█ www.freenove.

com Welcome 1

Welcome
Thank you for choosing Freenove products!

Get Started

Please follow this tutorial to set up the camera.

Get Support

Encounter problems? Don't worry! Refer to “TroubleShooting.pdf” or contact us.

When there are packaging damage, quality problems, questions encountering in use, etc., just send us an
email. We will reply to you within one working day and provide a solution.

[email protected]

About

Freenove provides open source electronic products and services.

Freenove is committed to helping customers learn programming and electronic knowledge, quickly
implement product prototypes, realize their creativity and launch innovative products. Our services include:

 Kits for learning programming and electronics

 Kits compatible with Arduino®, Raspberry Pi®, micro:bit®, etc.
 Kits for robots, smart cars, drones, etc.
 Components, modules and tools
 Design and customization

To learn more about us or get our latest information, please visit our website:

http://www.freenove.com

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]

2 Welcome www.freenove.com █

Copyright

All the files provided in the ZIP file are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You can find a copy of the license in the ZIP file.

It means you can use these files on your own derived works, in part or completely. But not for commercial
use.
Freenove® brand and logo are trademarks of Freenove Creative Technology Co., Ltd. Must not be used
without permission.

TM

Other registered trademarks and their owners appearing in this document:

Arduino® is a trademark of Arduino LLC (https://www.arduino.cc/).

Raspberry Pi® is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation (https://www.raspberrypi.org/).
micro:bit® is a trademark of Micro:bit Educational Foundation (https://www.microbit.org/

Need help? Contact [email protected] █

 █ www.freenove.com Get Started 3

Get Started

Note (Important)

Please note that our FNK0056 prodcut, which comes with the camera model OV5647, is only compatible with
Raspberry Pi; while the product FNK0056B, with camera model IMX219, can work with both Raspberry Pi and
Jetson Nano.

This tutorial introduces the use of product FNK0056(B) on Raspberry Pi.

Product SKU Camera Model Work with Raspberry Pi Wrok with Jetson Nano
FNK0056 OV5647 Yes(this tutorial) No
FNK0056B IMX219 Yes(this tutorial) Yes

Step 1 What you will need

Raspberry Pi computer with a Camera Module port

All current models of Raspberry Pi have a port for connecting the Camera Module.

Note: If you want to use a Raspberry Pi Zero, you need a Camera Module ribbon cable that fits the Raspberry

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]

4 Get Started www.freenove.com █

Pi Zero’s smaller Camera Module port.

Raspberry Pi Camera Module

There are two versions of the Camera Module:

The standard version (https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/camera-module-v2/), which is designed to
take pictures in normal light
The NoIR version (https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/pi-noir-camera-v2/), which doesn’t have an
infrared filter, so you can use it together with an infrared light source to take pictures in the dark.

Step 2 Connect and install the Camera Module

Ensure your Raspberry Pi is turned off.

1. Locate the Camera Module port.

Need help? Contact [email protected] █

 █ www.freenove.com Get Started 5

2. Gently pull up on the edges of the port’s plastic clip.

3. Insert the Camera Module ribbon cable; make sure the connectors at the bottom of the ribbon cable are
facing the contacts in the port.

4. Push the plastic clip back into place.

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]

6 Get Started www.freenove.com █

Assemble the camera support

M2*10
Screw

M2 Nut

Camera

Need help? Contact [email protected] █

 █ www.freenove.com Get Started 7

M3*30
Standoff

M3*6
Screw

Start up your Raspberry Pi.

Step 3 How to control the Camera Module via the command line

The Python Picamera2 module currently uses the latest version of the Raspberry PI operating system
(called Bullseye) by default.
Picamera2 is designed for systems running either Raspberry Pi OS version or Raspberry Pi OS Lite, using a
Bullseye or later image. It is pre-installed in current images downloaded from the Raspberry Pi website, or
can be installed using the Raspberry Pi Imager tool. Users with older images should consider updating them
or proceed to the installation instructions.
Picamera2 can operate in a headless manner, not requiring an attached screen or keyboard. When first setting
up such a system we would recommend attaching a keyboard and screen if possible, as it can make trouble-
shooting easier. Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye and later images by default run the libcamera camera stack, which
is required for Picamera2.
Open a terminal window by clicking the black monitor icon in the taskbar:

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]

8 Get Started www.freenove.com █

If you are using the FNK0056B 8MP camera, to have the camera be detected successfully, you need to modify
the configuration file to add the designated camera driver.
If you are using the FNK0056 5MP camera, you can skip this configuration.

