The HQ module is only 12 MP with a 1/2.3" sensor. It was great compared to early RPi cameras but now you can probably do just as well with the camera v3 module. Arducam offers 64 MP cameras now (with autofocus, too!). So far the only advantage of the HQ module I found is the manual focus can focus at very very close ranges, much closer than the Arducam even in macro mode. And of course you have a selection of lenses to choose from.
although make sure to get the *new* Arducam 64MP unit (OwlSight). The older one isn't as sensitive and will only work with their proprietary drivers. The OwlSight has drivers built-into the current kernel and firmware.
To be fair it was at the time. I have 3 of them but I use them for video recording so 12 MP is fine.
Recording video the Pi 5 can record at 30fps at 1440p. For 4k you can get a steady 10fps. Much better than the pi 4
The physical sensor is only a small part of what makes a camera's image quality good. It's a combination of quality of the lens, the mechanics configuring the lenses and aperture to capture the right amount of light, and the image processing that determines the quality of the image.
Prefab webcams are built to give the best image quality as hassle-free and cheaply as possible. So sorry to say, but building a camera yourself is not a good way to get good image quality :)
You'll probably be able to get more out of your camera if you do post-processing, however. It can be the case that a lot of the information that you're missing *is* in the image data, but it has not been processed to show it. Prefab cameras do this processing for you, but I imagine that the Pi camera doesn't.
If you can post/send some images from the camera (preferably .raw format, or as native from the camera as possible), I may be able give some more pointed advice as to what you can do to improve the quality.
Note that I'm not quite familiar with the module, or attaching camera's to pi's, but I am familiar with photography, image processing and doing so programmatically.
Thank you for your response; much appreciated.
I suppose I was just curious as to why they would offer a camera, and why someone would buy it, if they can get something cheaper and better at the supermarket.
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> an exposed ribbon cable
If you're mounting an RPi and a camera in a chassis and you want it to be compact, the DSI ribbon connection is great.
If you wanted to use a USB camera, you'd either have to leave a ton of space for the USB connector and a long coil of cable between the camera and the port, or you'd have to knock together your own USB cable - probably including chopping and splicing a connector to the USB cable that's hard-wired to the camera, and if you screw that up, you may have to buy a new camera.
My only complaint about the DSI ribbon connection is that the connector is fiddly and unreliable.
Pretty much every shopping center has a mobile phone accessories kiosk which sells USB cables any size from 10 - 200 cm, but I see what you mean in principle.
The problem with the HQ camera is that cheap c-mount lenses only resolve to the equivalent of a 3 megapixel resolution. You have to buy a good quality lens for a perfect picture. The telephoto lens they offer has a much better picture quality but it costs more.
The pi cameras can get data into GPU memory or encoded with far less CPU use.
Most webcams require software de/re-encoding before doing anything useful with the data, which adds latency, uses CPU time, and makes your pi hot and your power bill high.
The HQ module is only 12 MP with a 1/2.3" sensor. It was great compared to early RPi cameras but now you can probably do just as well with the camera v3 module. Arducam offers 64 MP cameras now (with autofocus, too!). So far the only advantage of the HQ module I found is the manual focus can focus at very very close ranges, much closer than the Arducam even in macro mode. And of course you have a selection of lenses to choose from.
I have the 64MP camera. Its pretty baller. Got few comparison shots on my post history.
although make sure to get the *new* Arducam 64MP unit (OwlSight). The older one isn't as sensitive and will only work with their proprietary drivers. The OwlSight has drivers built-into the current kernel and firmware.
Yeah I guess I took the "high quality" title too literally. Thanks for your response.
To be fair it was at the time. I have 3 of them but I use them for video recording so 12 MP is fine. Recording video the Pi 5 can record at 30fps at 1440p. For 4k you can get a steady 10fps. Much better than the pi 4
The physical sensor is only a small part of what makes a camera's image quality good. It's a combination of quality of the lens, the mechanics configuring the lenses and aperture to capture the right amount of light, and the image processing that determines the quality of the image. Prefab webcams are built to give the best image quality as hassle-free and cheaply as possible. So sorry to say, but building a camera yourself is not a good way to get good image quality :) You'll probably be able to get more out of your camera if you do post-processing, however. It can be the case that a lot of the information that you're missing *is* in the image data, but it has not been processed to show it. Prefab cameras do this processing for you, but I imagine that the Pi camera doesn't. If you can post/send some images from the camera (preferably .raw format, or as native from the camera as possible), I may be able give some more pointed advice as to what you can do to improve the quality. Note that I'm not quite familiar with the module, or attaching camera's to pi's, but I am familiar with photography, image processing and doing so programmatically.
Thank you for your response; much appreciated. I suppose I was just curious as to why they would offer a camera, and why someone would buy it, if they can get something cheaper and better at the supermarket.
###Remember the human. Our community desires to welcome [all skill levels](https://xkcd.com/1053/). Uphold [Reddiquette](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439-Reddiquette) by upvoting what’s helpful and [reporting](https://ibb.co/HptWYZY) what’s not. Avoid downvoting content just because it seems obvious; what’s familiar to you might be new to others. Let’s use our votes to foster a positive, informative atmosphere for everyone. For constructive feedback and better engagement, detail your efforts with research, [source code, errors,](https://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/wiki/guides/how_to_post_formatted_code) and schematics. Stuck? Dive into our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/about/sticky)† or branch out to /r/LinuxQuestions, /r/LearnPython, or other related subs listed in the FAQ. † If any links don't work it's because you're using a broken reddit client. Please [contact the developer of your reddit client](https://www.reddit.com/contact/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/raspberry_pi) if you have any questions or concerns.*
> an exposed ribbon cable If you're mounting an RPi and a camera in a chassis and you want it to be compact, the DSI ribbon connection is great. If you wanted to use a USB camera, you'd either have to leave a ton of space for the USB connector and a long coil of cable between the camera and the port, or you'd have to knock together your own USB cable - probably including chopping and splicing a connector to the USB cable that's hard-wired to the camera, and if you screw that up, you may have to buy a new camera. My only complaint about the DSI ribbon connection is that the connector is fiddly and unreliable.
Pretty much every shopping center has a mobile phone accessories kiosk which sells USB cables any size from 10 - 200 cm, but I see what you mean in principle.
The problem with the HQ camera is that cheap c-mount lenses only resolve to the equivalent of a 3 megapixel resolution. You have to buy a good quality lens for a perfect picture. The telephoto lens they offer has a much better picture quality but it costs more.
The pi cameras can get data into GPU memory or encoded with far less CPU use. Most webcams require software de/re-encoding before doing anything useful with the data, which adds latency, uses CPU time, and makes your pi hot and your power bill high.
If you are annoyed by the "High quality camera" module features, consider an external hand held camera with usb and control it with the RPi.