IMX178M	Done
MV series	MV-MIPI-SC130M	Done
MV series	MV-MIPI-IMX296M	Done
MV series	MV-MIPI-IMX287M	Done
MV series	MV-MIPI-IMX265M	Done
MV series	MV-MIPI-IMX264M	Done
RAW series	RAW-MIPI-SC132M	Done
RAW series	RAW-MIPI-IMX462M	Done
RAW series	RAW-MIPI-AR0234M	Done
RAW series	RAW-MIPI-SC535M	Done

Note: RAW-MIPI-SC535M does not support Raspberry Pi 5 yet.

2 Hardware Setup

2.1 MV series cameras use the ADP-MV1 connection

MV series cameras need to use ADP-MV1 adapter board in order to connect to Raspberry Pi.

2.1.1 Connection of MV series camera and ADP-MV1

The two are connected using 0.5 mm pitch*30P FFC cable with opposite-side contacts. The cable must be inserted with the silver contacts facing outside.

TOP	BOTTOM
ADP-MV1 to MV-MIPI-X	ADP-MV1 to MV-MIPI-X

2.1.2 Power supply

The ADP-MV1 requires a separate 5V power supply and can be powered directly from the Raspberry Pi motherboard using a Dupont cable.

ADP-MV1 power supply

2.1.3 Raspberry Pi 5

The two are connected using 15Pto22P FFC cable with Same-side contacts. Pay attention to the silver contacts facing side.

ADP-MV1 to RPI5	ADP-MV1 to RPI5_2

2.1.4 Raspberry Pi Model B and B+

The two are connected using 1.0 mm pitch*15P FFC cable with opposite-side contacts. Pay attention to the silver contacts facing side.

MV camera and RPI connection

2.1.5 Raspberry Pi Zero, Zero W and Computer Module

The two are connected using 15Pto22P FFC cable with Same-side contacts. Pay attention to the silver contacts facing side.

MV camera and Raspberry Pi zero connection

MV camera connect to CM5

2.2 RAW series cameras directly connected to Raspberrypi

2.2.1 Raspberry Pi 5

The RAW-MIPI-SC132M use a 15-to-22-pin same-side FFC cable, while other RAW series cameras use a 22-pin opposite-side FFC cable.

RAW CAM to RPI5

2.2.2 Raspberry Pi Model B and B+

The RAW-MIPI-SC132M use a 15-pin opposite-side FFC cable, while other RAW series cameras use a 15-to-22-pin same-side FFC cable.

RAW series camera and RPI connection

2.2.3 Raspberry Pi Zero, Zero W and Computer Module

The RAW-MIPI-SC132M use a 15-to-22-pin same-side FFC cable, while other RAW series cameras use a 22-pin opposite-side FFC cable.

RAW-MIPI-AR0234-RPI ZERO

RAW-MIPI-SC535M connect to CM5

3 piOS Configuration

For details on how to install the Raspberry Pi system, please refer to the official documentation at Install raspberry pi guide.

Initially, the Raspberry Pi system I2C is not enabled. After booting, we need to turn them on manually by executing the following command:

sudo raspi-config

raspi-config bullseye

Enter Interface Options, enable I2C, and then restart the Raspberry Pi.

It is recommended to enable the ssh service and samba service of Raspberry Pi system, here we will not go into the details of how to enable ssh and samba service of Raspberry Pi system.

4 V4L2 mode and Legacy mode introduction

In the latest Raspberry Pi Bookworm system, support for Legacy mode has been removed. It is recommended for customers to use the V4L2 mode.

4.1 libcamera and V4L2 mode

Now piOS has switched to libcamera-stack mode.

Libcamera is essentially centered on implementing isp functionality, something that is not needed for the MV series cameras. Therefore, we have adopted the V4L2 mode instead of using libcamera-stack.

