Programmable Wildlife / Security / Timelapse Camera Projects with an ESP-32 CAM

This video describes the hardware and software code required to program an ESP32-CAM board to create a wide range of camera functionality:
- Create timelapse videos
- Trigger photographs to be taken with a switch, when movement is detected by a PIR sensor, or any other input
- Trigger a photograph to be taken when a HIGH signal is sent from an Arduino or other microprocessor
- Use onboard LED as a flash
- Save photos to onboard SD card, or send them as an email attachment
- Power the ESP-32 from a single 3.7V Li-Po battery pack
You can customise this code to make it suitable for, e.g. a wildlife camera, a security camera, or a camera triggered to take "reaction" shots in an Arduino-controlled escape room game. The ESP32 chip can be programmed using the familiar Arduino IDE, or whatever development environment you prefer. For full details of the functionality of the OV2640 camera sensor used in these boards, see the datasheet at www.uctronics.com/download/OV...
Timings
---
00:00:00-00:03:31 Introduction
00:03:32-00:04:44 Example Applications
00:04:45-00:12:31 Hardware: Camera, Aerial, External Programmer, Portable Battery Pack
00:12:32-00:18:05 Wiring diagram
00:18:06-01:09:43 Software Code in the Arduino IDE
01:09:44-01:11:37 Wrapup
Hardware Used
---
ESP32-CAM: www.banggood.com/custlink/33K...
ESP32-CAM programmer board: www.aliexpress.com/item/10050...
FTDI programmer: www.banggood.com/custlink/3KK...
AM312 PIR sensor: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202625567146
18650 Li-Po battery shield: www.banggood.com/custlink/mGD...
This video is made possible with the generoud support of my Patreon donors - thankyou! For more details of this, and all my escape room technology projects, see / playfultech

[@afyu]

I was impressed by the wide range of applications you covered, from wildlife monitoring to home security to timelapse photography. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise on this topic!

[@conorohagan9947]

Ive been trying to do a wildlife camera using other tutorials for so long before finding this one. Thank you so much!!!

[@markdog3355]

Thank you for the detailed video, and the comments in your programming. It's rare to find a programmer who takes the time to document what they have done. It's nice to see a tutorial that's actually a tutorial, rather then some undocumented code that was slapped together.

[@vinodrc5147]

Thank you sir for the detailed explanation. I was struggling around with these cam module to make it work. The way you explain the code is outstanding and gives a feel ease as a breeze(still i am trying :) ). Thanks again

[@kombicruiser2658]

Thanks Alistair, great instructional video. I have been using ESP32 cam boards for a while but your video helped me understand a lot more about the programming.

[@Ebue69]

Great video! If all tutorial were detailed like this huge respect and gratitude!

[@brianmarshall7214]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I must say your presentation style is really, really great mate, keep it up1

[@VidarrKerr]

I bought some of these back when they didn't even have firmware. This is a very good and very complete tutorial. Thank You.

[@PlayfulTechnology]

Glad I could help!

[@Tgspartnership]

thank you for such a clear walk-through! made it much easier to follow

[@beautifulsmall]

Made pressure plates from tin foil and holy newspaper as a kid, Escape room box , respect.FPC cable connectors are a lock puzzle to themselves. IPX connector is the same as uFL, I didnt know that before . An excellent reference, thank you for the detail. Beautiful walkthrough .These are amazing devices and only getting cheaper, its the programming of them thats up to us.

[@hariseldon2577]

Best and most complete explanation on t'internet.

[@i8BBQ4Lunch]

Outstanding presentation! Well done! 😀

[@iantcroft]

Thanks for the excellent video and especially talking through the code in detail, helps us less experienced ones learn. +1 for slightly more zoomed in screen though especially when watching from Mobile phone. Thanks again, looking forward to the next video 👍🏻

[@PlayfulTechnology]

Feedback noted - thankyou! Will increase magnification for the next one :)

[@uayewin4203]

@@PlayfulTechnology We re expecting to share the code as well :)

[@SMLP]

Great detail on the code has given me some great ideas. Thank you

[@nkronert]

For those who fast-forwarded through the video and missed this - when programming the device with the FTDI adapter, you have to connect GPIO 0 to ground during upload.