Run the command to open and edit the configuration file.

sudo nano /boot/config.txt
Add dtoverlay=imx219 to the final line of the /boot/config.txt. Press Ctrl+O, Enter to save the change and
Ctrl+Z to exit.
dtoverlay=imx219

Reboot your raspberry pi.

sudo reboot

Before testing the camera, run the following command to see if the camera can be detected.
libcamera-hello --list-cameras

Need help? Contact [email protected] █

 █ www.freenove.com Get Started 9

Or this command:
ls /dev/video*

/dev/video0 indicates the camera is connected. If you do not find this device, please check the camera wiring.
You may reconnect it and try again.
Please note that when operating the camera wiring, you need to shut down the raspberry pi first; otherwise,
it may burn the camera.

You can check that libcamera is working by opening a command window and typing:
libcamera-hello
You should see a camera preview window for about five seconds. If you do not, please refer to the Raspberry
Pi camera documentation.

You can also enter the following command to capture an image with a resolution of 800 by 600. The image
is saved in the current directory path by default.
libcamera-jpeg –o test.jpg –t 2000 –width 800 –height 600

If you have any concerns, please contact us via email: [email protected]

libcamera-apps does not work properly on Pi 0 to 3 devices when running the latest Bullseye images.
A workaround is to open a terminal, run "sudo raspi-config", navigate to "Advanced Options" and enable
"Glamor" graphic acceleration. Then reboot your Pi.
sudo raspi-config

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]

10 Get Started www.freenove.com █

Need help? Contact [email protected] █

 █ www.freenove.com Get Started 11

Reboot your Pi.

If you aer using Raspberry Pi 5, the camera may not work with the latest system. In this case, please update
the kernel of the Raspberry Pi OS and test again.

The steps to update the kernel are as follows:

Run the command to update to the system that is compatible with the camera.
sudo rpi-update pulls/5691

After the update, reboot your Raspberry Pi and run the image capture command again to see if it works.
libcamera-jpeg –o test.jpg –t 2000 –width 800 –height 600

If the update fails, please check your network.

If you see the error like this, you may try the solutions below.
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo rpi-update pulls/5691
*** Raspberry Pi firmware updater by Hexxeh, enhanced by AndrewS and Dom
*** Performing self-update
!!! Failed to download update for rpi-update!
!!! Make sure you have ca-certificates installed and that the time is set correctly
Should such error occur, please turning the proxy service and configuring DNS separately in /etc/hosts.
Run the command to open the etc/hosts file.
sudo nano /etc/hosts
Add the configuration to the last line.
199.232.68.133 raw.githubusercontent.com

Press Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl x to save the change and exit it.
Reboot your Raspberry Pi and run the image capture command again to see if it works.
libcamera-jpeg –o test.jpg –t 2000 –width 800 –height 600

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]

12 Get Started www.freenove.com █

Step 4 How to control the Camera Module with Python code

The Python picamera library allows you to control your Camera Module and create amazing projects.
Open a Python 3 editor, such as Thonny Python IDE:

Open a new file and save it as camera.py.

Note: it’s important that you never save the file as picamera2.py.
Enter the following code:
1 from picamera2 import Picamera2, Preview
2 import time
3 picam2 = Picamera2()
4 camera_config = picam2.create_preview_configuration()
5 picam2.configure(camera_config)
6 picam2.start_preview(Preview.QTGL)
7 picam2.start()
8 time.sleep(2)
9 picam2.capture_file("test.jpg")
10 picam2.close()
Or you can Open Terminal,
1. Download tutorial and code with the command:
https://github.com/Freenove/Freenove_Camera_Module_for_Raspberry_Pi
2. Enter Raspberry_Pi folder with cd command.
cd ~/Freenove_Camera_Module_for_Raspberry_Pi/Raspberry_Pi
3. Run the code
python camera.py

Need help? Contact [email protected] █

 █ www.freenove.com Get Started 13

The following script will:

1. Open the camera system
2. Generate a camera configuration suitable for preview
3. Configure the camera system with that preview configuration
4. Start the preview window
5. Start the camera running
6. Wait for two seconds and capture a JPEG file (still in the preview resolution)
NOTE:
Users of Raspberry Pi 3 or earlier devices will need to enable Glamor in order for this example script using X
Windows to work. To do this, run sudo raspi-config in a command window, choose Advanced Options and
then enable Glamor graphic acceleration. Finally reboot your device.

In addition, you can set Preview window parameters,

The preview implementation takes exactly the same parameters:
•x - the x-offset of the preview window
•y - the y-offset of the preview window
•width - the width of the preview window
•height - the height of the preview window
•transform - a transform that allows the camera image to be horizontally and/or vertically flipped on the
display
All the parameters are optional, and default values will be chosen if omitted. The following example will place
an
800x600 pixel preview window at (100, 200) on the display, and will horizontally mirror the camera preview
image:
Open Terminal,
1. Enter Raspberry_Pi folder with cd command.
cd ~/Freenove_Camera_Module_for_Raspberry_Pi/Raspberry_Pi
2. Run the code
python camera_transform.py
Enter the following code:
1 from picamera2 import Picamera2, Preview

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]

