Tell me more ×
Raspberry Pi Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for users and developers of hardware and software for Raspberry Pi. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 16 down vote favorite
4

Is it possible to use a standard USB webcam with the RPi, or is there a specific peripheral that should be used?

I would like to use RPi's to stream images from webcams to the net.

share|improve this question
Keep in mind that webcams may be energy-hungry. My Pi resetted after a few seconds of recording (and skipped data) because it was connected directly on the USB port (i.e. no powered hub). – Lekensteyn May 10 at 21:40

2 Answers

up vote 11 down vote accepted

As long as the webcam is Linux compatible it should be possible to get it to work.

However, if there are not ARM specific drivers available, you will have to build them yourself, which is often not easy.

share|improve this answer
up vote 11 down vote

Raspberry Pi Foundation is also planning to make a camera module available at some point in the future. You can see a prototype at: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1254.

This camera will connect via the CSI port - which means it will have the added advantage of not using up a USB port

So in summary, use a linux friendly camera with arm drivers for now - but prepare to upgrade to CSI cameras in future.

share|improve this answer
+1 Yes, I forgot about this! – Jivings♦ Jun 26 '12 at 19:20

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.