OctoCam - Pi Zero W Project Kit
PIM286
A cute, connected, cephalopod camera to stick on your
window or sit on your shelf!
The OctoCam kit has everything* you'll need, including a Pi Zero W, a super-small 5MP
camera, a fun octopus acrylic mount with four suction cups, and a desk stand. It'll take you
around 30 minutes to put it all together (check out our assembly guide for details).
The MagPi said
"with its compact dimensions and fun design, the OctoCam is very appealing",
in their four star review.
Note
that connecting your OctoCam running motionEyeOS to Wi-Fi requires a bit of extra
configuration, but we have full details in our tutorial on setting up motionEyeOS.
Kit contents*
Pi Zero W
5MP camera with built‐in cable and circuitry
OctoCam acrylic mount, suction cups, desk stand
50cm USB A to micro‐B cable
USB A (female) to micro B (male) adaptor
Mini to full‐size HDMI adaptor
Male 2x20 pin header
Sticker sheet
Comes in a reusable kit box
*Just add your own micro-SD card
OctoCam uses our neat little Pi Zero camera; the most compact way to add a camera to your Pi.
It uses the same 5MP sensor as the original Pi camera, so it works out of the box with your Pi, in
the same way as the official Pi cameras. The cable and circuitry is all built-in, meaning that
connecting it is as simple as plugging in the ribbon cable to the connector on your Pi Zero W.
This kit takes advantage of the built-in wireless LAN and Bluetooth on the Pi Zero W, meaning
that there's no longer any need for a USB Wi-Fi dongle.
OctoCam is perfect for setting up a compact CCTV camera in your house, or for recording time
lapses. Stick it to your kitchen window and keep an eye on your bird feeder or nesting box. Keep
tabs on your cat or dog while you're out of the house, or use it to track the growth of your
houseplants!
Software
We love the motionEyeOS software, which makes it simple to set up your OctoCam as a remote
camera that you can monitor through any connected web browser. It has all sorts of bells and
whistles to trigger photos and videos to be captured when motion is detected, build time lapses,
send notifications or tweets, and automatically sync. images to Dropbox or Google Drive.
Notes
Assembled size (not including suction cups or desk stand) of OctoCam is
80x73.5x14mm (HxWxD).
Assembling Octocam
This tutorial will guide you through how to assemble your OctoCam kit. Octocam is the cutest way to set up a
tiny motion-activated security camera, a baby monitor, or timelapse rig.
The on-board wireless LAN and Bluetooth on the Pi Zero W mean that it's possible to monitor your OctoCam
remotely, or have it send images or animated GIFs to Twitter periodically.
The guide will show you how to attach the camera to your Pi Zero W, assemble the OctoCam camera mount,
and how to attach the optional desk stand.
It should less than 30 minutes to assemble everything.
Preparing the OctoCam mount
You should have the following pieces:
red, etched acrylic OctoCam mount
clear acrylic desk stand
4x clear suckers
4x M2.5 white nylon bolts
8x M2.5 white nylon nuts
4x M2.5 white nylon spacers
small rubber foot
Let's start by taking the red OctoCam mount, the four bolts and four of the nuts. Push each of the four bolts
through the circular holes at the top and bottom of the mount, from the front.
Now, flip the whole thing over and place face down on your desk/table so that the ends of the bolts are sticking
upwards and use the four nuts to secure the bolts at the back.
Take the four spacers and slip them onto each of the four bolts. They will space the camera just the right
distance away from the Pi Zero W, and the rubber foot (that we'll add later) will prevent too much heat from
radiating from the Pi Zero W's CPU to the camera.
Connecting the camera and mounting it
Take your camera and Pi Zero W and place both face up (with the USB connectors on the Pi Zero W facing
upwards, and the camera lens also facing upwards) on your desk.
Gently
pull the camera connector clip out on either side. It's fairly easy to pull the clip right off, irreparably
damaging it in the process, so be really careful.
DIY/开源硬件专区
