IMX219 — 8MP CMOS Image Sensor (Raspberry Pi Camera v2)

Overview

The IMX219 (specifically the IMX219PQ) is a $1/4\text{"}$ 8.08-megapixel back-illuminated stacked CMOS image sensor manufactured by Sony. Equipped with Exmor R technology, a $1.12\ \mu\text{m} \times 1.12\ \mu\text{m}$ square pixel array, an internal 10-bit A/D converter, and a 2-lane MIPI CSI-2 high-speed serial output interface, it powers the official Raspberry Pi Camera Module v2.

Capable of capturing full-resolution $3280 \times 2464$ pixel still images and streaming 1080p30, 720p60, or 640x480p90 video, the IMX219 is widely used in Raspberry Pi and NVIDIA Jetson computer vision pipelines (OpenCV, OpenCV-CUDA, picamera2, libcamera), AI object detection, and robotics vision.

Quick reference


Optical format	1/4-inch ( $3.674\text{ mm} \times 2.760\text{ mm}$ active area)
Active pixel array	$3280 \text{ (H)} \times 2464 \text{ (V)}$ (~8.08 Megapixels)
Pixel size	$1.12\ \mu\text{m} \times 1.12\ \mu\text{m}$
Color filter array	Bayer RGB pattern
Output interface	2-Lane MIPI CSI-2 (up to 755 Mbps per lane)
Control interface	$I^2C$ CCI control bus (`0x10`)
Video modes	1080p30, 720p60, 640x480p90
Connector	15-pin 1.0 mm pitch FPC ribbon cable (standard Pi CSI connector)

Connector Pinout (Raspberry Pi 15-Pin CSI Ribbon)

text

        Pin 1 (GND) ────────────────────── Pin 15 (GND)
        [ 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ]

Pin	Name	Type	Description
1	`GND`	Power	Ground reference (0 V)
2	`CAM_D0_N`	MIPI Output	MIPI CSI Data Lane 0 (-)
3	`CAM_D0_P`	MIPI Output	MIPI CSI Data Lane 0 (+)
4	`GND`	Power	Ground
5	`CAM_D1_N`	MIPI Output	MIPI CSI Data Lane 1 (-)
6	`CAM_D1_P`	MIPI Output	MIPI CSI Data Lane 1 (+)
7	`GND`	Power	Ground
8	`CAM_CLK_N`	MIPI Output	MIPI CSI Clock Lane (-)
9	`CAM_CLK_P`	MIPI Output	MIPI CSI Clock Lane (+)
10	`GND`	Power	Ground
11	`CAM_GPIO` / `SHUTDOWN`	Digital Input	Camera enable / LED control
21	`SCL`	Digital Input	$I^2C$ Clock
13	`SDA`	Digital Input / Output	$I^2C$ Data
14	`3V3`	Power	+3.3 V Power supply
15	`GND`	Power	Ground

Specifications

Parameter	Symbol	Min	Typ	Max	Unit	Conditions
Analog Supply Voltage	$V_{ANA}$	2.6	2.8	3.0	V	Sensor analog core
Digital Supply Voltage	$V_{DIG}$	1.1	1.2	1.3	V	Sensor digital core
I/O Supply Voltage	$V_{IO}$	1.7	1.8	1.9	V	Interface logic
Max Frame Rate (8MP)	$FPS_{8M}$	—	30	30	fps	$3280 \times 2464$ full resolution
Max Frame Rate (1080p)	$FPS_{1080p}$	—	47	60	fps	$1920 \times 1080$ cropped
Max Frame Rate (720p)	$FPS_{720p}$	—	90	90	fps	$1280 \times 720$ binned
Sensitivity	$S_{sens}$	—	214	—	mV/lux-sec	Green channel
Dynamic Range	$DR$	—	67	—	dB	Max dynamic range

Supported Video Modes

Mode	Resolution	Aspect Ratio	Max Frame Rate	FOV	Binning / Cropping
0	$3280 \times 2464$	4:3	30 fps	Full	None (Full sensor array)
1	$1920 \times 1080$	16:9	30 / 60 fps	Partial	Partial crop ( $1080\text{p}$ )
2	$1280 \times 720$	16:9	60 / 90 fps	Partial	$2 \times 2$ binning
3	$640 \times 480$	4:3	90 fps	Partial	$4 \times 4$ binning

Wiring

The IMX219 camera module connects directly to the 15-pin MIPI CSI-2 connector on Raspberry Pi single-board computers via a flexible flat cable (FFC):

Orient the cable so the blue plastic stiffener faces away from the Ethernet / USB ports (contacts facing towards the HDMI port) on standard Pi 4 boards.
Push the collar latch down firmly to secure the ribbon cable.

Example (Python `libcamera` / `picamera2` on Raspberry Pi OS)

python

from picamera2 import Picamera2
import time

picam2 = Picamera2()

# Configure for 1920x1080 30fps stream
camera_config = picam2.create_preview_configuration(main={"size": (1920, 1080)})
picam2.configure(camera_config)

picam2.start()
print("Streaming video... capturing image in 2 seconds.")
time.sleep(2)

picam2.capture_file("test_image.jpg")
print("Image saved to test_image.jpg")

picam2.stop()

Common mistakes

Inserting FFC ribbon cable backwards: Connecting the ribbon cable with contacts facing the wrong side results in camera detection failure (No camera detected).
Attempting to interface via GPIO SPI pins: The IMX219 outputs raw MIPI CSI-2 differential signals (up to 755 Mbps). It cannot be connected to standard SPI GPIO pins or 8-bit microcontrollers (Arduino).

Notes

IMX219 vs OV5647 vs IMX477: OV5647 was the original 5MP Camera v1; IMX219 is the 8MP Camera v2; IMX477 is the 12.3MP High Quality Camera featuring interchangeable C/CS mount lenses.

Interface	MIPI CSI-2, I2C Control (CCI)
Package	Camera Module PCB (15-pin FPC Ribbon Cable)