CircuitPython's espcamera module is available on most supported ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3 boards with PSRAM. It incorporates both the camera configuration code and the image capturing code in a single library that works across multiple types of camera modules, instead of being available for regular CircuitPython objects.
CircuitPython 9 does not require reserving PSRAM: the CIRCUITPYRESERVEDPSRAM= directive is ignored. Read the below only if you are using CircuitPython 8.
Setting 'reserved PSRAM'
Because of how CircuitPython and ESP-IDF (Espressif IoT Development Framework) manage memory together, a portion of memory has to be set aside for the camera framebuffers.
Usually, 1MB (1048576 bytes) is a reasonable amount of memory to reserve. This is plenty of space for two 320×240 bitmap images or a 5-megapixel JPEG image, along with other memory that the esp-idf allocates internally.
Boards with built-in cameras include a default reserved PSRAM setting. Boards with only a dedicated camera header do not.
To set the reserved memory amount, edit the settings.toml file within the CIRCUITPY drive. Add a line that says CIRCUITPY_RESERVED_PSRAM=1048576
The setting will become effective when the board is reset with the reset button. You can check it by opening the repl and running the following lines:
Adafruit CircuitPython 8.0.0-rc.1 on 2023-01-30; Kaluga 1 with ESP32S2 >>> import espidf >>> espidf.get_reserved_psram() 1048576
Pin Choices
By selecting appropriate pins, you can use the espcamera CircuitPython module on other boards with supported ESP32, ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3 microcontrollers:
- xclk, pclk, vsync, href: Free choice of any pin
- reset, shutdown: Free choice of any pin. Can omit one or both, but the initialization sequence is less reliable.
- data_pins: Free choice of any 8 pins
By convention, if a board has an integrated camera or a dedicated camera connector, the following will exist in the board module:
- CAMERA_SIOC - the SCL pin of the camera
- CAMERA_SIOD - the SDA pin of the camera
- CAMERA_PCLK - the pixel clock of the camera
- CAMERA_VSYNC - the vertical sync of the camera
- CAMERA_HREF - the horizontal sync of the camera
- CAMERA_XCLK - the input clock pin of the camera
- CAMERA_DATA - the 8 data pins of the camera
Continue to the next page to see how to use the camera module with the Espressif Kaluga, which has a compatible 18-pin camera connector built in.
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