Nov 2 (edited) • ⚡Pi Project Ideas
Pi Camera Module 3: First impressions + 7 real projects
Hey Maker fam,
I finally got hands-on with the Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 and the quality did not disappoint. Autofocus + HDR on a tiny board is reasonable for the price. I’m editing a full setup video now, watch for it this month.
If you’re wondering “cool… but what can I actually do with it?”, here are seven practical ideas and some quick notes from my bench.
Quick setup notes
- The Pi Camera Module 3 brings autofocus + HDR on a 12MP sensor (IMX708)—great for sharp stills and punchier video.
- For timelapse, the rpicam-still built-in mode makes it simple; stitch or encode as needed.
- One-liners:
Still with autofocus: rpicam-still -t 2000 --autofocus-on-capture -o first-shot.jpg
Quick 10s video: rpicam-vid -t 10000 -o test.h264
7 project ideas
- Garden timelapse (set it and forget it). Porch/garage motion cam (record only on movement with Motion).
- Simple security cam (camera + Motion + basic config).
- Headless capture from your laptop via SSH for quick tests.
- Autofocus close-ups (components, plants, projects-in-progress).
- Classroom/meetup demo rig (plug-and-show capture modes & settings).
- Beginner CV experiments (build intuition before heavy ML).
Resources (proof & how-to)
- Camera Module 3 overview/specs (autofocus, HDR, IMX708).
- rpicam-apps (official libcamera-based tools: rpicam-still, rpicam-vid).
- Raspberry Pi camera software (timelapse how-to).
- Autofocus intro (Pi’s announcement explainer).
- Motion project (motion-triggered recording).
- Still image capture modes & settings (MagPi deep dive).
If there’s a project you want me to film first, security cam, garden timelapse, or a headless autofocus rig, hit reply and I might consider it.
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Pi Camera Module 3: First impressions + 7 real projects
