Getting Started with ESP32 CAM Board & Video Streaming Over WiFi

Overview
This is a
Getting Started Tutorial with ESP32 CAM Board
as well as
Video Streaming
Over
WiFi
. The ESP32-CAM is a small camera module with the
ESP32-S chip
that costs approximately
$10
. Besides the
OV2640 camera
and several GPIOs to connect peripherals, it also features a
microSD card
slot that can be useful to
store images
taken with the camera.
In this tutorial, we will go through its
features
pins description
, and the method to program this device using FTDI Module. Also, we will see the beginner guide on setting up
Arduino IDE
for the ESP32 Camera Module. We will then use the ESP32 CAM basic example code for
Video Streaming Over Wifi
A powerful alternative to ESP32-CAM is
Realtek AMB82-Mini IoT AI Camera Board
which is fast reliable and secure.
The
ESP32 CAM Getting Started Tutorial
is very important because we will be doing so many projects using this Module. The project includes Streaming Live Video Online Worldwide, Smart Door Bell or Surveillance cameras. Apart from these, we can also make
Face Recognition System
based projects for Security Applications as well as
Color Detection
Project using OpenCV.
Bill of Materials
Following are the list of components for Getting Started with ESP32 CAM Board. You can purchase all the components online from Amazon.
S.N.
Components
Quantity
Purchase Links

