Arducam IMX519 AF script on Ubuntu gives error, is it compatible?

Raspberry Pi Cameras
1

Hi, I’m trying to use an Arducam IMX519 camera (the AF / autofocus version) and I keep getting an error when I run the script from the manual. I’m not sure if this camera is even compatible with my system. I followed the Arducam guide here: https://www.arducam.com/docs/cameras-for-raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-libcamera-guide/how-to-use-arducam-16mp-camera-on-raspberry-pi/ but it looks like that guide is written for Raspberry Pi OS. I’m running Ubuntu. Can anyone confirm whether this camera works on Ubuntu? Here’s the error I get when running the script: image001.png

2

Hey, thanks for posting. A couple of things would help me narrow this down. Can you confirm exactly which OS image you’re running on the Pi? Please paste the output of:

cat /etc/os-release
uname -a

Also, which script are you running from the manual, and how are you invoking it? Can you paste the command you use and the full text of the error (the screenshot helps, but a text copy is easier to work with)?

3

Sure. Here’s what I get:

$ cat /etc/os-release
NAME=“Ubuntu”
VERSION=“22.04.3 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)”
ID=ubuntu

$ uname -a
Linux ubuntu 5.15.0-1045-raspi #48-Ubuntu SMP aarch64 GNU/Linux

So yeah it’s Ubuntu 22.04 on a Pi. For the script, I’m just running the one from the manual, basically the libcamera preview command from that page. When I run it I get the error shown in the screenshot.

4

Thanks, that’s the key detail. The IMX519 relies on Arducam’s libcamera stack and the camera driver/kernel support that ships with Raspberry Pi OS. On Ubuntu for Pi the camera stack is different and the Arducam driver isn’t installed by that manual — the install steps in that guide assume Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye) and its libcamera packages. So the failure you’re seeing lines up with the camera driver not being present under Ubuntu.

Before I say for sure, can you run this and paste the output?

libcamera-hello --list-cameras

and also check if the overlay is set:

grep -i imx519 /boot/firmware/config.txt /boot/config.txt 2>/dev/null

5

Ran both:

$ libcamera-hello --list-cameras
No cameras available!

$ grep -i imx519 /boot/firmware/config.txt /boot/config.txt 2>/dev/null
(no output)

No cameras show up at all, and there’s no imx519 overlay configured. Is that expected? I did run the install steps from the manual but maybe they didn’t actually apply on Ubuntu.

6

Right — that confirms it. “No cameras available” plus no imx519 overlay means the camera isn’t being picked up at all. The install script/manual you followed is built around Raspberry Pi OS packages and the RPi libcamera stack; on Ubuntu the same approach won’t install the Arducam driver or the required libcamera support, so the sensor never comes up.

In short: the IMX519 (AF) camera is only supported on Raspberry Pi OS, not Ubuntu. It can’t be installed/used on Ubuntu the way the manual describes.

7

Ah, that explains it. So there’s no way to get it working on Ubuntu 22.04 at all? I’d prefer to stay on Ubuntu if I can.

8

Unfortunately no — there isn’t a supported path to run this camera on Ubuntu. The driver and libcamera support from the manual are tied to Raspberry Pi OS.

To use the IMX519, flash the latest Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye) and then follow the manual’s install steps from there. Once you’re on Bullseye, libcamera-hello --list-cameras should detect the IMX519 and the preview command from the guide should work.

9

OK, that’s clear enough. I’ll flash Bullseye and try again, then report back here if anything else comes up. Thanks for the help.

10

Sounds good. Quick summary for anyone finding this thread:

If the camera doesn’t show up after flashing Bullseye, post back with libcamera-hello --list-cameras and your config.txt and we’ll take it from there.