Pimoroni OctoCam
A Raspberry Pi kit that would make George Orwell weep with frustration... but it can help you find out who’s stealing the office milk!
The Raspberry Pi Zero W has been with us for over a year, and in that time, it has earned its reputation as a userfriendly and cost-effective platform. This has led to many companies assembling their own packs and bundles that create projects for learners to follow.
Pimoroni’s OctoCam is a helpful cephalopod that features a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a small fivemegapixel camera with a custom cable for the Zero W, and a laser-cut plastic frame. Also present are a USB lead for power, GPIO pins to solder and adapters to use the Zero W with an HDMI monitor and standard USB devices. All of the components are contained in a robust plastic case that will, of course, be reused to store all manner of screws!
Building the kit is remarkably easy and requires no tools. Simply insert the screws, connect the camera and position everything behind the octopus. In the kit, there are four suckers used to attach the kit to a window so that the camera can be used to monitor your garden, pets or the fridge at work (obviously, don’t record anyone without their consent). There’s also a stand for positioning OctoCam on a desk. No matter how you use the kit, you’ll still have access to the GPIO, enabling the use of HAT boards and direct connection of components. Note, though, that you’ll need to solder the GPIO yourself.
The 5MP camera is a smaller version of the original Pi camera that offers HD video at 1080p, thanks to the Pi’s on-board hardware decoder, at 30fps. If we reduce the res to 1,280 x 720, then we can squeeze in 60fps, which is enough for those wanting to capture death-defying stunts.
The camera can also capture images at a max resolution of 2,592 x 1,944 pixels. Sadly, the camera is fixed focus, so anything less than 30cm away from the camera will be blurry. But for general use, the camera is superb. The camera is also compatible with Raspbian, and can be used with the raspivid and raspistill terminal commands, along with the picamera Python library.
As per the online instructions, Pimoroni recommends using the motionEye OS that will turn the setup into your own CCTV system. Doing this was simple thanks to the clear instructions and, within 30 minutes, we had our own CCTV system. This can be configured to react to motion, or to just simply record all video to a device.
For $80, this kit is right on the money. The price of a Pi Zero W is around $15 and the camera is about $40. Add the cost of the accessories and some profit, and it’s clear this kit is priced ready for family or friends to purchase as a gift for birthdays, holidays or a home project. The kit doesn’t include a micro SD card and a power supply, because it’s assumed that the person will have these already. While this may be the case, if buying this as a gift, then it would be prudent to purchase any additional accessories.
This is a great kit that’s simple to assemble. It serves as a fun introduction to what can be achieved with a Raspberry Pi Zero W in a short space of time. And it’s a strong contender for your own camera-based projects.