[@ZFit82]

You’re a good teacher.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Thanks heaps for making this video mate ! It's the mother lode for ESP-CAM info !

[@diyvideojunk2066]

An amazing amount of tech for just a few pounds/dollars ! Thanks for a very watchable video.

[@mcneill64]

Very thorough. Much appreciated.

[@mannhansen9337]

Thanks for sharing this interesting project. The presentation is very clear and understandable. Just one question. Would it be possible to integrate this camera with a SIM900 GSM board or other ? Then we can send pictures from remote places with no WiFi via MMS or GPRS. The GSM modules needs 2 pins, TX and RX for commands and data.

[@mandelbro777]

Great explanation. You're a legend.

[@mrfredcoco]

Hello, I’ve just found your video after ordering a couple of these from Amazon. Spot on video thank you. I intend to make a bird feeder cam and aim to send images from our home to my wife who is in hospital. Time lapse or trigger. Also streaming video sessions every now and again would be good. Thanks again.

[@womble321]

I got two from amazon, they work perfectly out doors but absolutely won't work in artificial light here in the UK. I'm very. Puzzled.

[@christopherdrumgoole8247]

What a great tutorial! Thank you!!

[@SteveTheWhite]

Sorry. I did find the Bangood device in the description. Thanks for being thorough!

[@slimplynth]

That zero ohm resistor has become the bane of my life.. a dip switch would be so much more user friendly..

[@largerification]

Imagine how many people will complain of no range etc... Might even blow the wifi circuitry if no antenna is mounted on the u.fl. So certainly not a stuff for a mortal, who is not versed in handling a soldering iron.

[@debarjo]

Oh bother! Why did they set it up like that? Lazy cost cutters!

[@akahige9626]

What a great video ! Thanks a lot for all the explanation ! I got an ESP-CAM to make timelapses for my 3D prints. Can I use the same program to store the pictures on the micro SD card and being able to monitore the printer on my PC or Smartphone at the same time ?

[@DinJaevel]

Hi, thanks for another really good tutorial. As I am quite new in this I would really like to know what the 2k resistor, on the signal lin from the PIR-sensor does? Is it to limit current to the base of the transistor? Or does it have any other function and how/why did you/Alastair choose the value? Very grateful for a short explanation!

[@wadegerten247]

Thanks again for the great vid! Any tips on designing this for temperatures that could reach -30 degrees Celsius? We’re building a snow sensor that will tell us how much snow has fallen during a storm.

[@GnobarEl]

Nice video! First time here but I already subscribed! How long can you run the ESP32-CAM with a battery?

[@ione7393]

Sir, thank you so much for the video, its really helping. There is just one problem, they keep saying that "Board at null is not available". May I know what to do about that? Thank you!

[@clivedouglas2950]

Hi Alistair Many thanks for this great ESP32 Cam tutorial, it's simply excellent. Even a buffoon like me has a pretty good chance of successfully working my way through it. I can't help wondering if there is a way to modify the code to allow access to download files directly from the SD card via WiFi, instead of receiving lots of emailed JPEGS As CAT5 network cable is cheap as chips, is it, hopefully, possible to use it to power the ESP32 Cam for a garden wildlife camera, that is permanently on with a few IR LED's for night vision. I am also curious if this current arrangement would work with the 5Mp OV5640 camera for better resolution pictures ? Available in the UK, £10 inc P&P

[@ScienceEtConscience]

Great tuto! Thanks.

[@SteveTheWhite]

Great video. Thanks! Where did you get the battery pack you showed in the video. I haven't seen anything like it.

[@I-0DjiNN89]

Hello! Great video. What about to make project of Autonomous alarm with gsm module (like sim800 or sim900 to send photos to email), pir sensor and powerbank?

[@varanasilalitha8600]

Nice article. Where can I buy the 3.7v module that holds the battery and steps it up to 5v

[@hoanghai5011]

Great. Thank you very much!

[@marioalbers887]

thank you for the detailed video about the esp32 ... i have the esp32cam board with the board attached to it like you show also i the video but how can i connect the pir to this version . there are no pin where i can connect the wire ..

