Radxa Camera 8M 219

Radxa Dragon Q6A's onboard MIPI CSI interface can be used to connect the Radxa Camera 8M 219 for image capture.

Interface specifications

Camera interface

The Radxa Camera 8M 219 interface has the following specifications:

• Connector type: 15-pin 1.0 mm pitch SMD Horizontal FPC connector
• Connection type: Flip type, bottom contact

Board MIPI CSI interface

The Radxa Dragon Q6A MIPI CSI interface has the following specifications:

• Connector type: 15-pin 1.0 mm pitch SMD Horizontal FPC connector
• Connection type: Flip type, bottom contact

Camera FPC cable

Use a 15-Pin 1.0 mm pitch to 15-Pin 1.0mm pitch opposite sides FPC cable.

Hardware connection

Insert the 15-pin metal contacts of the FPC cable into the camera connector, and insert the 15-Pin metal contacts of the FPC cable into the board MIPI CSI connector.

Notes

• Make sure the edges of the FPC cable are aligned with the edges of the connector, with no skew and no exposed contacts.
• Ensure the cable has no creases, is not loose, and the connector latch is fully closed.

Software enablement

Use the Rsetup tool provided by the Radxa system to enable the Radxa Camera 8M 219.

Rsetup usage guide

• Select option: the corresponding option will be highlighted.
• Confirm selection: press Enter.
• Cancel selection: press ESC.
• Navigate options: use Up, Down, Left, and Right keys.
• Multi-select screen: press Space to toggle options, then Enter to confirm. When a feature is enabled, a * appears in the corresponding option box.

Run the rsetup command in the terminal to start the Rsetup tool:

radxa@dragon-q6a$

rsetup

In Rsetup, go to Overlays -> Manage overlays.

1. Use the arrow keys to find the [ ] Enable Radxa Camera 8M 219 option.
2. Press Space so it changes to [*] Enable Radxa Camera 8M 219, indicating that the feature is enabled.
3. Press Enter to confirm and save the settings to enable the camera.
4. Reboot the system to make the configuration take effect.

tip

If the board has multiple MIPI CSI interfaces, Rsetup may show options such as [ ] Enable Radxa Camera 8M 219 on CAM *. Select the option corresponding to the MIPI CSI interface you are using.

Preview the camera

Use libcamera to preview the camera image.

Install dependencies

radxa@dragon-q6a$

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential git pkg-config -y
sudo apt install meson ninja-build -y
sudo apt install python3-pip python3-yaml python3-jinja2 python3-ply python3-pyparsing -y
sudo apt install libyaml-dev libevent-dev -y
sudo apt install libudev-dev libgnutls28-dev openssl libexpat1-dev -y
sudo apt install libdrm-dev -y
sudo apt install libjpeg-dev -y
sudo apt install libglib2.0-dev -y
sudo apt install qt6-base-dev qt6-base-dev-tools qt6-wayland-dev -y
sudo apt install \
    qtbase5-dev \
    qtbase5-dev-tools \
    qtchooser \
    qt5-qmake \
    qttools5-dev \
    qtdeclarative5-dev \
    libqt5opengl5-dev \
    qml-module-qtquick-controls \
    libgles2-mesa-dev \
    qml-module-qtquick2 -y

Build and install libcamera

radxa@dragon-q6a$

git clone https://git.linuxtv.org/libcamera.git
cd libcamera
git checkout 02277d4c1a5ae7fee582f635936877435a12db64 # Optional. The following test steps are based on this version of libcamera.
meson setup build --wipe \
    -Dpipelines=simple \
    -Dcam=enabled \
    -Dgstreamer=disabled \
    -Dv4l2=enabled \
    -Dlc-compliance=disabled \
    -Dqcam=enabled
ninja -C build -j$(nproc)
sudo ninja -C build install
sudo ldconfig

Modify configuration file

Enter the libcamera directory and edit libcamera/src/ipa/simple/data/imx219.yaml.

radxa@dragon-q6a$

cd libcamera
sudo nano src/ipa/simple/data/imx219.yaml

Copy the following content into src/ipa/simple/data/imx219.yaml.

# SPDX-License-Identifier: CC0-1.0
%YAML 1.1
---
version: 1
algorithms:
  - BlackLevel:
  - Awb:
      # Manual white balance guidance (important)
      gains:
        red: 1.8
        green: 1.0
        blue: 1.4
  - Ccm:
      ccms:
        - ct: 6500
          ccm: [
            1.35, -0.25, -0.10,
           -0.10,  0.80, -0.10,
           -0.05, -0.30,  1.35
          ]
  - Agc:
      # Prevent grayish auto exposure
      target: 0.55
      speed: 0.2
...

Set permissions

radxa@dragon-q6a$

sudo chmod 666 /dev/dma_heap/*

Start the camera

Open the system desktop terminal, go to the libcamera build directory, and start qcam.

radxa@dragon-q6a$

cd libcamera/build/src/apps/qcam/
./qcam --stream pixelformat=YUYV,width=1920,height=1080

Troubleshooting

Check if the camera is recognized

Use the following command to check if the camera is recognized by the system:

radxa@dragon-q6a$

sudo dmesg | grep imx

If the terminal outputs the following information, the camera is recognized properly:

[    5.949209] imx219 18-0010: supply VANA not found, using dummy regulator
[    5.951349] imx219 18-0010: supply VDIG not found, using dummy regulator
[    5.951506] imx219 18-0010: supply VDDL not found, using dummy regulator

If the terminal outputs the following information, the camera is not recognized by the system, and you need to check if the camera cable is properly installed:

[    5.949209] imx219 18-0010: supply VANA not found, using dummy regulator
[    5.951349] imx219 18-0010: supply VDIG not found, using dummy regulator
[    5.951506] imx219 18-0010: supply VDDL not found, using dummy regulator
[    5.958515] imx219 18-0010: Error reading reg 0x0000: -6
[    5.958522] imx219 18-0010: error -ENXIO: failed to read chip id 219