As with libcamera-stack, our V4L2 model implements the standard V4L2 driver for the linux driver layer too. Based on this driver, the application layer can directly develop programs to acquire images and perform further processing.

4.2 Legacy mode

Traditional mode, relying on Broadcom's GPU for image processing. The traditional raspicam software set uses this model.

The disadvantage of this model is closed. The GPU side is closed source, can not freely access sensor.

The Raspberry Pi organization has switched to the libcamera camera stack, but this model still has value:

More use of GPU resources and lower CPU load. This is useful for earlier versions of the Raspberry Pi where CPU performance is poorer.
It is possible to simply and directly fetch image data to the application layer without the support of the driver layer. This is especially useful for cameras that do not rely on the Raspberry Pi's isp.
libcamera lacks some feature support now.

There are two ways to use Legacy mode.

Use the Legacy version of piOS.
For the bullseye or newer version of piOS, turn on the Legacy Camera option in raspi-config.

Since the two modes cannot co-exist, Legacy mode needs to be turned off when using V4L2 mode.

5 Configuring global variables

For the convenience of later descriptions, global variables are configured here according to the sensor size.

MV-MIPI-IMX178M

export WIDTH=3088

export HEIGHT=2064

export FPS=22

MV-MIPI-SC130M

export WIDTH=1280

export HEIGHT=1024

export FPS=108

MV-MIPI-IMX296M

export WIDTH=1440

export HEIGHT=1088

export FPS=60

MV-MIPI-IMX287M

export WIDTH=704

export HEIGHT=544

export FPS=319

MV-MIPI-IMX265M

export WIDTH=2048

export HEIGHT=1544

export FPS=45

MV-MIPI-IMX264M

export WIDTH=2432

export HEIGHT=2056

export FPS=28

RAW-MIPI-SC132M

export WIDTH=1024

export HEIGHT=1280

export FPS=120

RAW-MIPI-IMX462M

export WIDTH=1920

export HEIGHT=1088

export FPS=60

RAW-MIPI-AR0234M

export WIDTH=1920

export HEIGHT=1200

export FPS=60

RAW-MIPI-SC535M

export WIDTH=2448

export HEIGHT=2048

export FPS=100

6 V4L2 mode manual

We have saved the code for v4l2 mode in this github repository.

6.1 Download the driver package

wget https://github.com/veyeimaging/raspberrypi_v4l2/releases/latest/download/raspberrypi_v4l2.tgz

6.2 Install driver

tar -xzvf raspberrypi_v4l2.tgz

cd raspberrypi_v4l2/release/

chmod +x *

For Raspberry Pi 5

sudo ./install_driver_rpi5.sh veye_mvcam

It will install both CAM1 and CAM0 overlays in /boot/config.txt.

For other Raspberry Pi

sudo ./install_driver.sh veye_mvcam

Then reboot Raspberry Pi.

Note: If you are prompted that the corresponding version of the driver cannot be found, it means that we do not provide a compiled driver corresponding to your piOS version. Please try to compile from the source code.

6.3 Uninstall the driver

If you need to change to Legacy mode, or want to change to another camera module model driver, you must uninstall the current driver first.

sudo ./uninstall_driver.sh veye_mvcam

6.4 Check system status

Take MV-MIPI-IMX178M as an example.

dmesg | grep mvcam

You can see the camera model and the version of the camera probed during the Linux boot phase.

camera is: MV-MIPI-IMX178M

firmware version: 0x1080102

And the /dev/video0 node exists, which proves that the camera status is normal.

6.5 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 mvcam @ i2c-4 entity on /dev/media3

Plese get frame from /dev/video0 and use /dev/v4l-subdev2 for camera setting.

Found mvcam @ i2c-6 entity on /dev/media0

Plese get frame from /dev/video8 and use /dev/v4l-subdev5 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

This is a Raspberry Pi 5.

Kernel version is 6.6.51, do not support unpacked format.

