Pi Camera Modules

The Pi's CSI-2 camera connector means you don't need USB cameras for most projects — just ribbon cable, sensor, and picamera2. The Pi 5 added a second CSI port and switched to the slimmer FPC connector (cable change required when moving from Pi 4). For the ML-on-camera angle see AI SBCs; for the software control library see GPIO Libraries (picamera2 ships separately).

Official Raspberry Pi camera modules

• ★ Camera Module 3 (Standard, 12 MP, autofocus) — Sony IMX708, autofocus, HDR, $25. The default for new projects in 2026.
• Camera Module 3 NoIR — same sensor, no IR-cut filter; for night-vision / IR-illuminator setups.
• Camera Module 3 Wide — same sensor, 120° FOV; for security / dashcam use.
• Camera Module 3 Wide NoIR — wide + no IR-cut.
• ★ HQ Camera — Sony IMX477, C/CS-mount lenses (interchangeable), 12.3 MP, no autofocus. The pick for serious imaging — astrophotography, microscopy, machine vision. ~$50 + your lens.
• HQ Camera M12-mount variant — smaller M12 lenses; cheaper lens ecosystem.
• Camera Module 2 — IMX219, 8 MP fixed-focus; legacy. Buy v3 instead.
• Camera Module 1 — OV5647, 5 MP; 2013-era; only buy used at $5.

Pi AI Camera (IMX500)

• ★ Pi AI Camera — Sony IMX500 with on-sensor AI inference (3.1 TOPS). Object detection / classification happens in the sensor before pixels reach the host. ~$70. Pairs cleanly with rpicam-apps and picamera2. Lower power than AI HAT+, more limited model zoo (Sony's Imaging Edge plus a growing community of converted YOLO / MobileNet models).

When to choose AI Camera vs AI HAT+: the AI Camera is great when you want low-latency, low-power, single-camera detection. The AI HAT+ is better when you want flexibility, higher TOPS, multiple cameras, or non-vision ML. See AI SBCs for the broader picture.

Arducam (third-party, the big alternative)

Arducam makes the largest aftermarket Pi-camera ecosystem — niche sensors, multi-camera adapters, motorized lenses.

• ★ Arducam IMX519 — 16 MP autofocus alternative to Camera Module 3; PDAF; cheaper if you find a deal.
• ★ Arducam IMX462 (Starlight, ultra-low-light) — color in moonlight; popular for security, astronomy.
• Arducam IMX477 HQ kits — same sensor as Pi HQ but Arducam's variants (some with built-in CS mount and IR-cut switching).
• Arducam IMX708 / IMX708 wide — competing with Camera Module 3.
• Arducam Multi-Camera Adapter — multiplexes 2-4 cameras into one CSI port (timeshared).
• Arducam Camarray HAT — true multi-camera (4x synchronized) for stereo / motion-capture.
• Arducam 64MP Hawkeye — high-res hobbyist sensor; novelty for most projects.
• Arducam motorized lenses — for variable-focus / programmable-zoom rigs.
• Arducam OV9281 / OV2311 monochrome global-shutter — for machine-vision / OpenCV use cases that fail with rolling shutters.

Specialty / niche

• Spinel cameras — USB UVC variants for when you want USB instead of CSI.
• Waveshare RPi Camera modules — budget Camera Module v1/v2/HQ clones.
• Innomaker / 52Pi camera modules — niche; mixed quality.
• OV9281 global-shutter modules (multiple vendors) — small (1 MP) but shutters globally; right for fast-moving objects.
• OAK-D / Luxonis cameras — USB-attached AI cameras with onboard inference; not CSI but commonly paired with Pi for prototyping.

Lenses for HQ Camera (C/CS-mount)

• ★ Pi HQ 6mm CS-mount lens ($25) — included with most HQ camera bundles; 53° FOV.
• ★ Pi HQ 16mm C-mount lens ($50) — telephoto; 22° FOV.
• Generic CS-mount 2.5mm fisheye — $20-30; very wide angle for security.
• Edmund Optics / Computar / Tamron — industrial CCTV lenses; pricey but serious.
• M12 lenses (HQ M12 variant) — ~$10 each, huge variety.

Cables

The Pi 5 (and the official Camera Module 3) ships with a 22-pin to 22-pin slim FPC. Older Pi models (Pi 4 / Zero) use 15-pin standard FPC. Camera Module 3 includes a 15-to-22-pin adapter cable for use on older Pis; the HQ Camera ships with the older standard cable (need a separate slim FPC for Pi 5).

• Pi Foundation 200mm slim FPC — official Pi 5 camera cable.
• Pi Foundation 300mm / 500mm slim FPC — longer runs; max ~500mm before signal integrity drops.
• Adafruit / Pimoroni right-angle / wide-angle FPC adapters — for awkward enclosures.

Software stack

• ★ libcamera — modern unified Linux camera stack; Pi has fully migrated to it (replacing legacy MMAL).
• ★ picamera2 — Pi-Foundation Python wrapper around libcamera. The default Python API for camera control. Does not carry forward the legacy picamera package's API; old code needs porting.
• ★ rpicam-apps — rpicam-hello, rpicam-still, rpicam-vid, rpicam-detect. CLI demo apps that show off everything libcamera + AI Camera / AI HAT+ can do. Installed by default in Pi OS.
• OpenCV — works on top of libcamera or via V4L2; ubiquitous for vision processing.
• GStreamer — for streaming and pipeline-based capture; the right tool for "low-latency RTSP from a Pi camera."

Common pitfalls in 2026

• Pi 4 → Pi 5 cable swap — new slim FPC required; the 15-pin won't fit Pi 5's connector.
• Two cameras on a Pi 5 — yes, both CSI ports work; need to enable each in config.txt with dtoverlay=imx708,cam0 / cam1.
• AI HAT+ + Camera Module 3 — fully supported, Hailo runtime feeds straight from libcamera.
• raspistill / raspivid are gone. Use rpicam-still / rpicam-vid.

License / pricing

• Pi-branded camera modules: $25-$70. Lenses extra.
• Arducam: $20-$200 depending on sensor; specialty global-shutter / HDR sensors are $80+.
• All software (libcamera, picamera2, rpicam-apps) is FOSS (LGPL / BSD).

Pick this if…

• Default new Pi camera: Camera Module 3 (Standard) for general; Wide for security; NoIR for night.
• Serious imaging / interchangeable lens: HQ Camera + your lens.
• AI on the camera, low-power: Pi AI Camera (IMX500).
• AI on the host, more flexibility: Camera Module 3 + Pi AI HAT+ — see HATs & Accessories.
• Ultra-low-light / security: Arducam IMX462 Starlight.
• Global shutter for fast motion: OV9281 module.
• 4× synchronized cameras: Arducam Camarray HAT.
• Just need a USB webcam: any UVC USB camera, skip CSI entirely.