[@MrJohnnyBenjamin]

Best Tutorial ever. Thank you for putting so much detail into the explanation, man! Just a simple question: Is there any way, to connect two cams via cable with each other? One is in standby mode ands works as a "slave", the other one has your code. Every time the "awake" cam makes a picture (motion triggered) the other one wakes up, takes a picture and goes to deep-sleep again? I only want to use one PIR-sensor and save as much batterie as possible (wildcam in the woods). So, how do they communicate and which pins are the best for out and in? I have never done any programming before...would be so nice if you or someone else here could help me out! Greetings from Germany!

[@Zaxxore]

Very usefull video for who whant to start to use ESP32-CAM like me. Do you think it would be possible to save photo in the cloud like on a Google drive ? Thanks for the video

[@miguipda]

Could you please tell us if your 18650 Li-Po battery shield here can be used to charge the 18650 battery with a solar panel in the same time it is used by the ESP32-CAM. It could then allow us to put a solar panel as a birdhouse roof and use this ESP32-CAM to always be powered as bird survey. But following you what must at least be the power of the used solar panel (in england) to be sure keeping this 18650 at least charged for the next day :-)

[@zozor45]

It works ! ;) Had to change the SMPT port from 25 to 587 (for outlook mail adress)

[@johnmartin6178]

I have just tried the ESP32Cam on the FTDI shield and with all port settings correct the PC does not see the ESP32Cam. I'm assuming that the shorting jumper for programming does need to be in place, but with the shield on you cannot do it?

[@fflynnful]

Can the ESP32-CAM be connected to RS-232 for programming? Thank you for this very informative video.

[@dimitriclaes7624]

Great video with good detailed comments in the code. Do you know if i'ts possible to save videocaptures from 10 or 30 seconds and save send them to a cloud drive? Is there a place where I can download the code used in the video. I just started to program in Arduino IDE Cheers!

[@josephusdy9726]

Hi. Can you take a picture and put a dynamic text overlay on the picture before saving the picture? I am using arduino programming. Thanks.

[@jameshodds8800]

I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the esp 32. I have a esp32 with header Board however I have installed the driver for a ch340c chip but my computer fails to detect a usb port. I have also tried to connect the other way using a FTDI programmer but it refuses to upload (unable to connect to header time out) Ive spent two days now and ready to move on to a Raspberry pi zero

[@sunilsemwal320]

Informative keep going

[@thisoldjeepcj5]

Looking through github and liking what I see. Well commented code. Thank you.

[@leojrgensen2819]

It is nice you spend so much time explaning the code, i would be very nice if you could use a larger font. 👍

[@PlayfulTechnology]

Oooh, thanks for the feedback - I'll try to remember that for next time :)

[@fouzaialaa7962]

amazing video , thankyou for your time any idea how to configure it to stream video ?

[@TheSlimbridge]

Excellent

[@smitachandak6000]

Great video brother can you make it for video recording ,live streaming,and taking photos pls

[@TOMTOM-nh3nl]

Thank You

[@MrJozza65]

That was really comprehensive, thanks for taking the time to explain all the code; I picked up a fair few ideas for how to use my ESP32-CAM that I recently bought. I'm not sure about moving the link to enable the external aerial though, that thing is tiny!

[@terryhayward7905]

The link is a zero ohm resistor, so you can just take that off and use a small solder blob to bridge the contacts.

[@markdog3355]

Look up marksbench, where he shows you how to repair the antenna, after the pad lifts when removing the 0 Ohm resistor, or the blob of solder gets everywhere. He removed the entire shield, but I just lifted one corner.

[@OnnieKoski]

How much delay is there between sending the trigger event and the picture actually being taken?

[@sebsalvarado]

Can it be set to take a short video instead of capturing multiple pictures?

[@ioanovidiuveres]

Hello. I want to know what is the RECORDING mode, if it detects movements of people and what is the duration of the recording?

[@paulpalmer2435]

Hi there and thank you for your bird cam video. i am new programming and have found this the best esp32 cam video so far. i was wondering is it possible to add a microphone and listen to the bird song live over the internet when you log in to look at the live video. Thank you again.

[@PlayfulTechnology]

That's a great question! I've never actually tried streaming audio alongside the video, but I'll definitely think about giving that a try in the future - cheers for the suggestion :)

[@hexadec]

Absolutely excellent instruction video! Thank-you. PS love the 'posh' accent. :-)

[@PlayfulTechnology]

Ha ha - I can't do anything about that I'm afraid!

