24 Best Raspberry Pi Camera Projects to Help You Get Started!

By Shawn 5 years ago

Update: New Raspberry Pi High-Quality Camera Module and Mount Lens just launched! Check out this new camera with a higher resolution of 12 megapixels for your Raspberry Pi 4 projects!

What is the Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2?

The Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2 is the all-new official camera board released by Raspberry Pi Foundation. It boasts an 8-megapixel Sony IMX219 image sensor capable of outputting up to 3280×2464 pixel static images and 1080p30, 720pp60, and 640x480p videos!

Due to its broad compatibility, you may use this Raspberry Pi camera module with most SBCs or Dev boards like Raspberry Pi 4 Computer Model B, Raspberry Pi Zero, and NVIDIA Jetson Nano.

For Raspberry Pi Zero Camera usage, you’ll need this Camera Cable for Pi Zero

Without further ado, here are the 24 best Raspberry Pi Camera projects to help you get started!

1) Learn the Raspberry Pi Camera with this Project Tutorial

Kicking our list off is this quick project tutorial for you lot that’s using the Raspberry Pi Camera Module for the first time! If you’re wondering how to use the Pi Camera, this essential project will help you start using and connecting the camera module to the latest Raspberry Pi 4 Model B board!

It covers the following:

  • How to control the pi camera using Python
  • How to use raspivid, raspistill and raspiyuv utilities
  • How to use start_preview() and stop_preview() to display the image from the camera
  • How to take photos using the capture() command
  • How to record video using start_recording() and stop_recording()
  • How to view the video via omxplayer
  • How to change the brightness, contrast, and resolution in photos
  • How to apply visual effects to video

What do you need?

Interested to find out more? You can find the full tutorial by Nurgaliyev Shakhizat at Seeed Project Hub!

2) Build a smart doorbell with a Pi camera and Alexa

Hate the typical doorbell that only works when you’re at home and don’t want to spend much on an expensive smart door system? With this project, you can build one for yourself using Pi Camera and Alexa voice service!

This Smart Doorbell works where when someone knocks on your door, Alexa will ask who it is and permission to take a picture of the visitor. By using facial recognition, it will check if it matches any friends on the database.

Seems cool? Here’s what you need:

Hardware components:

Software apps and online services:

Interested to find out more? You can find the full tutorial at hackster.io.

3) Build a Video Streaming Camera

We all know there are tons of streaming cameras on the market that you attach to your PC to start streaming. However, what if you need something more portable that’s easy to build? With this project, you can use the cheap Raspberry Pi Zero alongside the camera module to do so!

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services

Interested to find out more? You can find the full tutorial by Narender Singh on Hackster.io!

4) Build a Raspberry Pi Webcam

The previous project showcased a portable video streaming camera. Still, if you just want a webcam used to stream live videos on your Google Chrome browser directly, you can try out this project instead! Utilizing the RemoteMe program and little hardware components, this project is easy and fast to build.

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Software Apps and Online Services:

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Maciej on Hackster.io!

5) Build a Talking Toaster

We all faced incidents where toasters are just jamming, not responding when we insert our bread in or where it’s just to the point of breaking. So you may ask, what can you do with a broken toaster? Well, through this project, you start having conversations with a toaster by turning it into a talking toaster!

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Software apps and online services:

Hand tools and fabrication machines:

  • Drill / Driver, Cordless
  • Soldering Iron (Generic)
  • Hot Glue Gun (Generic)
  • Multitool, Screwdriver

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by 8bitsandabyte on Hackster.io!

6) Build a DIY Talking Monster

We’ve showcased a DIY toaster in the previous project, but here’s another iteration of it, with this time being a “Monster” that repeats whatever the internet says instead of a talking toaster that has a conversation with you!

What do you need?

Hardware components needed:

Software apps and online services:

Hand tools and fabrication machines:

  • 3D Printer (Generic)
  • Soldering Iron (Generic)

Interested to find out more? You can check out 8bitsandabyte again on Hackster.io!

7) Build an affordable crowd size estimator

Work in retail, security, or the industrial industry and require real-time crowd counting to gather useful data? With this project, you can fulfill that by building an affordable crowd size estimate without installing expensive infrastructure!

This project showcases the versatility of the Raspberry Pi Camera Module as well, with Avnet Ultra96 being the main development board used.

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software Apps and Online Services:

  • Ubidots
  • Jupyter Notebook

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Tad McAllister on Hackster.io!

8) Build a Raspberry Pi Outdoor Security Camera

We’ve covered the smart doorbell with Alexa earlier, but do you want something more discrete that acts as a standard outdoor security camera? With this project, we’ll turn it up a notch by turning it into a smart camera that sends you an email with images of any objects it detects!

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Hand tools and fabrication machines:

  • Screwdriver
  • Electric Hand Drill
  • Electric Jigsaw
  • Glue

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Hacker Shack on Hackster.io!

9) Build a Smart Irrigation system for your Plants

Into gardening but worried about the condition of your crops all the time? Also, when and how much should you be watering? Worry not! With this project, you’ll be able to monitor your plants in real-time and receive feedback about their condition through a smart system that does image searching and web scraping!

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services:

Hand tools and fabrication machines:

  • Soldering iron (generic)
  • 3D printer (generic)

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by “Team droop there it is” on hackster.io!

10) Build A Face Recognization Smart Lock

Sick and tired of having to slot in a key, turning it to open the door, or even placing your finger on a fingerprint scanner but didn’t upgrade to a face recognition lock due to its high cost? Fear not, with this project, you can build an affordable face recognition smart lock!

With facial recognition being such a widely adopted smart lock system, this project is an excellent way to get started!

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services:

Interested in finding out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Seeed on Hackster.io!

