ESP32 Camera Viewer

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1. 01

   Power down and identify the ESP32-CAM pins

   Disconnect USB power. Use an AI Thinker ESP32-CAM with the OV2640 ribbon fully seated. This design uses its exposed microSD-header signals for the TFT, so leave the microSD socket empty.

   • Tip: The camera is built into the ESP32-CAM; it is not a separate wired module.
   • Tip: Use short jumper wires to reduce SPI display noise.

   • ⚠ Do not attach or use a microSD card: its bus is reassigned to the display.
   • ⚠ All ILI9341 signals must be 3.3 V logic. Do not use a 5 V-only TFT breakout.
2. 02

   Connect TFT power and ground

   Connect ILI9341 VCC to the ESP32-CAM 3.3V pin and ILI9341 GND to an ESP32-CAM GND pin. If the module has a separate LED/BL input, connect it to 3.3V, or ensure its backlight jumper is enabled.

   • Tip: A stable 5 V USB supply powering the ESP32-CAM is recommended because the camera and TFT together draw appreciable current.

   • ⚠ Never power the TFT logic from 5 V unless the particular module explicitly documents a regulator and 3.3 V level shifting.
3. 03

   Wire the shared SPI display bus

   Connect TFT MOSI to GPIO13, TFT SCK/CLK to GPIO14, and TFT MISO to GPIO12. MISO is included because the selected touchscreen breakout exposes it, although this camera viewer does not read touch input.

   • Tip: Match labels on the TFT carefully: MOSI may be called DIN, SDI, or SDA; SCK may be called CLK.
   • Tip: Keep these wires short, especially SCK.

   • ⚠ GPIO12 and GPIO15 are ESP32 boot-strapping pins. Do not add pull-up or pull-down resistors to them, and power the board only after checking all connections.
4. 04

   Wire the TFT control lines

   Connect TFT_CS to GPIO15, TFT_DC (sometimes labeled D/C or RS) to GPIO2, and TFT_RST/RESET to GPIO4. If the module includes touch pins, connect TOUCH_CS to GPIO1 only; leave TOUCH_IRQ disconnected. The firmware holds TOUCH_CS high so its controller remains inactive.

   • Tip: GPIO4 also controls the ESP32-CAM onboard flash LED; its brief reset-level changes are normal.
   • Tip: If your TFT has no touchscreen controller, leave its absent touch pins unconnected.

   • ⚠ GPIO1 is the ESP32-CAM serial TX pin. Avoid leaving a USB-to-serial adapter actively connected to this pin while the viewer is running, as it can interfere with the unused touch chip-select signal.
5. 05

   Check orientation, then power and deploy

   Place the camera so its view is unobstructed. Power the ESP32-CAM through its normal USB/programming arrangement, then use Schematik’s Deploy button. The display should first show a startup message, then a live 320×240 landscape camera image.

   • Tip: If the picture is rotated for your physical mounting, rotate the TFT or request a firmware orientation change.
   • Tip: If the display remains blank, recheck VCC/GND, CS, DC, RST, and the MOSI/SCK connections first.

   • ⚠ Do not unplug or rewire while power is applied.

#include <Arduino.h>
#include <SPI.h>
#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>
#include <Adafruit_ILI9341.h>
#include "esp_camera.h"

// ILI9341 write-only serial display on the ESP32-CAM microSD header pins.

// Forward declarations
void fatalScreen(const char *message);

constexpr int TFT_MOSI = 13;
constexpr int TFT_SCK = 14;
constexpr int TFT_CS = 15;
constexpr int TFT_DC = 2;
constexpr int TFT_RST = 4;

Adafruit_ILI9341 tft(TFT_CS, TFT_DC, TFT_RST);

// AI Thinker ESP32-CAM: OV2640 wiring is fixed on the board.
static camera_config_t cameraConfig = {
  .pin_pwdn = 32,
  .pin_reset = -1,
  .pin_xclk = 0,
  .pin_sccb_sda = 26,
  .pin_sccb_scl = 27,
  .pin_d7 = 35,
  .pin_d6 = 34,
  .pin_d5 = 39,
  .pin_d4 = 36,
  .pin_d3 = 21,
  .pin_d2 = 19,
  .pin_d1 = 18,
  .pin_d0 = 5,
  .pin_vsync = 25,
  .pin_href = 23,
  .pin_pclk = 22,
  .xclk_freq_hz = 20000000,
  .ledc_timer = LEDC_TIMER_0,
  .ledc_channel = LEDC_CHANNEL_0,
  .pixel_format = PIXFORMAT_RGB565,
  .frame_size = FRAMESIZE_QVGA,
  .jpeg_quality = 12,
  .fb_count = 1,
  .grab_mode = CAMERA_GRAB_LATEST,
  .fb_location = CAMERA_FB_IN_PSRAM
};

void fatalScreen(const char *message) {
  tft.fillScreen(ILI9341_BLACK);
  tft.setTextColor(ILI9341_RED);
  tft.setTextSize(2);
  tft.setCursor(8, 105);
  tft.println("Camera error");
  tft.setTextColor(ILI9341_WHITE);
  tft.setTextSize(1);
  tft.setCursor(8, 135);
  tft.println(message);
  while (true) {
    delay(1000);
  }
}

void setup() {
  SPI.begin(TFT_SCK, -1, TFT_MOSI, TFT_CS);
  tft.begin(27000000);
  tft.setRotation(1);  // 320 x 240 landscape
  tft.fillScreen(ILI9341_BLACK);
  tft.setTextColor(ILI9341_WHITE);
  tft.setTextSize(2);
  tft.setCursor(62, 108);
  tft.print("Starting camera...");

  if (!psramFound()) {
    fatalScreen("PSRAM was not detected.");
  }
  if (esp_camera_init(&cameraConfig) != ESP_OK) {
    fatalScreen("Check OV2640 ribbon cable.");
  }

  // The browser camera facade supplies placeholder frames and does not model
  // OV2640 sensor-register tuning. Keep the physical camera orientation setup.
#if defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32)
  sensor_t *sensor = esp_camera_sensor_get();
  sensor->set_vflip(sensor, 1);
  sensor->set_hmirror(sensor, 1);
#endif
  tft.fillScreen(ILI9341_BLACK);
}

void loop() {
  camera_fb_t *frame = esp_camera_fb_get();
  if (frame == nullptr) {
    delay(10);
    return;
  }

  // QVGA RGB565 exactly matches the TFT in landscape. Big-endian output
  // matches the OV2640 buffer order and avoids a slow per-pixel conversion.
  tft.startWrite();
  tft.setAddrWindow(0, 0, 320, 240);
  tft.writePixels(reinterpret_cast<uint16_t *>(frame->buf), 320UL * 240UL, true, true);
  tft.endWrite();
  esp_camera_fb_return(frame);
}

“Deploy to device” opens this project in Schematik, where you can flash it to your board over USB.