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ESP32 with multiple cameras (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 1 year ago by awwwa@discuss.tchncs.de to c/askelectronics@discuss.tchncs.de

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I want to connect five OV2640 cameras via FPC to an ESP32 on a custom PCB. Is this generally possible and does the ESP32 have enough power for this or do I need an ESP32 for each camera? The frames per second are not so important as the cameras will be used as QR code scanners. Which components allow to run so many cameras with one ESP32?

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[–] lemann@lemmy.one 4 points 1 year ago

Cameras can use a lot of bandwidth, I'd recommend just one camera per ESP32 if that's an option...

If you're restricted to a single ESP32 though, I think this would turn into a headache without some external circuitry on your custom PCB to handle switching between the cameras. If there's no libraries available with support for multiple cameras on a single ESP32, you'd likely need to re-initialise the library after each camera switch - the delay from this powering down/initialising sequence for each consecutive camera could extend the time taken for a QR code to be scanned IMO

Worth noting I've not interfaced an ESP32 with a camera specifically (only really tinkered with much lower bandwidth devices, such as SPI relays and OLED displays) - so I've not got a clue how well this would work in practice.

Hopefully someone else can chime in here too