Usage: ./media_setting_rpi5.sh veyecam2m/csimx307/cssc132/mvcam -fmt [UYVY/RAW8/RAW10/RAW12] -x [roi_x] -y [roi_y] -w [width] -h [height] -c [cam 0|1]

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.

Before proceeding with further operations, it is necessary to execute this script to complete the configuration of parameters.

For instance，RAW-MIPI-AR0234M:

./media_setting_rpi5.sh mvcam -fmt RAW8 -w 1920 -h 1200

6.6 v4l2-ctl application examples

6.6.1 Install v4l2-utils

sudo apt-get install v4l-utils

6.6.2 Install yavta

git clone git://git.ideasonboard.org/yavta.git

cd yavta;make

6.6.3 Configure parameters using v4l2-ctl

6.6.3.1 List the data formats supported by the camera

v4l2-ctl --list-formats-ext

ioctl: VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT

Type: Video Capture

[0]: 'GREY' (8-bit Greyscale)

Size: Discrete 3088x2064

[1]: 'Y10P' (10-bit Greyscale (MIPI Packed))

Size: Discrete 3088x2064

[2]: 'Y10 ' (10-bit Greyscale)

Size: Discrete 3088x2064

[3]: 'Y12P' (12-bit Greyscale (MIPI Packed))

Size: Discrete 3088x2064

[4]: 'Y12 ' (12-bit Greyscale)

Size: Discrete 3088x2064

On Raspberry Pi 5, the actual supported image formats depend on the capabilities of the camera, not the list provided here.

6.6.3.2 List the configurable parameters of the camera implemented in the driver

v4l2-ctl -L

User Controls

trigger_mode 0x00981901 (int) : min=0 max=2 step=1 default=0 value=0 flags=volatile, execute-on-write

trigger_src 0x00981902 (int) : min=0 max=1 step=1 default=1 value=1 flags=volatile, execute-on-write

soft_trgone 0x00981903 (button) : flags=write-only, execute-on-write

frame_rate 0x00981904 (int) : min=1 max=60 step=1 default=30 value=30 flags=volatile, execute-on-write

roi_x 0x00981905 (int) : min=0 max=1376 step=8 default=0 value=0

roi_y 0x00981906 (int) : min=0 max=1024 step=4 default=0 value=0

Parameters can be set and get using the following methods.

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl [ctrl_type]=[val]

v4l2-ctl --get-ctrl [ctrl_type]

Note: For Raspberry Pi 5, the -d parameter needs to be added to all commands in this section to specify the subdev used for configuring parameters.

For example, if executing ./media_setting_rpi5.sh or ./find_entity.sh prompts the use of /dev/v4l-subdev2 for parameter configuration, then v4l2-ctl -L should be changed to v4l2-ctl -L -d /dev/v4l-subdev2.

All the above functions can be implemented using mv_mipi_i2c.sh.

None of the above parameters can be modified in the state when the image acquisition is started.

Each of them is described below:

6.6.3.3 Trigger Mode

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl trigger_mode=[0-2]

0：Video streaming mode

1：Normal trigger mode.

2：High-speed continuous trigger mode.

6.6.3.4 Trigger Source

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl trigger_src=[0-1]

0: Software trigger mode.

1: Hardware trigger mode.

6.6.3.5 Software trigger command

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl soft_trgone=1

6.6.3.6 Set frame rate

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl frame_rate=[1-max]

The maximum frame rate is automatically updated as the resolution changed.

6.6.3.7 Set ROI

method 1，use selection

v4l2-ctl --set-selection=target=crop,top=0,left=0,width=$WIDTH,height=$HEIGHT

Note: This method is not applicable to Raspberry Pi 5.

The maximum frame rate will be adjusted automatically after setting ROI.

method 2，use user definedroi_x，roi_y and --set-fmt-video

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl roi_x=0

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl roi_y=0

v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=$WIDTH,height=$HEIGHT

Note: For Raspberry Pi 5, you can directly use the media_setting_rpi5.sh script to complete the roi configuration, as the media_setting_rpi5.sh script already contains the roi configuration.