ESP32-CAM Board AI-Thinker

Amazon
AliExpress

FTDI Module

Amazon
AliExpress

Micro-USB Cable

Amazon
AliExpress

Jumper Wires

Amazon
AliExpress
Introducing the ESP32-CAM
The ESP32-CAM is a very small camera module with the
ESP32-S chip
. The module has an
OV2640 camera
. It also has several
GPIOs
to connect peripherals. The ESP32-CAM module is developed by so many manufacturers but the board developed by
AI-Thinker
is the most popular one.
The controller is based on a
32-bit CPU
with a
frequency
of up to
240MHz
. It has a built-in
520 KB SRAM
with an external
4M PSRAM
. It has a combined
802.11b/g/n
Wi-Fi + Bluetooth/BLE
SoC module. It supports image
WiFI upload
and Embedded Lwip and
FreeRTOS
. There is an onboard
voltage regulator
IC and a PSRAM Chip.
The board has a single
reset button
and is breadboard friendly. But if you place the Module on the breadboard, you won’t have access to the Reset button as it’s placed at the bottom. So, it is recommended to use
jumper wires
while connecting any sensors or modules with the Board. There is an
LED
on the board that can be used as an indication.
This module has already an
antenna
attached. But if you want to use an
external antenna
of better power and better range, you can connect an antenna to the
IPEX connector
. To use that antenna, you need to connect a jumper or a
zero-ohm resistor
on the PCB near the Antenna.
OV2460 Camera
The most important part of ESP32 CAM is the
Camera Module
. The Camera Module that you can use is the
OV2640
Camera
Module which has a
24 Pin Camera Holder
. It has the highest
Camera Resolution
up to
1600 × 1200
There is a
gold-plated connector strip
. Using this connector, you can connect this camera with the ESP32. To connect it, push this slide in opposite direction. And then you will see the pins for connecting the camera. Simply insert the camera marked with a gold plate at the bottom side and then pull this slide. Now the Camera is connected to this module. You are now ready to use this module.
SD Card Support
On the backside, there is an
SD Card Holder
which supports SD Card up to
4GB
. But I found even a 16GB SD Card working fine with this module.
The SD card is used for storing images while making images based projects. For learning, you can use a 4GB SD Card. You can simply slide and insert the SD Card into the SD Card Adapter.
ESP32 CAM GPIO Pins
There are several
GPIOs Pins
that have support like
UART, SPI, I2C, PWM, ADC,
and
DAC
. You can get a
3.3V VCC
pin as well as a
5V
Pin from this module. There are multiple
GND
Pins as well.
The following pins are internally connected to the microSD card reader:
GPIO 14
: CLK
GPIO 15
: CMD
GPIO 2
: Data 0
GPIO 4
: Data 1 (also connected to the on-board LED)
GPIO 12
: Data 2
GPIO 13
: Data 3
ESP32-CAM FTDI Connection
For programming the board, you need any
USB-to-TTL Converter Module
or an
FTDI
Module. There are so many FTDI Module available based on
CP2102
or
CP2104
Chip or any other chip.
For getting started with ESP32 CAM Module, make a following
connection between FTDI Module and ESP32 CAM
module.
ESP32-CAM
FTDI Programmer
GND
GND
5V
VCC (5V)
U0R
TX
U0T
RX
GPIO 0
GND
Connect the
5V
&
GND
Pin of ESP32 to 5V & GND of FTDI Module. Similarly, connect the
Rx
to
UOT
and
Tx
to
UOR
Pin. And the most important thing, you need to short the
IO0
and
GND
Pin together. This is to put the device in
programming mode
. Once programming is done you can remove it.
Project PCB Gerber File & PCB Ordering Online
If you don’t want to assemble the circuit on a breadboard and you want PCB for the project, then here is the PCB for you. The PCB Board for ESP32 CAM Board is designed using
EasyEDA
online Circuit Schematics & PCB designing tool. The PCB looks something like below.
The Gerber File for the PCB is given below. You can simply download the Gerber File and order the PCB from
ALLPCB
at
1$
only.
Download Gerber File:
ESP32-CAM Multipurpose PCB
You can use this Gerber file to order high quality PCB for this project. To do that visit the
ALLPCB
official website by clicking here:
https://www.allpcb.com/
You can now upload the Gerber File by choosing the Quote Now option. From these options, you can choose the Material Type, Dimensions, Quantity, Thickness, Solder Mask Color and other required parameters.
After filling all details, select your country and shipping method. Finally you can place the order.
You can assemble the components on the PCB Board.
Setting Up ESP32 CAM Board on Arduino IDE
Now, let’s start the
ESP32 CAM programming
part. For that, open your Arduino IDE. Go to
tools
. Then select the
ESP32
Board. And from the list select
AI-Thinker ESP32-CAM
Then connect the FTDI Module to your Computer and select the
COM Port
Source Code & Getting Started with ESP32 CAM
Go to the
files
menu and then select
examples
. From the examples menu, select the
ESP32
and then
Camera
. Then finally open the
CameraWebServer
Sketch.
So this the example code for
Basic Video Streaming
. The code is very complicated and has so many files.
You need to modify this code a little bit. Select the Camera Module by uncommenting the model that you are using. If you are using AI-Thinker Board uncomment the AI-Thinker Part and comment rest of the part.

//#define CAMERA_MODEL_WROVER_KIT // Has PSRAM
//#define CAMERA_MODEL_ESP_EYE // Has PSRAM
//#define CAMERA_MODEL_M5STACK_PSRAM // Has PSRAM
//#define CAMERA_MODEL_M5STACK_V2_PSRAM // M5Camera version B Has PSRAM
//#define CAMERA_MODEL_M5STACK_WIDE // Has PSRAM
//#define CAMERA_MODEL_M5STACK_ESP32CAM // No PSRAM
#define CAMERA_MODEL_AI_THINKER // Has PSRAM
//#define CAMERA_MODEL_TTGO_T_JOURNAL // No PSRAM
You also need to change your
WiFi SSID
and
Password

const
char
*
ssid
=
"*********"
;
const
char
*
password
=
"*********"
;
Now you can upload the code. The code will take more than a minute to
compile
and
upload
ESP32 CAM Video Streaming Over WiFi
Once code uploads completely, you can open the
Serial Monitor
. At this instance, if you press the reset button the Serial Monitor will show the device is in downloading mode.
To disable the downloading mode, remove the IO0 GND Jumper from the ESP32 CAM Module. Now again press the
reset
button. So the device will try connecting to the
WiFi Network
. Once the device connects to the WiFi, it will display its local
IP Address
Copy this IP Address Link and paste it on your favorite web browsers like Chrome or Mozilla.
So the web page will appear with all the camera settings on the left side. You can go through each setting manually.
At the bott