Raspberry Pi’s Nifty New Camera Is Built to Capture Rapid Motion Footage

The Raspberry Pi Foundation just announced a new camera, showing that the company makes more than just small single-board computers. 

The Global Shutter Camera is designed to capture high-motion footage without any noticeable artifacts. The company says this makes it a great fit for sports photography, wildlife photography, and multiple industrial applications, among other tasks. This is also just a decent camera with a good sensor, so it is appropriate for everyday use. 

Fast motion is always tricky for standard cameras, as the footage starts to degrade with the introduction of visual artifacts when the shutter opens and closes. Even if these artifacts are not noticeable by the human eye, they could muck up the post-processing phase later on via apps and photo-editing programs. 

The Global Shutter Camera gets around this issue by affixing a sensor to the shutter that detects fast motion, downsampling the images to reduce or even eliminate visual artifacts. The end result? Perfectly useable footage of unique scenarios like guitar strings vibrating after being plucked. 

Beyond the shutter tech, the Global Shutter Camera is equipped with a Sony IMX296 sensor, high-grade mount-ready metalwork, and boasts compatibility with a wide variety of camera lenses available via Raspberry Pi or through approved resellers. 

The camera easily integrates with any Raspberry Pi system that has a CSI connector. You will have to update the OS, however, to access advanced features. The Global Shutter Camera costs $50 and is available right now.