Raspberry Pi HQ-camera

Build your own C-mount camera

Due to their modular design and versatility, C-mount cameras offer a wide range of possibilities, especially for technical and scientific applications. Unlike webcams or smartphones, the 'exposed' sensor can be brought directly into the image plane of an instrument without permanently implemented optics, or an individual lens can be screwed on. So if you want to take pictures without distorting eyepiece projection through your telescope or microscope, if you need a sensor for our USB spectrometer, or if you want to adapt a camera individually to different projects, you will hardly get around the C-mount standard.

The Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera is a module with integrated C-mount thread, suitable for the Raspberry Pi. The key data are:

Sony IMX477R - (back-illuminated)
12.3 Mpixel resolution
7.9 mm sensor diagonal
1,55 μm × 1,55 μm pixel size
Compatible with C- and CS-mount lenses

So that you can build your own C-Mount camera, we have developed a compact housing that connects the camera module to a Raspberry Pi Zero or Zero W. via a 3.8 cm flex cable. The advantage of this self-built camera is that in addition to the modularity of the sensor with the wide range of C-mount lenses and accessories, also by simply swapping the SD card in the Raspberry Pi, different projects can be uploaded very flexibly. If you want to use the camera immediately like a webcam or similar via UVC (USB Video Device Class), you can have a look at the open-source project showmewebcam (GitHub) This allows you to control the camera like a regular webcam and also use our imaging software ScopeControl or spectrometer-coftware SpecControl.

Everything for printing and a list of required parts can be found here. An insight into the assembly and also into the installation of the webcam image can be found in our video.

Have fun building and experimenting!