While you’re sitting around, patiently awaiting the inevitable Raspberry Pi spec upgrade, not knowing what else to do with the little guy, the Pi Foundation has benevolently released the official camera attachment. Now, while your Model B is still sitting pretty at 512MB of RAM with a 700MHz CPU, you can at least take up photography to pass the time.
The camera board slips into that thin connector located between the HDMI and Ethernet ports. The installation process is actually a bit delicate, so the Foundation made a handy video to ensure sure we all don’t break our new toy.
The installation process does seem a little tedious, as you’re plugging a flimsy ribbon into a thin slot, need to flip down a clamp while keeping the ribbon steady, and also need to keep the extremely lightweight Pi in place while you perform it all.
For the price of $25 — the price of a Model A Raspberry Pi — the 5MP camera isn’t a slouch, capable of recording 1080p video.
In order to make your tiny, adorable computer recognize the new camera attachment, you need to update the firmware, then boot into the configuration settings and enable the camera. Save the settings, then reboot. The Foundation has a list of commands with which the camera can be used, including recording video and snapping still photography. The camera is also able to stream its feed over the internet, using another set of commands.
If the RasPi is a fun little board for you to casually mess around with, and experimenting with the new camera is either a little too time-consuming or complex for your capabilities or attention span, don’t you worry. The RasPi community is quick to move, and you’ll have a bunch of tutorials and plug-and-play project ideas sooner rather than later.
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