Hi all, hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I’ve got an Arducam 2MP Ultra Low Light STARVIS IMX327 Motorized IR-CUT Camera for Raspberry Pi (model B0425) and I’m trying to connect it to a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W. The spec sheet lists the Pi Zero as supported, and the product pictures on the site even show it attached to a Zero, but I cannot for the life of me find which cable I’m supposed to use. The ribbon cable that came with it doesn’t fit the Zero’s connector at all. Any ideas?
Welcome to the forum! The first thing to be aware of is that the camera connector on the Pi Zero 2W is not the same as the CSI connector on a full-size Pi (3B/4/5). The Zero 2W uses a smaller 22-pin, 0.5mm pitch FPC connector, while the full-size Pi CSI port is 15-pin, 1mm pitch. That’s probably why the included cable doesn’t fit. Can you tell me what connector is on the B0425 camera board itself, and what the cable that came in the box looks like (wide 15-pin connector, or small 22-pin one)?
The cable in the box is the wider ribbon that plugs into a normal Pi 3/4 style CSI port. The camera board itself has a smaller connector where that ribbon attaches. So the camera side is small, but the other end is the big 15-pin CSI plug that won’t go anywhere near the Zero. I double-checked the spec sheet and it does say Pi Zero supported, but it never actually names the cable you need, and the website photos just show it mounted on a Zero without saying what they used.
Right, that confirms it. The B0425 has a 22-pin, 0.5mm pitch connector on the camera side, and the included cable is an adapter that goes from that 22-pin connector up to the full-size 15-pin CSI port. But the Pi Zero 2W also uses a 22-pin, 0.5mm pitch connector. So you don’t want the included adapter cable at all - you need a straight 22-pin to 22-pin cable with 0.5mm pitch to go directly from the camera board to the Zero 2W.
Okay, that makes sense now. So it’s the pitch and pin count that’s tripping me up - the Zero isn’t using the standard 15-pin CSI at all. Do you know the exact cable I should order? I’d rather not guess the length or pitch wrong and end up with another cable that doesn’t fit.
Yes, you want a 150mm 22-pin to 22-pin camera cable with a 0.5mm pitch interface. That’s the one that works between the B0425 and the Pi Zero 2W. Here’s a compatible one: 150mm 22pin to 22pin camera cable 0.5mm Pitch interface - the 150mm length gives you a bit of slack without being unwieldy.
Perfect, that’s exactly what I was missing. I’ll grab that cable and give it a try on the Zero 2W. Thanks for walking through the connector differences - I kept assuming the Zero used the standard CSI port.
No problem. Just to wrap it up for anyone else hitting the same wall: the Arducam B0425 to Pi Zero 2W connection needs a 22-pin to 22-pin, 0.5mm pitch camera cable (150mm). The included cable is for full-size Pi CSI ports (15-pin, 1mm), so it won’t fit the Zero 2W. Good luck with the build - let us know how it goes once the cable arrives!