6.7 Video Streaming mode

6.7.1 Set ROI

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl roi_x=0

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl roi_y=0

v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=$WIDTH,height=$HEIGHT

6.7.2 Set Framerate

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl frame_rate=$FPS

6.7.3 Frame rate statistics

In streaming mode, the following commands can be used for frame rate statistics.

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=$WIDTH,height=$HEIGHT,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=-1 --stream-to=/dev/null

6.7.4 Save image to file

6.7.4.1 MV-MIPI-IMX178M

raw8

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=3088,height=2064,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-3104x2064.raw

Or

./yavta -c1 -Fy8-3104x2064.raw --skip 0 -f Y8 -s 3088x2064 /dev/video0

Since the memory requested by Raspberry Pi for the image, the width is 32-align and the height is 16-align, the 3088*2064 image will be saved as 3104*2064 size.

raw10

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=3088,height=2064,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-3088x2064.raw

raw12

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=3088,height=2064,pixelformat='Y12 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y12-3088x2064.raw

6.7.4.2 MV-MIPI-SC130M

raw8

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1280,height=1024,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-1280x1024.raw

raw10

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1280,height=1024,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-1280x1024.raw

6.7.4.3 MV-MIPI-IMX296M

raw8

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1440,height=1088,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-1440x1088.raw

raw10

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1440,height=1088,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-1440x1088.raw

6.7.4.4 MV-MIPI-IMX265M

raw8

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=2048,height=1544,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-2048x1544.raw

raw10

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=2048,height=1544,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-2048x1544.raw

raw12

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=2048,height=1544,pixelformat='Y12 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y12-2048x1544.raw

6.7.4.5 MV-MIPI-IMX264M

raw8

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=2432,height=2056,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-2432x2056.raw

raw10

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=2432,height=2056,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-2432x2056.raw

raw12

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=2432,height=2056,pixelformat='Y12 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y12-2432x2056.raw

6.7.4.6 RAW-MIPI-SC132M

raw8

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1024,height=1280,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-1024x1280.raw

raw10

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1024,height=1280,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-1024x1280.raw

6.7.4.7 MV-MIPI-IMX287M

raw8

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=704,height=544,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-704x544.raw

raw10

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=704,height=544,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-704x544.raw

raw12

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=704,height=544,pixelformat='Y12 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y12-704x544.raw

6.7.4.8 RAW-MIPI-IMX462M

raw10

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1920,height=1088,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-1920x1088.raw

raw12

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1920,height=1088,pixelformat='Y12 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y12-1920x1088.raw

6.7.4.9 RAW-MIPI-AR0234M

raw8格式

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1920,height=1200,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-1920x1200.raw

raw10格式

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1920,height=1200,pixelformat='Y10 ' --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y10-1920x1200.raw

6.7.4.10 RAW-MIPI-SC535M

raw8格式

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=2448,height=2048,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=y8-2448x2048.raw

PS. This y8 file can be used with this player: YUV Displayer Deluxe.

6.7.5 Preview

On a raspberry pi 5, VLC for preview is now having problems and not working.

6.7.5.1 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. Type in the width and height, for example, 1280 and 1024.

6. Hit OK to save the settings and see the video feed.

Play mv camera using VLC on RPI

6.7.5.2 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.

Play mv camera using qv4l2 on RPI

6.7.5.3 Preview UYVY format images using gstreamer

export DISPLAY=:0

For easy installation, the MV series cameras provide UYVY mode. The maximum width supported by UYVY mode is 2880, and real-time preview can be performed using the following command.

Note: To increase the maximum frame rate and bandwidth, some modules no longer support the UYVY format. Please use the "fmtcap" command in the script to read the registers to confirm the specific configuration.

