Hey everyone, I’m running into a strange issue with the Arducam IMX219 Multi-Camera Kit on a Jetson AGX Orin. I’ve been developing a Python app that captures from up to 6 cameras using GStreamer, sensors 0 through 5. Here’s the pipeline I’m using:
I’m pulling frames via OpenCV with cv2.VideoCapture and cv2.CAP_GSTREAMER. Sensors 0 through 4 work perfectly, but sensor ID 5 just won’t cooperate. The pipeline fails silently or hangs whenever I try to use ID 5. Same code, same pipeline — just changing the sensor_id. Anyone seen this before?
Thanks for the detailed post. Before we dive into software debugging, have you tried physically swapping the camera modules and cables around? That’d help rule out whether it’s a specific module, a specific cable, or something about that particular port on the adapter board.
Good call — I actually spent a few hours doing exactly that. I took every camera module and tested it in every slot. Every single camera works fine in slots 1 through 4. None of them work in slot 5. Then I repeated the whole thing with different FFC cables, same result: all cables are good on slots 1-4, nothing on slot 5. So it’s not the cameras and it’s not the cables — it’s definitely that specific port on the adapter board.
That’s thorough troubleshooting, and it really points toward a hardware-level issue with port 5 on the adapter board. Let’s do one more isolation test just to be completely sure — can you run this raw GStreamer pipeline targeting sensor ID 5 directly? This bypasses your Python/OpenCV layer entirely:
Ran it — no video, just hangs and eventually exits without displaying anything. Same command works with SENSOR_ID=4 (and any other ID from 0-4). So yeah, sensor/port 5 is dead at the hardware level. What’s the next step here?
That confirms it — this is a hardware defect isolated to port 5 on the adapter board. Not a software, driver, or camera module issue. I’ve sent you the details about a replacement adapter board via private message. Please check your inbox and we’ll get a replacement out to you.
Quick update: I received something in the mail but it was just a standalone camera module, not the adapter board. The port 5 problem is still there obviously. Can you double-check what was sent?
Apologies for the mix-up on our end — the wrong part was dispatched. I’ve now arranged for the correct adapter board (revision B0472) to go out via express shipping. I’ve sent you the tracking details through private message. That should get you sorted.
The replacement adapter board (rev B0472) arrived and I’ve installed it. All six ports are working now — sensor ID 5 fires right up. So for anyone finding this thread later: root cause was a hardware defect in port 5 of the Arducam adapter board. Not a JetPack version issue, not a camera module fault, not a cable problem, and not a GStreamer misconfiguration. The physical port was bad.
While I have your attention — I’m looking at a future upgrade path. I’m considering moving from these IMX219s to AR0234 global shutter sensors. Can I connect six AR0234 modules to this same adapter board? I understand they use the Jetvariety driver, so I want to make sure there aren’t any gotchas with the AGX Orin before I pull the trigger.
Yes, six AR0234 camera modules are compatible with that adapter board — but there’s an important caveat: your AGX Orin needs to be running an L4T (Linux for Tegra) version earlier than 36.4.3. If you’re on 36.4.3 or newer, you’ll run into driver compatibility issues with the Jetvariety stack. You can check the AR0234 product page here for more details: https://www.arducam.com/product/presale-arducam-2-3mp-ar0234-global-shutter-camera-for-nvidia-jetson/
Thanks for the AR0234 info, that’s helpful. One more question on the sensor front — I’ve actually shifted my requirements a bit. Moved from global shutter to rolling shutter (which works fine for my use case now), but the key thing I need is a 1:1 aspect ratio, at least 2500×2500 resolution, and around 20 fps or higher. I looked at the IMX477-MIPI but the 4:3 aspect ratio at 4056×3040 isn’t ideal. The Sony IMX676 (3552×3552) looks like it could be a great fit. So a few questions:
Does Arducam support any square-format sensors that work with the Jetson AGX Orin?
Are there M12 or C-mount options available, and which would be better for low-light?
Any links to suitable alternatives that are compatible with your adapter boards?
For the AR0234 path I mentioned earlier, just to reiterate — six modules will work on your adapter board as long as you’re on an L4T release prior to 36.4.3, since those modules rely on the Jetvariety driver. As for square-format sensors specifically, that’s a more niche requirement and I’d recommend reaching out through a separate inquiry so we can check the current lineup for anything matching the 1:1 aspect ratio and resolution targets you’re after. The IMX676 (3552×3552) is indeed an interesting option but I’d need to verify current Jetson driver support for it. Regarding M12 vs C-mount for low-light — generally C-mount gives you access to larger-aperture lenses which can help, but it really depends on the specific sensor and lens pairing.