I’m using a Raspberry Pi 3 with a camera module for a basic monitoring project. Camera not detecting properly sometimes. Any tips on setup, power supply, or troubleshooting would help.
Which camera module are you using? (Pi camera module 2 or 3?) Are you using the 32 or 64 bit version of balenaOS for Pi 3? You should have at least a 5V 2.5A power supply on the Pi 3 when using the camera module.
For the setup being used, it is the Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3, which features the Sony IMX708 sensor and supports powered autofocus. You can find the specific module here: Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3. (Check This)
Regarding the operating system, it is running on the 64-bit version of balenaOS to ensure full compatibility with the latest camera software and libraries.
As for the power requirements, a 5V 2.5A power supply is indeed being used to ensure the Pi 3 remains stable while the camera module is active, especially during autofocus or high-resolution processing.
It sounds like your power is not an issue. When the camera is not detected, are you seeing any errors in dmesg? Checking dmesg | grep -i imx708 or dmesg | grep -i camera may provide some clues. Are you on a Pi 3B, 3A+, or 3B+? We have an example repo for setting up a camera module on Pi 4 and Pi 5 but it should be somewhat applicable to a Pi 3 as well: GitHub - balena-solutions/balena-pi-cameras: Example of running the Raspberry Pi AI Camera in a container on balena · GitHub