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

MV-MIPI-IMX178M

v4l2-ctl --set-selection=target=crop,top=0,left=0,width=2816,height=2064

gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)2816, height=(int)2064, framerate=(fraction)22/1" ! v4l2convert ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)NV12" ! autovideosink sync=false -v

MV-MIPI-SC130M, MV-MIPI-IMX296M, MV-MIPI-IMX265M，MV-MIPI-IMX264M，MV-MIPI-IMX287M

v4l2-ctl --set-selection=target=crop,top=0,left=0,width=$WIDTH,height=$HEIGHT

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl frame_rate=$FPS

gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)$WIDTH, height=(int)$HEIGHT,framerate=(fraction)$FPS/1" ! v4l2convert ! "video/x-raw,format=(string)NV12" ! autovideosink sync=false -v

Or just simply：

gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! videoconvert ! autovideosink

6.7.5.4 Preview GREY format images using opencv

install opencv

pip uninstall opencv-python

sudo apt install python3-opencv

Preview using this sample:

python ./v4l2dev_2_opencv_show_grey.py --width 640 --height 480 --fps 30

On Raspberry Pi 5, you need to add a --ctldev /dev/v4l-subdev* parameter to specify the subdev for configuring parameters.

6.8 Trigger mode

This section takes IMX178 as an example to show the configuration and use of trigger mode. For other cameras, just refer to the width and height of the stream mode.

6.8.1 Set ROI and Framerate

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl roi_x=0

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl roi_y=0

v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=$WIDTH,height=$HEIGHT

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl frame_rate=$FPS

6.8.2 Software trigger mode

6.8.2.1 Set mode

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl trigger_mode=1

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl trigger_src=0

6.8.2.2 Start acquisition

v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=3088,height=2064,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=5 --stream-to=y8-3104x2064.yuv

6.8.2.3 Perform soft trigger operation

In other shell terminals, you can execute the following command multiple times for multiple triggers.

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl soft_trgone=1

6.8.3 Hardware trigger mode

The following is an example of using Raspberry Pi GPIO21 as an trigger source with rising edge trigger.

You can use the mv_mipi_i2c.sh script for other trigger parameter setting.

6.8.3.1 Hardware Connection

MV camera hardware trigger connection

6.8.3.2 Set mode

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl trigger_mode=1

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl trigger_src=1

6.8.3.3 Start acquisition

v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=3088,height=2064,pixelformat=GREY --stream-mmap --stream-count=5 --stream-to=y8-3104x2064.yuv

6.8.3.4 Perform hardware trigger operation

python gpio_trigger.py

Note: script link.

6.9 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:

6.9.1 Hardware Connection

Refer to this Raspberry Pi instruction ， add jumper to J6.

6.9.2 Upgrade dt-blob.bin

sudo wget https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/cmio/dt-blob-dualcam.bin -O /boot/dt-blob.bin

6.9.3 For Buster OS（kernel5.10）

Upgrade dual camera version dtbo file, use mvcam as an example：

sudo cp raspberrypi_v4l2/release/driver_bin/$(uname -r)/veye_mvcam-cm4.dtbo /boot/overlays/veye_mvcam.dtbo

sudo reboot

6.9.4 For Bullseye OS（kernel5.15）

Edit file/boot/config.txt，Add one linedtoverlay=[camera],cam0.

Take veye_mvcam as an example.

[all]

dtparam=i2c_vc=on

dtoverlay=veye_mvcam

dtoverlay=veye_mvcam,cam0

6.9.5 Device node description

The CM4 module uses two I2C channels to communicate with the two cameras respectively.

description	i2c bus num	lane num	video node
CAM0	0	2lane	video0
CAM1	10	2lane or 4lane	video2（Buster），video1（Bullseye）

Note: If there is only one camera, video node is always video0.

6.10 Compiling drivers from source code

Please refer to: Build drivers from source for rpi.

