Hi,
I'm trying to build a micro camera that will be able to show video-on-demand while connecting to it from the phone / PC.
It's possible to build it using Arduino (and others boards) but it looks like an overkill for this task. All I need is just camera module (preferably with good optics and characteristics) + ISP (to build images from camera module) + power supply + wifi transmitter. The smallest thing I've found so far is ESP-32 Cam module but it still looks like an overkill (with SD card, bluetooth, pinouts) and, that's why, it's too big.
Do you know of any alternative solutions to build my model?
Thank you for your help.

 

Short of buying a cheap rubbish micro-camera on eBay there's a reason why quality versions of these don't exist at low-cost.

If you need it very small without the bits most users want you'll have to roll your own pcb, or develop your own SoC, and sell a few million to recoup your dev costs.

 

Short of buying a cheap rubbish micro-camera on eBay there's a reason why quality versions of these don't exist at low-cost.

If you need it very small without the bits most users want you'll have to roll your own pcb, or develop your own SoC, and sell a few million to recoup your dev costs.

Thank you for your reply, Irving!
But in case of ESP32 it costs ~5USD with some mediocre camera and a lot of additional things out-of-box. I do understand that mass production lowers the price but, still, doesn't this mean that we can assemble something similar ourselves let's say at double price (10 USD e.g.)?

 

I refer back to your original post...

Go look at https://www.st.com/en/imaging-and-photonics-solutions.html, see if there's anything there, design a board, assemble it, test it... if you can do that for a few $1000 for your first batch of 100 prototypes (even without costing your time in) you'll be doing well!

 

@Irving, looks like I missed your point. Why are we talking about the batch, testing etc?
I was looking just for a dirty solution where I can connect 2-3 modules and live happy with it being bare, with no fancy casing, with having issues. Just the small and cheap solution. Am I missing something?

 

You wanted it tiny... tiny is not modules, its chips. The ESP-Cam is 1.5" x 1", how small do you want to go? It has an SD card because that's what its target market wants, but its under the camera so not really taking up any space. The bluetooth is integral with the wifi, its the same function and takes up no additional space. It has pinouts because how else do you connect to it? You can buy the ESP32 module on its own, but it has no connector for the camera, that's on the bigger board with the support chip.

The chips aren't useful in themselves, they need supporting infrastructure, so manufacturers offer evaluation boards. Many designs start off with evaluation boards or other modules that have multiple functionality, then once a collection of parts is working the necessary functions are stripped out and a streamlined single board version created. There is no market or practical use for, say, an ISP chip on a board with no infrastructure, so you can't buy one.

 

You wanted it tiny... tiny is not modules, its chips. The ESP-Cam is 1.5" x 1", how small do you want to go? It has an SD card because that's what its target market wants, but its under the camera so not really taking up any space. The bluetooth is integral with the wifi, its the same function and takes up no additional space. It has pinouts because how else do you connect to it? You can buy the ESP32 module on its own, but it has no connector for the camera, that's on the bigger board with the support chip.

The chips aren't useful in themselves, they need supporting infrastructure, so manufacturers offer evaluation boards. Many designs start off with evaluation boards or other modules that have multiple functionality, then once a collection of parts is working the necessary functions are stripped out and a streamlined single board version created. There is no market or practical use for, say, an ISP chip on a board with no infrastructure, so you can't buy one.

Thank you for your reply.
This is actually what I've been talking about: I don't need a board with a ton of features, I would love to have just cam + ISP + wifi + power supply connected together and working. It's not possible to do it yourself?

 

I don't think you really understand what you're asking, or appreciate the complexity of it... do you know how to connect the camera's MIPI-CSI interface to a MCU/GPU? Do you understand how to integrate wifi and the H264 protocols, What experience do you have of coding this?

 

It's not possible to do it yourself?

No.
The ESP32CAM is about the best you can go for.

 

@dendad I think it's not the best. At least Pi Zero + Cam looks much more interesting.

 

Just received 2 esp32-cams today, another 3 enroute. Pretty compact. Storage card has to be a bonus for image capture. Deep sleep for battery life. 3D printer will be working steady making housings.