Introduction

Welcome to this guide on using basic camera commands with Raspberry Pi, particularly for Raspberry Pi 5. In this tutorial, we’ll cover the essential rpicam commands to help you capture images, record videos, and test your camera with ease. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced user, these commands will make your Raspberry Pi camera projects simple and efficient. For more detailed instructions and advanced settings, refer to the official Raspberry Pi documentation.

1. Test Your Camera with rpicam-hello

Before capturing photos or videos, it's a good idea to test if your camera is properly connected and working. The rpicam-hello command opens a live preview, allowing you to confirm that your setup is correct.

rpicam-hello
 

Tip: Use -t to set the duration for the live preview. For example, rpicam-hello -t 5000 displays a 5-second preview.

2. Capture a Still Image with rpicam-vid

This command captures a still image and saves it as an image file. It's essential for projects involving photography or image processing.

rpicam-still -o test.jpg
 

Options:

• -t : Adds a delay before taking the photo (in milliseconds). For example, rpicam-still -t 3000 -o test.jpg will take a photo after 3 seconds.
• --width and --height : Set a custom resolution. Example: rpicam-still --width 1920 --height 1080 -o test.jpg for full HD resolution.

3. Record a Video with rpicam-vid

If you’re working on video projects, the rpicam-vid command is your go-to for recording high-quality videos.

rpicam-vid -t 10000 -o test.mp4
 

Options:

• -t : Sets the video duration (in milliseconds). The above example records for 10 seconds.
• -f : Displays a live preview while recording
• --width and --height : Set a custom video resolution. For example, rpicam-vid --width 1920 --height 1080 -t 10000 -o test.mp4 will record a 10-second video in full HD.

Others Command That Might You Need

1. help 

• Purpose:  Displays all available options for the app.

• Example: rpicam-hello --help

2. version

• Purpose: Prints the version of libcamera and rpicam-apps.

• Example: rpicam-hello --version

3. list-cameras 

• Purpose: Lists all detected cameras and their modes.

• Example: rpicam-hello --list-cameras

4. camera

• Purpose: Selects a specific camera from the list of detected ones.

• Example: rpicam-hello --camera 1

5. config

• Purpose: Loads configuration from a file.

• Example: rpicam-hello --config config.txt

6. timeout

• Purpose: Sets how long the app runs (in milliseconds).

• Example: rpicam-hello --timeout 10000

7. preview

• Purpose: Defines the size and position of the preview window.

• Example: rpicam-hello --preview 100,100,640,480

8. fullscreen 

• Purpose: Displays the preview window in full screen.

• Example: rpicam-hello --fullscreen

9. nopreview 

• Purpose: Disables the preview window.

• Example: rpicam-hello --nopreview

10. info-text

• Purpose: Sets custom information to display on the preview.

• Example: rpicam-hello --info-text "%frame %fps"

11. width and height

• Purpose: Sets the resolution of the captured image or video.

• Example: rpicam-vid --width 1920 --height 1080

12. mode

• Purpose: Specifies camera mode, including resolution and bit depth.

• Example: rpicam-hello --mode 4056:3040:12:P

13. hflip

• Purpose: Flips the image horizontally.

• Example: rpicam-hello --hflip

14. vflip

• Purpose: Flips the image vertically.

• Example: rpicam-hello --vflip

15. rotation

• Purpose: Rotates the image (0 or 180 degrees).

• Example: rpicam-hello --rotation 180

16. roi

• Purpose: Crops the camera's field of view.

• Example: rpicam-hello --roi 0.25,0.25,0.5,0.5

17. hdr

• Purpose: Enables or disables HDR mode.

• Example: rpicam-hello --hdr auto

18. sharpness

• Purpose: Adjusts image sharpness.

• Example: rpicam-hello --sharpness 1.5

19. contrast

• Purpose: Adjusts image contrast.

• Example: rpicam-hello --contrast 1.0

20. brightness

• Purpose: Adjusts image brightness.

• Example: rpicam-hello --brightness 0.5

21. saturation

• Purpose: Adjusts color saturation.

• Example: rpicam-hello --saturation 1.2

22. ev

• Purpose: Sets exposure value (EV) compensation.

• Example: rpicam-hello --ev 0.5

23. shutter

• Purpose: Sets the exposure time in microseconds.

• Example: rpicam-hello --shutter 10000

24. gain

• Purpose: Adjusts camera gain.

• Example: rpicam-hello --gain 2.0

25. metering

• Purpose: Sets the metering mode for auto exposure.

• Example: rpicam-hello --metering spot

26. Adjusting Framerate

• Purpose: Framerate (frames per second or FPS) is important for video quality. You can set it between 2 and 30 FPS for most applications, with 30 being the default for smooth video.

• Example: rpicam-vid --framerate 24 -t 10000 -o test.mp4

27. Adjusting Resolution

• Purpose: Resolution defines the width and height of your image or video. Common resolutions include:

1. HD (1280x720)
2. Full HD (1920x1080)
3. 4K (3840x2160)

• Example: 

• For still images:
• rpicam-still --width 1920 --height 1080 -o test.jpg
   
• For video:
• rpicam-vid --width 1920 --height 1080 -t 10000 -o test.mp4
   

With these simple rpicam commands, you can start using your Raspberry Pi camera right away. Whether you're capturing images, recording videos, or simply testing the setup, these commands offer flexibility and ease of use.

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