Raspberry Pi Announces Picamera2 Library Preview Release, for Python Camera Handling in Bullseye
Now available to install, but without video support, this library preview gets your Camera Module working in Python under Bullseye.
Raspberry Pi has announced a preview release for Picamera2, designed to replace the now deprecated Picamera library which was dropped with the release of Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye late last year.
Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye, based on the Debian release of the same name, launched in November last year with a range of improvements over its Buster predecessor — including a speed boost for compatible Raspberry Pi 4 models, jumping the default clock speed from 1.5GHz to 1.8GHz to match the Raspberry Pi 400.
It also brought with it the deprecation of the old software stack for the Raspberry Pi Camera Module family, including the Picamera Python library — a decision which didn't sit well with all, particularly as no replacement Python library was made available at launch, with Raspberry Pi releasing a legacy OS build to support those whose projects were incompatible with Bullseye as a result.
The lack of Python library for camera handling is an issue that has now been addressed, at least in preview form. "The original Picamera library was third-party software, developed by Dave Jones and not worked on by us here at Raspberry Pi," explains Raspberry Pi's David Plowman of the new software.
"However, the library proved immensely popular with our users, so we’ve undertaken to provide a replacement. Imaginatively named Picamera2, the new library is being developed in-house here in Cambridge by Raspberry Pi, and will eventually be an officially supported package."
"Eventually," mark you, as today's announcement is of a preview release — albeit one which supports a variety of still-image capture features. What it doesn't support, yet, is video recording — something Plowman says "probably remains 'a few weeks' away."
Installation, too, isn't straightforward at present: Picamera2 has yet to be released as a Debian package for installation via the Raspberry Pi OS package manager, and requires manual compilation from the source code published to GitHub under the permissive BSD 2-clause license.
Those interested in trying it out — and who have noted the warnings that "there will be bugs and problems" in the process — can find installation instructions on the project's GitHub repository. More information is available on the Raspberry Pi blog.