[@anniboy90308]

This man is awesome, nicely explained videos, even a beginner can understand...but why so underrated ? 🙁

[@Anuitu2u]

view people interested in this kind of thing. more in T** T**

[@anniboy90308]

@@Anuitu2u wdym??

[@zozor45]

I'm just trying to use and older "ESP mail client.h" library (1.1.6 version precisely) as it's explained here and there... Hope it will work ! ;)

[@cbartley100]

Anyone else noticed that you are unable to load code if the SD card is plugged in - or is it just me ? For me when using the ESP-CAM and ESP-CAM MB (@10:20 in vid) combination will normally automatically load code after compilation BUT only if the SD card is not plugged in Not a big issue, just catches me out each time I come back to it to update code / change delay time

[@linharesking]

How to use the gpio 16 of the esp32 camera as output, if it is used in the PSRAM?

[@vidsava]

can you use smartphone camera module to work with this board?

[@superbenji007]

Hello, is it possible to contact you for making some smartwatches for my escaperoom? Just need a tool to send messages to the smartwatch.

[@thegudgeonlawrence3714]

hi when purchasing components for this project i.e Npn bc547 transistor there are different types i.e bc547B or bc547C does it matter which one I use, I just found your videos and they are great thank you.

[@paulbaker9879]

For most applications there are many substitutes for the BC547. 2N2222, 2N3904, PN100, 2N4401, BC337, etc.

[@thepvporg]

I'd like to know where you buy from because when I look, the prices you claim and quantities are just not there... Take the 433 RxTx build, cheapest I find is £9 and you get 2 or 3 only, transistors, bags of 5 for £3 and so on...

[@markmaker2488]

16:20 if you change the resistor coming from the pir sensor from 2k to 10k to the esp32 you won’t need the transistor

[@daves3819]

Assuming the camera is triggered by a positive (+) signal from the PIR sensor the 10k resistor should be tied to ground. Also, if the ESP digital input requires 3.3V then you should use a voltage divider. A 10K resistor in series with a 20k resistor then to ground with a tap between the two resistors going to the ESP input put. There is no need for a transistor since the ESP digital pins are voltage sense based and not current sense based.

[@dioclecianovasquez6227]

Hola, yo quisiera que el esp32 cam, comience a grabar video continuo en la SD, al momento de encender

[@sigitpratomo192]

what method in esp32 cam to detect face ?

[@levotube3440]

thank you for the excellent tutorial. it is a bit long but very helpful in troubleshooting. i noticed that the mail client only works up to version 1.6.4 for the sd card. the current version is 2.2.4 which unfortunately gives an error when accessing the sd card.

[@PlayfulTechnology]

If you let me know what the error is, I'll be able to tell you how to fix it.

[@levotube3440]

@@PlayfulTechnology Serial Debug with Ver. 1.6.4: Current time is Tuesday, May 31 2022 13:11:29 Starting SD Card Saved file to path: /pic247_20220531_131129.jpg Going to sleep now ets Jun 8 2016 00:22:57 Version 2.2.4.. updatet to 2.2.5 Current time is Tuesday, May 31 2022 14:36:14 Starting SD Card SD Card Mount Failed Going to sleep now from version 2.0.0 to 2.2.5 the SD card module does not work thank you

[@petrpetr1275]

Ahoj, pěkné video, ale mám problém s otočeným obrázkem o 90 stupňů a nemám tušení, jak obrázek otočit :-(. Bohužel nemohu otočit celý ESP32, musím otočit obrázek v prohlížeči.

[@StephDab]

The board you use to power the device with a 18650 lithium battery doesn't provide 3.3V but only 3.0V. Which is just enough to power the ESP32-S itself (the operating voltage of an ESP32-S is 3.0-3.6V according to datasheets). It's not a current issue, the board only drains few hundreds miliamps (around 400mA). But If you provide the ESP32-CAM with the 5V USB, the AMS1117 will provide 3.3V to the board only untill 1A (still according to datasheets, so it is really not a current issue). However, the voltage regulator chip has a 1V dropout, so It won't work properly if input voltage drop bellow 4.3V.

