0.3MP OV7251

Introduction

Global shutter cameras eliminate rolling shutter artifacts to better capture moving objects, and OV7251 is just one of them.

Image Sensor

Sensor Model	OV7251
Shutter Type	Global Shutter
Active Pixels	640×480
Resolution	0.3 MP
Image Sensor Format	Type 1/7.5″
Pixel Size	3μm×3μm
Color Filter Array	None(Monochrome)

At Arducam

Many people perform computer and machine vision tasks on RPi, in which they have to deal with fast-moving objects. A global shutter camera is an ideal solution to avoid the rolling artifacts for better image processing, but it’s not easy on RPi.

Arducam is one of the first companies that offers a way to interface global shutter cameras to the Raspberry Pi. And now, Raspberry Pi developers have managed to port the drivers and then officially merged them to the Raspberry Pi kernel tree. That means you will be able to use our OV7251/OV9281 cameras with the official V4L2 driver.

Arducam OV7251 MIPI cameras are mainly designed for the Raspberry Pi and connected directly to its CSI connector. They support the official V4L2 camera driver and Arducam userland driver.

Detailed parameters

Product Image	SKU	Pin/Connect Type	Features	Lens Type	Field of View(D/H/V)	Focus Type	IR Sensitivity
	B0206	15/Bottom	Mini size	Stock Lens	72.9°(H) x 57.7°(V)	Fixed Focus	without IR-cut filter
	B0161	15/Bottom	Mini size	Stock Lens	72.9°(H) x 57.7°(V)	Fixed Focus	650nm IR-cut filter

Hardware Connection

Please refer to the following doc for common hardware connection method of RPI Camera:

Quick Start Guide - Hardware Connection

Software Guide

Supported Platforms and OS

Note for Supported Platform and OS
Platform	Bookworm(rpicam/libcamera)	Bullseye(libcamera)	Buster(raspistill)
Raspberry Pi 5	√
Raspberry Pi 4B / 3B+ / 3A+ / Zero / Zero 2 W	√	√
Raspberry Pi CM3 / CM3+ / CM4 (extra adapter board required)	√	√

Software Configuration

Bookworm OS

Configuration on Pi 5

For Raspberry Pi Bookworm users running on Pi 5, please execute:

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt 
#Find the line: camera_auto_detect=1, update it to:
camera_auto_detect=0
#Find the line: [all], add the following item under it:
dtoverlay=ov7251
#Save and reboot.

If you want to enable the camera kit on the cam0 port of Pi5, please refer to the following modifications:

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt 
#Find the line: camera_auto_detect=1, update it to:
camera_auto_detect=0
#Find the line: [all], add the following item under it:
dtoverlay=ov7251,cam0
#Save and reboot.

Preview the camera

You can use the command below to preview the camera:

libcamera-still -t 0 --tuning-file /usr/share/libcamera/ipa/rpi/pisp/uncalibrated.json

Configuration on Pi 0~4

For Raspberry Pi Bookworm users running on Pi 0~4, please execute:

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt 
#Find the line: camera_auto_detect=1, update it to:
camera_auto_detect=0
#Find the line: [all], add the following item under it:
dtoverlay=ov7251
#Save and reboot.

Preview the camera

You can use the command below to preview the camera:

libcamera-still -t 0 --tuning-file /usr/share/libcamera/ipa/rpi/vc4/uncalibrated.json

Bullseye OS

Configuration on Pi 0~4

For Raspberry Pi Bullseye users running on Pi 0~4, please execute:

sudo nano /boot/config.txt 
#Find the line: camera_auto_detect=1, update it to:
camera_auto_detect=0
#Find the line: [all], add the following item under it:
dtoverlay=ov7251,media-controller=0
#Save and reboot.

Preview the camera

You can run the two demo codes below to preview the camera:

#Install the dependencies
sudo apt install python3-opencv
#Run the demo code 
python3 play1.py
#Or
python3 play2.py

play1.py

import cv2

cap = cv2.VideoCapture(0)

while True:
    ret, frame = cap.read()
    cv2.imshow("Test", frame)
    key = cv2.waitKey(1)
    if key == ord('q'):
        break

play2.py

import cv2

cap = cv2.VideoCapture(0)
cap.set(cv2.CAP_PROP_CONVERT_RGB, 0)

while True:
    ret, frame = cap.read()
    frame = frame << 6
    cv2.imshow("Test", frame)
    key = cv2.waitKey(1)
    if key == ord('q'):
        break