7 Legacy mode manual

We store the code for legacy patterns in this github repository.

7.1 Download the software package

git clone https://github.com/veyeimaging/mvcam_raspberrypi.git

Add executable permissions:

chmod +x -R ./mvcam_raspberrypi/

7.2 Software package main content introduction

camera_i2c_config：Automatically recognizes different Raspberry Pi board types and controls the power on pins to power the camera.

mv_raspicam：Realize image preview, image saving and other functions.

mv_mipi_i2c.sh：Scripts for reading and setting camera parameters via i2c protocol.

veye_i2c_upgrade：Camera firmware upgrade tool.

7.3 Camera power on

./camera_i2c_config

When the camera is powered on, try:

i2cdetect -y 10

The presence of a 0x3b device indicates that the camera is on and the i2c channel is working properly.

7.4 Preview

./mv_raspicam -t -1 -roi 0,0,3088,2064 -md 0

where -md specifies the pixel data format.

-md option	data type
0	8bit Y
1	10bit Y
2	12bit Y

-roi specifies the desired ROI size.

For sizes larger than 1920 in width, mv_raspicam will first reduce to half the original size of the image and then send to render.

7.5 Save image

./mv_raspicam -t 1000 -roi 0,0,3088,2064 -md 0 -sr 10 -o /dev/shm/y8-3104x2064_%04d.yuv

-sr is the interval for storing images, one image is saved every 10 images here.

-t 1000, in ms, it means 1 second here.

Several files will be saved in the /dev/shm/ directory after completion.

7.6 Trigger mode

This section requires the use of mv_mipi_i2c.sh, please refer to the related i2c parameter configuration section below.

7.6.1 Software trigger mode

7.6.1.1 Set mode

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trgmode -p1 1

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trgsrc -p1 0

7.6.1.2 Set trigger properties

You can set the number of triggers, trigger interval, etc.

The following settings are for a single trigger of 5 images with an interval of 1 second each.

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trgnum -p1 5

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trginterval -p1 1000

7.6.1.3 Start acquisition

./mv_raspicam -t -1 -roi 0,0,3088,2064 -md 0

7.6.1.4 Perform soft trigger operation

In other shell terminals, you can execute the following command multiple times for multiple triggers.

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trgone

7.6.2 Hardware trigger mode

The following is an example of using Raspberry Pi GPIO21 as an trigger source with rising edge trigger.

You can use the mv_mipi_i2c.sh script for other trigger parameter setting.

7.6.2.1 Hardware Connection

MV camera hardware trigger connection

7.6.2.2 Set mode

This time, we use high-speed continuous trigger as an example.

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trgmode -p1 2

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trgsrc -p1 1

7.6.2.3 Set trigger properties

The trigger interval is invalid under high-speed continuous triggering. This time trigger 2 images.

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trgnum -p1 2

Set rising edge trigger

./mv_mipi_i2c.sh -w -f trgedge -p1 0

In addition, rich trigger attributes can be set for hard triggering, such as trigger delay, signal filtering, etc.

7.6.2.4 Start acquisition

./mv_raspicam -t -1 -roi 0,0,3088,2064 -md 0

7.6.2.5 Perform hardware trigger operation

python gpio_trigger.py

Note: script link.

7.7 Notes for CM4

Regarding the descriptions of hardware connections, dtbo, and i2cbus, please refer to the previous sections.

As for accessing two cameras separately using 'mv_raspicam,' the methods are as follows:

Preview CAM0

./mv_raspicam -t -1 -c 0 -y 0

Preview CAM1

./mv_raspicam -t -1 -c 1 -y 10

8 Raw data format

8.1 Unpacked image format(padded)

For 10bit depth and 12bit depth pixel data, two bytes are always used to store one pixel. The V4L2 standard 'Y10 ' (10-bit Greyscale),'Y12 ' (12-bit Greyscale)formats are stored in this way.

