Camera board extension

We’ve just spotted a third-party add-on for your Pi and Camera Board which we think you’ll find really useful.   The ribbon cable that comes with the Raspberry Pi Camera Module is, for reasons of signal integrity, not very long. In most cases, that doesn’t present a problem. But if you’re wanting to take pictures of something that has to be a distance from your Pi – some fiddly nature photography setups are a good example – the length of that cable can be a nuisance. So the good folks at Petit Studio have made a useful HDMI extension kit. Both the Camera Module connector and an HDMI connector have four data buses made by pairs of cables with a ground shield, which means a small converter can be built: they’re offering two little PCBs which attach to the ribbon cable and to the back of your camera board, with an HDMI cable bridging the space between them. The makers have tested the setup with 5m HDMI cables, and the picture quality is not affected (you won’t be able to run this with an infinitely long HDMI because eventually the signal will degrade); you should be able to use a longer cable too, but you’ll need to experiment. Perfect if you want to put a camera on the roof when your Pi is in a bedroom, or if you need to put somewhere inaccessible to use as a camera trap, but want to be able to get to the Pi itself easily. We’re pretty sure a lot of you will find a use for this kit. You can buy your own for about £10 at Tindie. We love it. Simple and very, very useful. Thanks Petit Studio!

URL: https://www.raspberrypi.org/camera-board-extension/