Hi everyone, I’m using an Arducam B0196 USB camera module (the 8MP 1080p one with the IMX219 sensor, UVC USB2.0) to record animal behavior on Windows. The product page says it should do 30fps at 1080P, but no matter what resolution I pick, I can’t get it above about 15Hz. I’ve tried both AMCAP and the default Windows camera app, same result in both. Has anyone else run into this? Any idea what I’m missing?
Welcome! Before assuming a hardware issue, let’s check one thing in AMCAP. The 30fps mode has to be explicitly enabled in AMCAP for this module — it won’t default to it. If you open the capture settings, there should be a frame rate option where you can select 30. I’ve attached two screenshots showing exactly where the setting is. Can you set that to 30 and see if the frame rate improves?
Thanks for the quick reply. I followed the screenshots and set the frame rate to 30 in AMCAP, but the live view still reports around 14Hz. I also tried recording using AMCAP’s Start Capture option to see if it was just the preview, and it’s even worse there — AMCAP drops almost twice as many frames as it captures. Over about 4.5 seconds it only got ~62 frames. I also tried dropping the output size way down to see if that would push the frame rate up, but no improvement at all. Still stuck around 14Hz.
Thanks for testing that. Given that the frame rate stays at ~14Hz even after enabling 30fps in AMCAP, this looks like a firmware limitation rather than a settings issue. The current B0196 firmware doesn’t actually support 30fps streaming yet, regardless of resolution. Our team is working on a firmware update to add 30fps streaming to the B0196. It should be ready within about two weeks. Hang tight and I’ll update this thread once it’s available.
Okay, that makes sense. A couple of questions while I wait: when exactly will the updated firmware be out, and how do I get it? Also, will my existing camera sensor still work after the update, or would I need to buy a new processor board between the camera and the USB end? I’d like to avoid buying extra hardware if possible.
The 30fps firmware is still in development, but it’s expected to be done by next Friday. The update will be provided as a HEX file that you can flash directly into your existing USB camera using the software Arducam provides. So no new processor board or hardware purchase should be needed — your current module just needs the firmware reflashed. Once the HEX file is ready, I’ll send you the file and the flashing tool through private message here and walk you through the process.
Great, that’s a relief that I don’t need to buy anything extra. I’ll keep an eye on my messages for the firmware and the flashing software. Looking forward to the update — thanks for the help!