Arducam 64MP driver sources for Arch Linux kernel 5.18 beyond Raspberry Pi OS?

cloudff · July 13, 2022, 6:29pm

Hi, I’m trying to get an Arducam 64MP-AF camera working on my Raspberry Pi running Arch Linux instead of Raspberry Pi OS, and I’m stuck.

I found the install guide here: How to use arducam_64mp & arducam_64mp FAQ

Problem is the notes are written for Raspberry Pi OS, and the latest driver binaries I can find are only built for Linux 5.15. My system is on a much newer kernel and it’s not Debian-based, so those prebuilt binaries don’t help me.

Environment:

Arch Linux
Kernel: 5.18.1-1-aarch64-ARCH
Reference: Raspberry Pi OS (from the forum install notes)
Reference: Linux 5.15 (for the available driver binaries)

Is there any way I can get the driver sources so I can recompile them for my own distribution? Also, are there any plans to support any distribution apart from Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS?

Dion · July 13, 2022, 8:17pm

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the details. Just to confirm what you’re working with before we go further: you’re on Arch Linux aarch64 with kernel 5.18.1-1-aarch64-ARCH, and you’re trying to get the 64MP-AF camera running there, correct? And the only install docs you’ve found are the ones in that forum topic, which target Raspberry Pi OS + the Linux 5.15 driver binaries.

If that’s right, then yes, the situation is expected: there are only driver binaries for Linux 5.15, and the installation instructions target Raspberry Pi OS. There’s no prebuilt support for other distros or newer kernels like your 5.18.1-1-aarch64-ARCH. That’s the core of why the binaries won’t work for you as-is.

cloudff · July 14, 2022, 12:00am

Correct, that’s exactly it. Arch Linux aarch64, kernel 5.18.1-1-aarch64-ARCH. I have no custom code or log output to share, I’m just at the point where I realized the prebuilt driver and the Pi OS instructions don’t apply to my setup.

So my main question is really about the source. If the driver source is available somewhere on GitHub, I’d like to try recompiling it against my kernel. That’s the part I’m most hoping for.

Dion · July 14, 2022, 6:00am

Good news on that front, the driver source is available, so recompiling for your own distribution is possible.

The 64MP-AF driver source lives in the raspberrypi/linux repo, on the rpi-5.15.y branch. Here’s the direct file:

github.com

raspberrypi/linux/blob/rpi-5.15.y/drivers/media/i2c/arducam_64mp.c

// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
/*
 * A V4L2 driver for Arducam 64MP cameras.
 * Copyright (C) 2021 Arducam Technology co., Ltd.
 *
 * Based on Sony IMX477 camera driver
 * Copyright (C) 2020 Raspberry Pi (Trading) Ltd
 */
#include <asm/unaligned.h>
#include <linux/clk.h>
#include <linux/delay.h>
#include <linux/gpio/consumer.h>
#include <linux/i2c.h>
#include <linux/module.h>
#include <linux/of_device.h>
#include <linux/pm_runtime.h>
#include <linux/regulator/consumer.h>
#include <media/v4l2-ctrls.h>
#include <media/v4l2-device.h>
#include <media/v4l2-event.h>

This file has been truncated. show original

That’s the arducam_64mp.c driver. You can pull it from that branch and build it against your kernel tree.

cloudff · July 14, 2022, 6:24am

Found it, thanks, that’s the file I was after. A couple of follow-ups:

Since it’s on the rpi-5.15.y branch and I’m on 5.18, should I expect to have to adapt anything when building against a 5.18 kernel, or is it mostly a straight recompile?
Back to my earlier question, is there any official plan to support a distribution other than Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS? I’d rather not build from source if a supported package is coming.

Dion · July 14, 2022, 6:49am

On (1): the source is your starting point for building on your own distro. It’s on the rpi-5.15.y branch, so building against a 5.18 kernel may need adjustments depending on how the kernel media/i2c APIs have moved between 5.15 and 5.18. I can’t promise a clean straight compile outside the branch it’s written for.

On (2): there are no plans for now to support distributions other than Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS. If you need support beyond that, the right channel is to reach out to [email protected] and discuss it with them directly.

cloudff · July 14, 2022, 9:43am

Understood. So my path forward is: grab arducam_64mp.c from the rpi-5.15.y branch, build it against my 5.18 kernel, and accept that I might need to fix up a few API differences along the way. And no official multi-distro support coming in the near term.

I’ll try the build and see how far I get. Would it be okay to post back here if the compilation throws errors against 5.18?

Dion · July 14, 2022, 10:58am

Sure, feel free to post back with any build errors and we’ll take a look.

To summarize where this stands for anyone else reading:

The 64MP-AF driver source is available in the raspberrypi/linux repository, rpi-5.15.y branch: linux/drivers/media/i2c/arducam_64mp.c at rpi-5.15.y · raspberrypi/linux · GitHub
Only driver binaries for Linux 5.15 exist, and the installation notes target Raspberry Pi OS, so there’s no prebuilt support for other distributions or newer kernels such as Arch Linux on 5.18.1-1-aarch64-ARCH.
Recompiling the source for your own distribution is the route to take.
There are no plans for now to support distributions other than Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS; if you need more, contact [email protected].

Hope the build goes well, keep us posted.