[@Zerpentsa6598]

Came across the lipo battery on a pcb long ago but can't find it again. Anyone can supply name or part no.? Much appreciated.

[@squeezer04]

Great discussion but Compilation error: 'ledcSetup' was not declared in this scope; did you mean 'ledc_stop'? Don't know why. Please help. Thanks

[@MisterkeTube]

Doesn't the PIR sensor just need a pull-up or pull-down on its data line (so without a transistor)? The wiring in of a transistor without suitable pull-up/down to me doesn't look like the good approach here, since the inputs of the ESP are normally high-impedance, not current-driven. Also, you did mention using 5v for the PIR, whereas the 5v tolerance of ESP32 GPIOs is a long-debated topic (but so far seems ok in most cases).

[@digihz_data]

The pir is powered by 5v yes,but it data out is only 3.3v when high,so no problem about connecting the data out from the pir sensor to an input pin on any esp32. I usually do use an external pull-down resistor of 10k between the data out pin from the pir sensor to ground.

[@Onlineshop806]

Should we add our house WiFi credentials to it

[@kimlenon301]

If I will capture a video and send it to my email, is that possible?

[@gorkemocmenn]

I seriously recommend hand moisturizer sir

[@luisbentancur699]

Que lastina no la veo funcionar con el censor me falta también el código

[@Francois_Dupont]

while using the most recent arduino IDE it seems your "'fs::FS& fs" is in invalid format or something. i know you have alot of people posting about problems, but if you have time here is mine: [Compilation error: 'fs::FS& fs' redeclared as different kind of symbol] ive been wanting to build a "trail camera" for a year now and i was finally able to make my ESP32-cam work this morning as a wifi webcam sort of thing. i am not looking into finnalizing the project. your code is the best one yet, but sadly the arduino IDE keep giving me this error so i cannot continue.

[@milesmoore5422]

What is a "TIC Quadran" ? (@ 3:09)

[@IronicoII]

Cam add face compare ? How ?

[@Manuqtix.Manuqtix]

It’s picture quality is like the selfy cam on most phones

[@ingmarm8858]

Still bent over laughing at the junk 9900mAh 18650 you are using. The ESP32 cams are quite useful. Cheers.

[@hexadec]

If anyone is having problems with the flash not working as I did, try moving the delay(250); statement to BEFORE the flash LED is turned on. I.E. before this statement (ledcWrite(7, flashPower);) I think the PWM module needs a bit of time to settle. I found that even 5mS worked but then we already have a 250mS delay immediately after the LED is turned on so I used that instead. To be clear: :-) // Use PWM channel 7 to control the white on-board LED (flash) connected to GPIO 4 ledcSetup(7, 5000, 8); ledcAttachPin(4, 7); delay(250); //moved otherwise LED doesn't flash! // Turn the LED on at specified power ledcWrite(7, flashPower); // Initialise the camera // Short pause helps to ensure the I2C interface has initialised properly before attempting to detect the camera //delay(250); //moved otherwise LED doesn't flash! esp_err_t err = esp_camera_init(&config);

[@PlayfulTechnology]

Thanks for providing the helpful advice! :)

[@RobertoGonzalez-ie9jj]

Great video, but I have a problem and I can't find the solution. I have an esp32-cam that if I feed it through an ftdi programmer works perfectly, but if I feed it through a usb to a computer or a mobile charger through the 5v pin…. It does not work…. any ideas?

[@alkhashtee]

Try to use different cable

[@barrydonaldson]

Great video!! Your code works fine EXCEPT I just can't get the SD Card to mount. I'm using a ESP32 Cam module with the development board which seems identical to the one you use, but no joy. I've tried searching the web for other pin parameters, but nothing... Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

[@digihz_data]

If you supply the code here, then someone might be able to help you. Otherwize you have to try yourself.

