concept camera in category raspberry pi
This is an excerpt from Manning's book Hello Raspberry Pi!: Python programming for kids and other beginners.
Once you learn to program in Python, you can use your Pi as a base for all sorts of projects—with your imagination, the possibilities are endless! The Pi’s small size makes it easy to carry around and include in projects. Hide it on a shelf or mount it on a wall with a camera to make a security system; power it with a rechargeable battery pack if you need it to be portable; or even attach it to a remote-controlled car or helicopter. And if you happen to mess something up, it’s simple to recover. Even if you manage to break the Pi, it’s pretty cheap to replace.
If you’d like to try time-lapse photography or set up a camera to take pictures of wild animals or your pet, you’ll want to add a camera to your Pi. The best way to add a high-def digital camera to your Raspberry Pi is with the Raspberry Pi camera module. Created by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, it doesn’t usually come with Pi kits, so you’ll have to buy it separately. The module contains a 5 megapixel camera mounted on a circuit board and comes with a short ribbon cable (see figure B.5).
Figure B.5. The Raspberry Pi camera module was created by the Raspberry Pi Foundation to take high-def digital photographs and video. The camera attaches to the Pi using a ribbon cable that connects to the Camera Serial Interface port. The camera module can be programmed using Python and used for nature photography or creating your own home-surveillance system.
The camera connects to your Pi’s Camera Serial Interface (CSI) port (see figure B.6) and can take still photographs or high-def video. The module is able to connect easily to the Pi and record high-def video while consuming less processing power than using a USB camera with your Pi.
Figure B.6. The Raspberry Pi camera can connect to the CSI port, which is located between the HDMI port and the 3.5 mm audio/video port. To connect a camera, you need to lift up the black connector, insert the ribbon cable (metal contact toward the HDMI port), and push down on the black connector again.
