Developer Will Whang is again with one other custom-built digital camera module for the Raspberry Pi, this time based mostly across the Sony IMX294 Micro 4 Thirds sensor: the FourThirdsEye.
“FourThirdsEye [is] an open supply digital camera board designed for Raspberry Pi 5 and Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 boards utilizing a Micro 4 Thirds format picture sensor IMX294,” Whang explains of his creation. “This venture goals to supply a high-quality, inexpensive, and accessible digital camera module for superior Raspberry Pi initiatives. The board is designed utilizing KiCad v6, a preferred open supply electronics design automation (EDA) software program.”
The FourThirdsEye takes Sony’s IMS294 Micro 4 Thirds digital camera sensor and adapts it for the Raspberry Pi 5 and CM4. (📷: Will Whang)
Delivered to our consideration by CNX Software program, the FourThirdsEye is not Whang’s first foray into {custom} digital camera modules. Again in October final yr we lined the developer’s photo voltaic images rig, which featured the OneInchEye and StarlightEye, modules constructed across the Sony IMX283 and IMS585 sensors respectively. The FourThirdsEye, although, is his first to make use of the IMX294 — a sensor constructed to be used in Micro 4 Thirds system cameras.
“FourThirdsEye captures 10.7 [megapixel] pictures and 4k (4096×2160) movies with improved low-light efficiency and dynamic vary (4.63µm pixel dimension),” Whang explains of the system. “It is good for images lovers, builders, and makers who wish to stage up their Raspberry Pi initiatives with a robust digital camera.”
Whang has designed different open supply digital camera modules too, utilizing the OneInchEye and StarlightEye in a photo voltaic images rig. (📷: Will Whang)
The truth that Whang has designed his personal digital camera module is attention-grabbing; the actual fact he is launched it as open {hardware} is fascinating. Of extra observe, although, is that it is technically working past the Raspberry Pi’s officially-rated capabilities: “[The] IMX294 with CSI-2 interface mode is working at 1.78Gbps,” Whang explains, “technically breaking the spec for RPI5 [Raspberry Pi 5] (1.5Gbps) and CM4 [Compute Module 4] (1Gbps? … they did not actually state it clearly) however I’ve examined on each platforms and are each working correctly.”
{Hardware} design recordsdata, together with Gerbers for manufacturing and 3D print recordsdata for an E-mount lens adapter, can be found on GitHub underneath the permissive MIT license; directions on putting in the kernel driver for the sensor are in a separate repository.