Project history:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/a-winter-day-in-moscow-and-a-low-power-camera/Project site:
http://orbides.1gb.ru/lapse_camera.php?lng=engSample video:
Once upon a time a got a couple of $20 JPEG camera modules from ebay, and had no clue what to do with them.
Long story short, it makes for a perfect (for my style) time lapse camera.
The goal was to make a camera that would run for a year on a reasonable-sized battery at about 6 frames per hour.
Camera: 640x480, video sample above.
RTC (DS1338), with CR2032 battery backup.
Writes to a microSD card, which also stores the config file where you select the frame rate and so on.
Power is supplied from 4.8+ V, over a 3.3V LDO, so 4 alkalines is ideal. I thought of using a converter of some sort to increase efficiency, but it just isn't worth it on this scale.
Total price: $30 or so, not counting batteries.
One frame is:
3 seconds at 100mA for the camera to stabilize and get a picture.
7 seconds at 60mA to write the picture down.
Between frames it is in deep sleep, taking 91 uA (YAY for Dave's uCurrent!)
In other words, it uses 3.5-4 joules per picture.
On 4 D cells that would be 50000 frames -
at one frame every 10 minutes it will run for a year, at one per minute - for a month.
The intent is to set it and leave it be, coming back once a year -
long time lapse videos.
Get the schematics and layout here (Eagle):
http://orbides.1gb.ru/tlc/camera_141219.zipAppearance of the latest version below.
I'm still thinking about a good enclosure - it should stay moisture-free, but not necessarily opened with any regularity, so perhaps a simple waterproof box with a window.
Well, what do you think?
I kind of think the selling point is the run time and simplicity, but maybe it's nothing special, and lacking that the comparatively low picture quality sinks it?
Schematics:
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