Hi all. I’m trying to image a small area, about 10mm x 10mm, with a lot of detail using the Arducam OwlSight for Raspberry Pi 5. Can I put any lenses in front of the OwlSight to get that kind of magnification? Or is there a better camera/lens combo for a ~10mm x 10mm field of view? I’d really like to use the OwlSight or something similar at 65 MP, but I’m not sure the optics will support it.
Hi, can you tell us exactly which module you have (the 65MP OwlSight for Pi 5?) and what working distance you’re aiming for? A 10x10mm target is pretty macro, so the lens and distance are going to be the limiting factors.
Yes, it’s the Arducam OwlSight for Raspberry Pi 5 Camera Module, the 65 MP version.
Thanks. One important thing: the OwlSight has a built-in autofocus lens, so it’s not a bare sensor board. Are you planning to shoot the 10x10mm area up close with the stock lens, or do you already have a specific macro lens you want to use?
I want to use a specific custom lens for this, not the lens that comes on the module.
Got it. What’s the custom lens exactly - mount type, focal length, back focal distance? And do you want to remove the OwlSight’s built-in lens or stack the custom lens on top of it?
For background, I have a 15 megapixel sensor with a detachable lens and that works fine. I wanted to move up to the 65 MP version. The problem is the OwlSight I got has a lens/focusing system that I can’t use for this purpose, unless another lens can be added to it.
Okay, that explains it. The OwlSight’s lens is integrated into the module, so it isn’t really designed to be removed or replaced like a bare sensor. Stacking a second lens on top of the stock lens tends to cause vignetting and sharpness problems. Have you already tested the OwlSight stock lens at your working distance to see where it fails?
I need a detailed image of a 10mm x 10mm area, and the lens on the OwlSight just doesn’t work for that. What I really need is the 65 MP sensor without a lens.
Understood. A bare 65 MP sensor would let you keep using your existing custom lens setup. Let me check if that’s available as a separate module. Can you confirm the connection/interface you need - same ribbon connector as the Pi 5?
Yes, the same Raspberry Pi 5 connection would be ideal. So is the 65 MP sensor without a lens available?
I’m still checking on that and don’t have a confirmed lens-less 65 MP part number yet. To summarize where we’re at: the OwlSight 65MP module you have uses an integrated lens/focusing system, which is why it isn’t usable for your 10x10mm application, and your 15MP sensor with the detachable/custom lens is the setup that currently works. I’ll follow up as soon as I know whether a bare 65 MP sensor is available. If it isn’t, the realistic option is to stay with the 15 MP sensor for the custom optics.