Hi everyone, I’m a bit confused about the supply voltage for the OV7670 camera unit. The OV7670 documentation I have says the supply voltage goes up to 3.0V, but the Arducam module I’m using is listed with a 3.3V supply. Does the Arducam OV7670 module have an on-board regulator, or does the camera module actually support 3.3V directly? I don’t want to fry it.
Good question. Can you confirm the exact module you’re using and what voltage you’re feeding it? Also, is this the standard Arducam OV7670 camera unit, or a custom carrier board? That’ll help narrow it down.
It’s the standard Arducam OV7670 camera unit. The board is being powered from the Arducam supply at 3.3V. I checked the module and I don’t see an obvious separate regulator on the camera board itself, which is why I’m wondering whether 3.3V is actually safe for the OV7670 sensor.
Thanks for the details. I looked into this and the Arducam OV7670 camera module should be able to support 3.3V. The OV7670 datasheet reference to 3.0V is a bit conservative, but on the Arducam module the 3.3V supply is fine for normal operation. So you shouldn’t need an external regulator just for this.
To summarize: even though the OV7670 documentation indicates a maximum supply voltage of 3.0V, the Arducam camera module is stated to support 3.3V. There’s no compatibility issue with running it at the 3.3V Arducam supply, so you can keep it as-is.