innomaker Raspberry Pi Industrial Camera Module STARVIS IMX462 Color CMOS Sensor 2MP Pixel for All Raspberry Pi,Support Bullseye libcamera and Raspbian Build-in Driver

I am writing regarding the Sony IMX462 sensor board.The IMX462 is part of the line with the IMX290/327/462 and is meant for use in industrial or commercial applications. It has great sensitivity to long wavelength light (700nm+) so it is great for night vision with IR illumination.I replaced the stock lens with a "uxcell 8mm Focal Length 1080P F2.0 1/2.7 Inch Wide Angle" available on Amazon. It has no IR cut filter so IR light will pass through it. It is connected to a Raspi Zero W. It needs a converter cable to connect to the Zero due to a different pin size.The Pi OS comes with a driver for the IMX290 which works with the 327 and the 462, but it also has a driver for a 462 which works. The seller says to use the 290 driver but I tried both and they both work so I am using the 462 (it still appears as a 290 though, so who knows what is going on).It uses the Pi's hardware ISP to process the sensor image, so if you aren't using a Pi I don't think it will work. There is no way to get this to display on another computer unless you connect it to the CSI lane and have a specific driver for it and the ISP tuning file. It also relies on the Pi's hardware video encoder to encode the video -- if you don't do this you will get a raw SRGB stream.It will not fit in normal Pi camera enclosures.You should really know that you want this specific sensor and board for a specific purpose. It is specifically good for surveillance, night vision, industrial, or astronomical applications. I am using it with a cold mirror (visible light cut filter) and an IR light to grab images of otherwise un-imageable surfaces. It works great for that.This is my /boot/config.txt entry:#Cameradtoverlay=imx462,clock-frequency=74250000#camera_auto_detect=0Here is the output I get from some Pi commands which may be useful for you:$ libcamera-vid --list-camerasAvailable cameras-----------------0 : imx290 [1920x1080] (/base/soc/i2c0mux/i2c@1/imx290@1a)Modes: 'SRGGB10_CSI2P' : 1280x720 [60.00 fps - (320, 180)/1280x720 crop]1920x1080 [60.00 fps - (0, 0)/1920x1080 crop]'SRGGB12_CSI2P' : 1280x720 [60.00 fps - (320, 180)/1280x720 crop]1920x1080 [60.00 fps - (0, 0)/1920x1080 crop]---$ libcamera-vid -n -t 0 --inline --listen --height 1080 --width 1920 --framerate 60 --denoise off -o tcp://0.0.0.0:5000Overriding H.264 level 4.2[0:11:13.274240440] [658] INFO Camera camera_manager.cpp:299 libcamera v0.0.4+22-923f5d70[0:11:13.556635700] [659] INFO RPI raspberrypi.cpp:1476 Registered camera /base/soc/i2c0mux/i2c@1/imx290@1a to Unicam device /dev/media2 and ISP device /dev/media0Mode selection:SRGGB10_CSI2P 1280x720 - Score: 5000SRGGB10_CSI2P 1920x1080 - Score: 3000SRGGB12_CSI2P 1280x720 - Score: 4000SRGGB12_CSI2P 1920x1080 - Score: 2000Stream configuration adjusted[0:11:13.608129200] [658] INFO Camera camera.cpp:1028 configuring streams: (0) 1920x1080-YUV420 (1) 1920x1080-SRGGB12_CSI2P[0:11:13.611289169] [659] INFO RPI raspberrypi.cpp:851 Sensor: /base/soc/i2c0mux/i2c@1/imx290@1a - Selected sensor format: 1920x1080-SRGGB12_1X12 - Selected unicam format: 1920x1080-pRCC

Full disclosure: The project I was going to use this for has been put off for at least three months as I shift my project from Raspberry Pi 4 to Raspberry Pi 5 and complete other work. However, I've gone over the hardware, looked at the Github files, and reviewed the manual (such that it is). This review is based on that effort and I will update it after implementation. Also, I am an amateur, but not a complete newbie, so take this as you will.All in all, the hardware seems fine, the pin-out information in the manual is clear, the included ribbon connector seems fine. Importantly, there is only one open issue for this on Github, and that is a general question about use for non-Raspberry Pi boards.From the board layout, hardware installation will be easy, and the board and camera itself seems to have a good build quality. Obviously, functionality will be basic, but for the price and likely use cases (like mine), that is fine. I do wonder about overall support for this camera (separate from the customer support email address which is clearly listed in the documentation), given the manual appears to have only been updated one time since introduction in 2021, and that one open ticket I previously mentioned was never responded to, nor just assigned and closed if handled through a separate channel.Net, I get this review has serious limits, but since this was a "free" product I felt I needed to provide what I did know, and I also saw some other reviews that seemed to be negative in ways that seemed...unlikely to be representative.Unless there is some obscure issue, this seems worth at least four stars.

I am unable to load these drivers in ubuntu/rpios lite. I've tried compiling some drivers based on some search work but its still coming up empty handed. The github is a pdf spec sheet.

The imx462 is an excellent project camera for night sky images. I was able to connect it directly to a raspberry pi 3b and used the libcamera drivers to take images using an indi server. The camera picks up even faint stars with ease. I was impressed with the quality of the images and look forward to more projects using this camera. I only wish that the lens had a wider fov, but that is application specific. The lens is replaceable using a m12 mount. The lens the camera comes with is pretty much at infinity focus, and is easily adjusted if needed. The fov is about 150 degrees side to side and close to 120 degrees top to bottom. The camera also takes excellent daytime images. The camera is fully adjustable with auto white balance if needed or manual functions. I found a gain setting of 7 to be pretty optimal for stars without generating too much noise. The exposure settings are also adjustable. I did not really test the video frame rate or quality since I only use this for time lapse. I am curious to see how well this might work as a planetary camera - a project for another day.

Pivariety drivers are a total joke. Will not operate on any version Pi or Pi OS. WASTE OF TIME! No support from Innomaker! You ask Innomaker for a way of installing a WORKING set of drivers and all you get is a link to a spec sheet that shows you the dimensions of the camera! ha, ha! I think the business plan is to continuously send these junk cameras out OVER and OVER again until they find enough Amazon customers who won't bother to check if they actually work!

Definitely next step to have more sensitive camera with big pixels. It's built around one of the perfect Sony's imagers. It is Starvis which is back illuminated sensors family. Since I am connecting it to Digilent Development board (Xilinx SoC) I would like to have all 4 MIPI lanes connected to achieve maximum framerate. Global shutter is preferable but rolling one is OK especially for such low price.The main disadvantage is you could not get sensor datasheet without signing NDA with Sony's distributor