Camera Settings & Tuning

Detailed guide to rpicam-still options and Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 tuning.

Overview

See Understanding Profiles & Configuration - Camera Section for the complete reference.

Common settings:

[profiles.my-printer.camera.rpicam]
# Resolution (1920x1080 recommended for fast timelapse)
width = 1920
height = 1080

# Orientation
rotation = 0            # 0, 90, 180, 270
hflip = false           # Flip horizontally
vflip = false           # Flip vertically

# Focus (Module 3)
autofocus_mode = "auto" # auto, manual, continuous
lens_position = 2.0     # 0.0 (infinity) to ~32 (close); manual mode only

# Exposure & Color
awb = "daylight"        # White balance
ev = 0                  # Exposure (-10 to +10)
saturation = 1.0        # Color intensity (0.0-2.0)
contrast = 1.0          # Contrast (0.0-2.0)
brightness = 0.0        # Brightness (-1.0 to 1.0)
sharpness = 0.5         # Detail/clarity (0.0-2.0)

# Noise & Advanced
denoise = "cdn_hq"      # off, cdn_off, cdn_fast, cdn_hq
metering = "centre"     # centre, spot, matrix, custom
quality = 93            # JPEG quality (0-100)

Interactive Tuning

Use the interactive tuning menu to dial in your settings!

bbl-shutter-cam tune --profile my-printer

The tuning interface lets you:

  • 📸 Take test photos with current settings
  • ⚙ī¸ Adjust parameters interactively (no config file editing)
  • 💾 Save settings directly to your profile
  • ↩ī¸ Rollback to original settings if needed
  • 🔍 Perfect for SSH/headless - no GUI required!

Tuning Workflow

  1. Start tuning: 
    bbl-shutter-cam tune --profile my-printer
  2. Adjust settings through the interactive menu:
    • Orientation (rotation, flips)
    • Focus (AF mode, lens position)
    • Exposure & Color (EV, AWB, saturation, etc.)
    • Advanced (denoise, metering, quality, shutter, gain)

  3. Take test photos (saved to ~/captures/<profile>/tune/)

  4. View photos via SFTP/SCP: 
    scp pi@pi5.local:~/captures/my-printer/tune/*.jpg .
  5. Save when satisfied, or rollback to start over

Module 3 Specific Optimizations

Low Light (NOIR Camera in Dark Enclosures) 

awb = "auto"
ev = 2                  # Increase brightness
saturation = 1.0
iso = 200              # Higher sensitivity
denoise = "hq"         # Reduce noise

Bright Enclosures with Warm Lighting 

awb = "tungsten"       # Adapt to warm lights
ev = -1                # Reduce blown highlights
saturation = 0.9       # Slightly muted

Camera Parameter Reference