11) Smart Glass with Pi Camera for the Blind

Want to build something meaningful for the blind? With this award-winning project, you’ll be able to experience what’s happening in front of you by combining a Raspberry Pi and a Camera module!

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services:

Hand tools and fabrication machines:

  • Soldering iron (generic)

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Team MakerGram on Hackster.io!

12) Build a Photo Booth Powered by Pi and Pi Camera

Organizing a party and don’t want to pay for expensive photographers to set up their photo booth? Or worry about no one visiting the booth to take pictures? With this project, you can save that extra cost by building this simple handmade booth that allows people to take pictures alone!

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services:

  • Python

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by ericBcreator on Hackster.io!

13) Build a Coffee Bean Guardian

Are you a coffee lover or need a fresh cup to kickstart the day? If the answer’s yes, chances are you’ve experienced that one fateful morning where your coffee beans ran out, spoiling the start of your day. This project can help you monitor and auto-refill your coffee bean supply!

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Software Apps and Online Services:

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Terren Peterson on Hackster.io!

14) Booksound Machine

Have you ever flipped through a book and found the music it produces oddly satisfying? That is a booksound machine!

This project uses the pages of your book as a source to turn it into electronic music!

Sounds interesting? Here’s what you need:

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services:

  • Custom Python Code
  • Autodesk Fusion 360
  • Google Tesseract OCR

Hand tools and fabrication machines:

  • Custom 3D printed case

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Roni Bandini on Seeed Project Hub!

15) Pi Camera in a Kodak

Own an old Kodak camera that isn’t functioning? Perhaps it’s time to upcycle it to house a Raspberry Pi Zero and Pi Camera, bringing a new perspective to your photography! With this project, you can refresh your retro camera shooting endeavors again!

This project uses a Kodak Brownie Flash III Camera but should also work with other iterations.

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services:

  • Custom Python Code

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by alexellis on Github!

16) Parent Detector with Pi camera, PIR sensor

Suspect your parents tend to sneak into your room or touch your belongings without permission when you are out? With this project, you can collate evidence through the Pi camera, taking a photo whenever it detects movement!

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Software apps and online services:

  • Python

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Raspberry Pi Org!

17) Google Vision Camera with Pi

Interested in a super-duper smart pimped-out camera that tells you what is the content of a picture that you took? This project utilizes a Google cloud vision that enables you to take a picture, and then the camera will analyze it for you, reading it out! E.g., “The picture contains a cat, a tree, and a bike.”

Seems cool? Here’s what you need:

Hardware components:

Software apps and online services:

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by TeCoEd on Hackster.io!

18) Time-Lapse Photography with RPI and Pi Camera

Of course, when it comes to cameras and incredible video shots, everyone will speak of timelapse, hyper-lapse, and more. These amazing shots were only made possible with DSLR or higher-end smartphones. However, nowadays, we can start capturing it through Raspberry Pi and its Pi camera module!

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services:

  • Custom Python Code
  • Raspbian OS

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by VIVEK GR on Instructables!

19) Automated Tweeting Bear with RPI and Pi Camera

Are you an avid user of Twitter and want an easier process of posting tweets? With this project, you can post pictures to your Twitter feed at just a push of a button!

Made easier with room for DIY, you can use other toys or objects instead of the one illustrated above.

What do you need?

Hardware Components:

Software apps and online services:

  • Python 3
  • gpiozero Python module (preinstalled on Raspbian)
  • picamera Python module (preinstalled on Raspbian)
  • tweepy Python module

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Raspberry Pi Org!

20) Magic Mirror with RPI and Pi Camera

Want to get rid of all the boring mirrors that only showcase your reflection? Well, what better way to do so than with the Magic Mirror! The mirror displays weather, time, and day headlines while you’re getting ready for the day.

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Software apps and online services:

  • Microsoft Azure

Hand tools and fabrication machines:

  • Laser Cutter (Generic)
  • 3D printer (generic)

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Fedor Bobylev on hackster.io!

  • For other similar magic mirror projects, you can click here!

21) Raspberry Pi Web-Controlled Robot with Video

Raspberry Pi Web-Controlled Robot with Video
Source: Hackster.io

If DIY is your thing, this DIY robot will be a fun project for you! This robot is web-controlled and comes with built-in video streaming. Web-controlled means you can control the robot even when you’re not near it via the internet!

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Jorge Rance on hackster.io!

22) Raspberry Pi Smart Camera

Raspberry Pi Smart Camera

Instead of just showing you a picture, this camera will describe what it sees when you take a picture! You’ll have a compact device you can carry around and show to friends, taking photographs and amazing them with how awesome a tiny computer like that can be!

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Charles Channon on hackster.io!

23) Pi Camera Vision: Detect Faces and Emotions

Pi Camera Vision: Detect Faces and Emotions

Use Google Cloud Vision on the Raspberry Pi to take a picture with the Raspberry Pi Camera and classify it with the Google Cloud Vision API. With Google Cloud Vision, you can detect a range of emotions, headwear, some head coordinates, and other fun data.

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Software apps and online services:

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Dexter Industries on hackster.io!

24) Raspberry Pi Smart Car

Raspberry Pi Smart Car

This smart car project comes with a touchscreen interface, backup camera for reversing, information such as fuel efficiency & GPS, and Bluetooth connectivity!

What do you need?

Hardware components:

Interested to find out more? You can check out the full tutorial by Tinker Nut on hackster.io!

Summary

These are just some Raspberry Pi Camera projects to get your brain juices flowing! But today, we’ve showcased how this camera module is much more than just photo-taking and recording, right?

So what are you waiting for? Get started on your first project with the Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2!

If you’re looking for more, here at Seeed, we do carry other iterations of the Raspberry Pi Camera Modules, including:

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Shawn

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