[@barrydonaldson]

@@digihz_data Hey Hans, I've boiled it down to just the lines I have the issue with. Any help would be appreciated... I'm using an ESP32-CAM & The board is set to an AI THINKER ESP32-CAM #include "ESP_Mail_Client.h" void setup() { Serial.begin(115200); Serial.println("Starting SD Card"); if (!MailClient.sdBegin(14, 2, 15, 13)) { Serial.println("SD Card Mount Failed"); } else { Serial.println("SD Card Mounted!!!"); } } // the loop function runs over and over again until power down or reset void loop() { }

[@digihz_data]

@@barrydonaldson sorry,I don't use mail client so I can't help you with that, but.....have you tried different version of the mail client library. I think I read somewhere here in this thread about people not getting some versions to work. So try an older or newer version and see if that helps.

[@apcomputerscienceprinciple170]

@@barrydonaldson i am also having problems with these lines of code. did you ever figure it out?

[@barrydonaldson]

@@apcomputerscienceprinciple170 never did...

[@zozor45]

Doesn't work for me... I wanted to send pictures by mail but as soon as you uncomment the line 52 (email option), an error is mentionned line 103. The error message says : "l'argument de type "uint32_t *" est incompatible avec le paramètre de type "const time_t *"C/C++(167)"... Any idea ?

[@the1spyderryder]

What about the code to make the ESP32 CAM work?

[@jerrynilsson6149]

Hello! So I'm stuck that the function Serial.println("Starting SD Card"); if(!MailClient.sdBegin(14, 2, 15, 13)) { Serial.println("SD Card Mount Failed"); sleep(); Does anyone know if pin 14, 2, 15, 13 can really be other pins? One would think that the ESP32 Cam board would be a uniform construction.

[@jerrynilsson6149]

Hello! I'm stuck and hope someone can help me. I manage to upload the code and press the reset button and start serial monitor. Text comes up but ends with Starting SD card, SD Card Mount Failed. What should I do to move on?

[@Francois_Dupont]

could you please add your completed .ino code in the description? i am very bad at programing arduino language and i very want to make a trail camera like you did.

[@PlayfulTechnology]

github.com/playfultechnology/esp32-cam

[@Francois_Dupont]

@@PlayfulTechnology Thank you!!

[@squeezer04]

Regarding my comment on ledcSetup not declared I discovered that it along with ledcAttachPin have been removed from the library. Both are combined with ledcAttach with the arguments, pin, frequency, and resolution.

[@AnthemRoninTherapy]

I’ve been through so many codes bro I don’t know what to do. I’ve watched so many videos. I’ve uploaded so many codes. None of them have got my ESP 32 cam module video. However, I have been able to show a text in HTML header so the Wi-Fi does work. I’m just having problems getting the video to work properly.

[@valkomosa229]

Where can I download the sketch?

[@zozor45]

IMPORTANT(line 121) create a problem with flash when ESPcam is awaken (dosn't flash at all !) : rtc_gpio_hold_en(GPIO_NUM_4); => I've suppressed this line too....

[@1larrydom1]

This was my first look at your channel. I have two of the same cam boards. I watched completely, then thought I'll use and modify the code you've written, but I cannot find it! Ugh. Am I missing it?? Otherwise, it's a wonderful walkthrough, so I'm not disappointed in any way with the episode, I just wish the code was available...

[@daveeaton6026]

github.com/playfultechnology/esp32-cam

[@shahoisam6124]

@@daveeaton6026 thix bro

[@shahoisam6124]

Thinks bro yuo are give me good info about esp32

[@hanbolee2749]

Where can i find the code for this project?

[@zgryx8428]

Hello sir, Thank you for the wonderful tutorial. May I request one thing? can you share your Arduino code regarding with the ESP32 camera module that will capture a photo triggered by Arduino nano? also if possible together with the wiring diagram and how you converted the 5v out from Arduino to 3.3v in of the ESP32 camera. Hope you notice my comment Thank you so much, I've just subscribed to your channel and looking forward for more amazing tutorials✨

[@PlayfulTechnology]

github.com/playfultechnology/esp32-cam

[@digihz_data]

Use a level shifter to convert from 5 to 3.3 volts or the other way around. Use a serial interface between the arduino and esp32-cam to control each other.

[@wadegerten247]

Wow great job on this video. Is it possible to send the device a wake up and start shooting message over the wifi connection? We’re building a snow cam and we only need photos during a storm.

[@digihz_data]

@@wadegerten247 Yes it is possible with the right coding.

[@ismail_aydemir_mylife]

Are you able to answer the questions?