Are there any good quality image sensors with documentation?

[soFPG]

Does someone here know where to buy actual camera sensors (such as those used in a smartphone, probably not the most recent model but better than the common OV... models)?
Does it even make sense to play with them (also considering the high-speed connection they probably need)? Is there good documentation?

[Domagoj T]

What do you want to do with them? Why not use some off the shelf industrial machine vision thing?

[Jwillis]

Depends what you want. Do you want a module or just the sensor. How many frames per second. Monochrome or colour. Resolution . CMOS or CCD
Modules from https://www.arducam.com/products/
Image sensors from Digikey , Mouser , ect.  (example) https://www.digikey.ca/products/en/sensors-transducers/image-sensors-camera/532?k=ccd+sensor&k=&pkeyword=ccd+sensor&sv=0&pv183=327746&sf=0&FV=-8%7C532&quantity=&ColumnSort=0&page=1&pageSize=25
Something cheap that your not afraid to fry. https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_odkw=cmos+image+sensor+module&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=image+sensor+module&_sacat=0

Theirs also analog or digital .

[MosherIV]

No, they are sold in such large quantaties that you need to talk directly to the manufacturers. Think about the quantity of smartphones that are made.

Due to the that, the documentation is not easy to find.

No, it does not make sense to play with them.
You would have to build the optics (lens and correct focal distance) around the sensor.
The interface to the sensor is very high speed, in the MHz SPI.

It is just easier to buy pre-built modules.

[magic]

I'm under impression that these days sensors designed for mobile devices use the MIPI CSI-2 interface, conveniently available on a few Raspberry Pis.

The Pis have drivers for two sensors with relatively decent specs IIRC, one from your favorite OV and one from Sony. There is a number of compatible and ready to go camera boards from many vendors, with varying lenses or M12 lens mounts, and they supposedly support all the nice functionality like manual exposure and raw. Supposedly, because I have only read about that stuff, do your own research before buying