Hi all, I’m stuck with an Arducam IMX708 HDR 120° camera (UC-A65 rev b) on a Raspberry Pi 3B+. It was working fine for a while, then out of nowhere it stopped showing up. I’ve forced the imx708 dt-overlay and force-loaded the kernel module, but the camera still isn’t detected. I also tested it on a CM4 on a Waveshare CM4-IO carrier and swapped between a few different 22-to-15 pin cables. Nothing. Any ideas?
Just to clarify a couple things: it definitely worked before and this started suddenly? Also, when you say it isn’t detected — do you see no I2C response at all, or does it show up but fail to stream? And is the CM4/Waveshare setup failing exactly the same way?
Yeah, it worked fine until yesterday and then just died. There’s no response on the I2C bus at all. Details:
- Pi 3B / 3B+ (camera was in use on the 3B)
- Also tested a CM4 on a Waveshare CM4-IO-A carrier
- Tried several 22-to-15 pin cables
- Forced imx708 dt-overlay and force-loaded the kernel module
Both hosts detect and preview my OV5647 and IMX219 cameras without any problem, so it’s specific to the IMX708.
Thanks, that helps. Since your other cameras work on both boards, let’s pull some diagnostics with the IMX708 connected. Can you run the bug report tool?
- Reboot.
- wget -O arducam-camera-bug-report https://github.com/ketai-dhr/arducam-camera-bug-report/releases/download/tools/arducam-camera-bug-report
- chmod +x ./arducam-camera-bug-report
- ./arducam-camera-bug-report
It writes arducam-bug-report.txt in the current directory. Attach that here and I’ll take a look.
Done. I’ve attached arducam-bug-report.txt and a short video showing the connection. Still no I2C response from the camera.
Thanks. One thing worth double-checking while I go through the report: look at your /boot/config.txt and make sure it says dtoverlay=imx708 and not dt_overlay=imx708. That typo comes up a lot and the camera won’t be detected. If it’s wrong, fix it, reboot, and try a libcamera preview.
I checked, it’s already dtoverlay=imx708 (correct spelling), so no luck there. Camera still isn’t detected after reboot. I do have a multimeter — are there test points on the camera or the connector where I can verify it’s actually getting power?
Going through your bug report, the Pi can’t see the IMX708 at all. A power check is a good idea. With the board powered, carefully probe the 3.3V rail and ground on the camera FFC connector — just be careful not to short adjacent pins. While you’re at it, can you post a few clear photos of the current connection? Both ends of the cable and the camera board would help rule out a seating or alignment issue.
I’ll get those photos posted. I’d really rather fix this than give up on the camera — anything else you’d suggest trying in the meantime?
To sum up where we’re at: the bug report shows no I2C response from the IMX708 at all, while your OV5647 and IMX219 both work on the same Pi and CM4 carrier, so the host side looks fine. We’ve ruled out the dtoverlay typo and tried multiple cables. I’m waiting on the connection photos, and the 3.3V/ground readings once you’ve probed them. If those all check out, it’s pointing toward a fault on the camera board itself — I’ll follow up with next steps once I see the photos.