Raspberry Pi time lapse camera
2022-01-27
Using the Raspberry Pi’s High Quality Camera module I made a time lapse camera in my living room.
FIGURE 1 Assembled camera sitting in my living room window
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1 Case
I designed a case with a large lens hood and a recessed lens so that it can block the light from the room. This would allow the camera to take photos at night.
FIGURE 2 CAD screenshots of the case design
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FIGURE 3 Assembled camera
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FIGURE 4 Camera chassis with HQ module on one side and the Raspberry Pi on the other
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FIGURE 5 Camera chassis reverse side showing the Raspberry Pi
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1.1 STL files
The files are also available on Thingiverse.
2 Capture code
I decided to strive for maximum image quality even at night, by capturing a stack of images and summing them up.
3 Lens
I found a Basler C125-0618-5M-P on eBay which seems to have good image quality and fits the Raspberry Pi HQ Camera.
FIGURE 6 Picture of lens
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FIGURE 7 The lens has significant barrel distortion but that is compensated for by my code above.
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FIGURE 8 The lens is quite sharp and can resolve even 200 lp/mm. This chart is at f/1.8, polychromatic, 0.5 m working distance.
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4 Gallery
FIGURE 9 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 10 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 11 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 12 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 13 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 14 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 15 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 16 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 17 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 18 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 19 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera
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FIGURE 20 Picture taken by Raspberry Pi camera