This storage method is convenient for software processing, but has the disadvantage of taking up more space.

8.2 Packed image format

The data format saved by mv_raspicam is the data format on the MIPS bus, with no empty bit padding between pixels.

The V4L2 standard'Y10P' (10-bit Greyscale (MIPI Packed)),'Y12P' (12-bit Greyscale (MIPI Packed))formats are stored in this way.

Packed raw data layer

8.3 Packed image size

Buffersize= ALIGN_UP（width*bit_depth/8,32）*ALIGN_UP(height,16)

The row buffer size should be 32 bytes aligned; the column buffer size should be 16 bytes aligned.

For example, the image size of 3088*2064@8bit is 6406656; the image size of 3088*2064@10bit is 7991808; the image size of 3088*2064@12bit is 9576960.

8.4 Format convert tool

We have written a small tool: pixel_layer_convert, which can easily convert packed images to unpacked images.

For example, the following command converts a packed raw10 image of 3088 width to an unpacked raw10.

./pixel_layer_convert -I Y10P -i y10-3088x2064_0001.raw -o y10-3088x2064_0001_new.raw -w 3088

8.5 Raw data image player

We recommend using vooya as the player, which supports GREY, and unpacked image formats.

Also, y8 file can be used with this player: YUV Displayer Deluxe.

Since the memory requested by Raspberry Pi for the image, the width is 32-align and the height is 16-align, the 3088*2064 image will be saved as 3104*2064 size.

8.6 Explanation from the Raspberry Pi official document

8.6.1 Packed format details

The packed format uses less storage for pixel data.

On Raspberry Pi 4 and earlier devices, the packed format packs pixels using the MIPI CSI-2 standard. This means:

10-bit camera modes pack 4 pixels into 5 bytes. The first 4 bytes contain the 8 most significant bits (MSBs) of each pixel, and the final byte contains the 4 pairs of least significant bits (LSBs).
12-bit camera modes pack 2 pixels into 3 bytes. The first 2 bytes contain the 8 most significant bits (MSBs) of each pixel, and the final byte contains the 4 least significant bits (LSBs) of both pixels.

On Raspberry Pi 5 and later devices, the packed format compresses pixel values with a visually lossless compression scheme into 8 bits (1 byte) per pixel.

8.6.2 Unpacked format details

The unpacked format provides pixel values that are much easier to manually manipulate, at the expense of using more storage for pixel data.

On all devices, the unpacked format uses 2 bytes per pixel.

On Raspberry Pi 4 and earlier devices, applications apply zero padding at the most significant end. In the unpacked format, a pixel from a 10-bit camera mode cannot exceed the value 1023.

On Raspberry Pi 5 and later devices, applications apply zero padding at the least significant end, so images use the full 16-bit dynamic range of the pixel depth delivered by the sensor.

9 i2c script for parameter configuration

We provide shell scripts to configure the parameters.

https://github.com/veyeimaging/raspberrypi_v4l2/tree/main/mv_tools_rpi

mv_mipi_i2c.sh user guide

10 References

11 Document History

2024-07-08

Add support for RAW-MIPI-SC535M.

2024-01-01

Add support for Raspberrypi 5.

2023-08-16

Add support for RAW-MIPI-IMX462M and RAW-MIPI-AR0234M.

2023-06-07

Add preview method using qv4l2 and VLC.

2023-04-14

With the new version of the driver, the flip operation has been removed, and a new ROI configuration method has been added.

2023-03-29

Add opencv samples.

2023-03-26

Add support for MV-MIPI-IMX287M.

2023-03-04

Add the instructions related to CM4 in Bullseye system.

2023-02-10

Add note for CM4.

2022-12-08

Add support for the new MV-MIPI-IMX264M camera model.

2022-11-02

Add support for the new IMX265 and SC132 models.

2022-05-16

Provide image format convert tool.

2022-04-14

Release 1st version.