`espcamera` – Wrapper for the espcamera library

class espcamera.Camera(*, data_pins: List[microcontroller.Pin], pixel_clock_pin: microcontroller.Pin, vsync_pin: microcontroller.Pin, href_pin: microcontroller.Pin, i2c: busio.I2C, external_clock_pin: microcontroller.Pin | None = None, external_clock_frequency: int = 20000000, powerdown_pin: microcontroller.Pin | None = None, reset_pin: microcontroller.Pin | None = None, pixel_format: PixelFormat = PixelFormat.RGB565, frame_size: FrameSize = FrameSize.QQVGA, jpeg_quality: int = 15, framebuffer_count: int = 1, grab_mode: GrabMode = GrabMode.WHEN_EMPTY)

Configure and initialize a camera with the given properties

Important

Not all supported sensors have all of the properties listed below. For instance, the OV5640 supports denoise, but the OV2640 does not. The underlying esp32-camera library does not provide a reliable API to check which settings are supported. CircuitPython makes a best effort to determine when an unsupported property is set and will raise an exception in that case.

Parameters:

data_pins – The 8 data data_pins used for image data transfer from the camera module, least significant bit first
pixel_clock_pin – The pixel clock output from the camera module
vsync_pin – The vertical sync pulse output from the camera module
href_pin – The horizontal reference output from the camera module
i2c – The I2C bus connected to the camera module
external_clock_pin – The pin on which to generate the external clock
external_clock_frequency – The frequency generated on the external clock pin
powerdown_pin – The powerdown input to the camera module
reset_pin – The reset input to the camera module
pixel_format – The pixel format of the captured image
frame_size – The size of captured image
jpeg_quality – For PixelFormat.JPEG, the quality. Higher numbers increase quality. If the quality is too high, the JPEG data will be larger than the available buffer size and the image will be unusable or truncated. The exact range of appropriate values depends on the sensor and must be determined empirically.
framebuffer_count – The number of framebuffers (1 for single-buffered and 2 for double-buffered)
grab_mode – When to grab a new frame

deinit() → None: Deinitialises the camera and releases all memory resources for reuse.

__enter__() → Camera: No-op used by Context Managers.

__exit__() → None: Automatically deinitializes the hardware when exiting a context. See Lifetime and ContextManagers for more info.

frame_available: bool: True if a frame is available, False otherwise

take(timeout: float | None = 0.25) → displayio.Bitmap | circuitpython_typing.ReadableBuffer | None

Record a frame. Wait up to ‘timeout’ seconds for a frame to be captured.

In the case of timeout, None is returned. If pixel_format is PixelFormat.JPEG, the returned value is a read-only memoryview. Otherwise, the returned value is a read-only displayio.Bitmap.

reconfigure(frame_size: FrameSize | None = None, pixel_format: PixelFormat | None = None, grab_mode: GrabMode | None = None, framebuffer_count: int | None = None) → None

Change multiple related camera settings simultaneously

Because these settings interact in complex ways, and take longer than the other properties to set, they are set together in a single function call.

If an argument is unspecified or None, then the setting is unchanged.

pixel_format: PixelFormat: The pixel format of captured frames

frame_size: FrameSize: The size of captured frames

contrast: int: The sensor contrast. Positive values increase contrast, negative values lower it. The total range is device-specific but is often from -2 to +2 inclusive.

brightness: int: The sensor brightness. Positive values increase brightness, negative values lower it. The total range is device-specific but is often from -2 to +2 inclusive.

saturation: int: The sensor saturation. Positive values increase saturation (more vibrant colors), negative values lower it (more muted colors). The total range is device-specific but the value is often from -2 to +2 inclusive.

sharpness: int: The sensor sharpness. Positive values increase sharpness (more defined edges), negative values lower it (softer edges). The total range is device-specific but the value is often from -2 to +2 inclusive.

denoise: int: The sensor ‘denoise’ setting. Any camera sensor has inherent ‘noise’, especially in low brightness environments. Software algorithms can decrease noise at the expense of fine detail. A larger value increases the amount of software noise removal. The total range is device-specific but the value is often from 0 to 10.

gain_ceiling: GainCeiling: The sensor ‘gain ceiling’ setting. “Gain” is an analog multiplier applied to the raw sensor data. The ‘ceiling’ is the maximum gain value that the sensor will use. A higher gain means that the sensor has a greater response to light, but also makes sensor noise more visible.

quality: int: The ‘quality’ setting when capturing JPEG images. This is similar to the quality setting when exporting a jpeg image from photo editing software. Typical values range from 5 to 40, with higher numbers leading to larger image sizes and better overall image quality. However, when the quality is set to a high number, the total size of the JPEG data can exceed the size of an internal buffer, causing image capture to fail.

colorbar: bool: When True, a test pattern image is captured and the real sensor data is not used.

whitebal: bool: When True, the camera attempts to automatically control white balance. When False, the wb_mode setting is used instead.

gain_ctrl: bool: When True, the camera attempts to automatically control the sensor gain, up to the value in the gain_ceiling property. When False, the agc_gain setting is used instead.

exposure_ctrl: bool: When True the camera attempts to automatically control the exposure. When False, the aec_value setting is used instead.

hmirror: bool: When True the camera image is mirrored left-to-right

vflip: bool: When True the camera image is flipped top-to-bottom

aec2: bool: When True the sensor’s “night mode” is enabled, extending the range of automatic gain control.

awb_gain: bool: Access the awb_gain property of the camera sensor

agc_gain: int: Access the gain level of the sensor. Higher values produce brighter images. Typical settings range from 0 to 30.

aec_value: int: Access the exposure value of the camera. Higher values produce brighter images. Typical settings range from 0 to 1200.

special_effect: int: Enable a “special effect”. Zero is no special effect. On OV5640, special effects range from 0 to 6 inclusive and select various color modes.

wb_mode: int: The white balance mode. 0 is automatic white balance. Typical values range from 0 to 4 inclusive.

ae_level: int: The exposure offset for automatic exposure. Typical values range from -2 to +2.

dcw: bool: When True an advanced white balance mode is selected.

bpc: bool: When True, “black point compensation” is enabled. This can make black parts of the image darker.

wpc: bool: When True, “white point compensation” is enabled. This can make white parts of the image whiter.

raw_gma: bool: When True, raw gamma mode is enabled.

lenc: bool: Enable “lens correction”. This can help compensate for light fall-off at the edge of the sensor area.

max_frame_size: FrameSize: The maximum frame size that can be captured

address: int: The I2C (SCCB) address of the sensor

sensor_name: str: The name of the sensor

supports_jpeg: bool: True if the sensor can capture images in JPEG format

height: int: The height of the image being captured

width: int: The width of the image being captured

grab_mode: GrabMode: The grab mode of the camera

framebuffer_count: int: True if double buffering is used

espcamera – Wrapper for the espcamera library

`espcamera` – Wrapper for the espcamera library