14 Get Started www.freenove.com █

2 from libcamera import Transform

3 picam2 = Picamera2()
4 picam2.start_preview(Preview.QTGL, x=100, y=200, width=800, height=600,
5 transform=Transform(hflip=1))
6 picam2.start()

The supported transforms are:

•Transform() - the identity transform, which is the default
•Transform(hflip=1) - horizontal flip
•Transform(vflip=1) - vertical flip
•Transform(hflip=1, vflip=1) - horizontal and vertical flip (equivalent to a 180 degree rotation)
It’s important to realise that the display transform discussed here does not have any effect on the actual
images received from the camera. It only applies the requested transform as it renders the pixels onto the
screen. We’ll encounter camera transforms again when it comes actually to transforming the images as the
camera delivers them. Please also note that in the example above, the start_preview() function must be called
before the call to picam2.start() . Finally, if the camera images have a different aspect ratio to the preview
window, they will be letter- or pillar-boxed to fit, preserving the image’s proper aspect ratio.

Next use the camera to capture videos：

In Picamera2, the process of capturing and encoding video is largely automatic. The application only has to
define what encoder it wants to use to compress the image data, and how it wants to output this compressed
data stream.
The mechanics of taking the camera images that arrive, forwarding them to an encoder, which in turn sends
the results directly to the requested output, is entirely transparent to the user. The encoding and output all
happens in a separate thread from the camera handling to minimise the risk of dropping camera frames.
Here is a first example of capturing a ten-second video.
Open Terminal,
1. Enter Raspberry_Pi folder with cd command.
cd ~/Freenove_Camera_Module_for_Raspberry_Pi/Raspberry_Pi
2. Run the code
python camera_h264.py

Need help? Contact [email protected] █

 █ www.freenove.com Get Started 15

Enter the following code:

1 from picamera2.encoders import H264Encoder
2 from picamera2 import Picamera2
3 import time
4 picam2 = Picamera2()
5 video_config = picam2.create_video_configuration()
6 picam2.configure(video_config)
7 encoder = H264Encoder(bitrate=10000000)
8 output = "test.h264"
9 picam2.start_recording(encoder, output)
10 time.sleep(10)
11 picam2.stop_recording()

In this example we use the H.264 encoder. For the output object we can just use a string for convenience; this
will be interpreted as a simple output file. For configuring the camera, the create_video_configuration is a
good starting point, as it will use a larger buffer_count to reduce the risk of dropping frames.
We also used the convenient start_recording and stop_recording functions, which start and stop both the
encoder and the camera together. Sometimes it can be useful to separate these two operations, for example
you might want to start and stop a recording multiple times while leaving the camera running throughout.
For this reason, start_recording could have been replaced by:
1 encoder.output = 'test.h264'
2 picam2.start_encoder(encoder)
3 picam2.start()
and stop_recording by:
1 picam2.stop()
2 picam2.stop_encoder()
All the video encoders can be constructed with parameters that determine the quality (amount of compression)
of the output, such as the bitrate for the H.264 encoder. For those not so familiar with the details of these
encoders, these parameters can also be omitted in favour of supplying a quality to the start_encoder or

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]

16 Get Started www.freenove.com █

start_recording functions.
Thepermitted quality parameters are:
•Quality.VERY_LOW
•Quality.LOW
•Quality.MEDIUM - this is the default for both functions if the parameter is not specified
•Quality.HIGH
•Quality.VERY_HIGH
This quality parameter only has any effect if the encoder was not passed explicit codec-specific parameters.
It could be used like this:
Open Terminal,
1. Enter Raspberry_Pi folder with cd command.
cd ~/Freenove_Camera_Module_for_Raspberry_Pi/Raspberry_Pi
2. Run the code
python camera_quality.py
Enter the following code:
1 import time
2 from picamera2.encoders import H264Encoder, Quality
3 from picamera2 import Picamera2
4 picam2 = Picamera2()
5 video_config = picam2.create_video_configuration()
6 picam2.configure(video_config)
7 encoder = H264Encoder()
8
9 picam2.start_recording(encoder, 'low.h264', quality=Quality.VERY_LOW)
10 print(encoder._bitrate)
11 time.sleep(5)
12 picam2.stop_recording()
13
14 picam2.start_recording(encoder, 'medium.h264', quality=Quality.MEDIUM)
15 print(encoder._bitrate)
16 time.sleep(5)
17 picam2.stop_recording()
18
19 picam2.start_recording(encoder, 'high.h264', quality=Quality.VERY_HIGH)
20 print(encoder._bitrate)
21 time.sleep(5)
22 picam2.stop_recording()

Need help? Contact [email protected] █

 █ www.freenove.com Get Started 17

You can also check out the official documentation to learn more about picamera2:
https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/camera/picamera2-manual.pdf
There are so many interesting examples for you to learn in picamera2.
The official library link is as follows:
https://github.com/raspberrypi/picamera2

█ Need help? Contact [email protected]