The Raspberry Pi Zero mini PC is getting a hardware upgrade that includes a camera connector. It will add camera functionality to the $5 CPU and include a 6-inch adapter cable to make the camera-to-board connection. The Pi Zero is 2.5 inches long and a little more than one inch wide.
Raspberry Pi Foundation founder Eban Upton shared that the camera connector was the new feature for Zero with the biggest demand, according to PCWorld. Upton said on a blog post on May 16, Monday the flat flexible connector (FPC) fits onto the right side of the credit card-sized board.
Upton shared that the foundation was flabbergasted by the high demand for the tiny computer. He also claimed it was "dumb luck" that allowed the foundation to add a camera connector.
The organization used the fine-pitched port on the Compute Module development kit, according to PC Magazine. Its original function was to connect the Raspberry Pi to different form factors.
The camera module is sold separately. It has a 5-megapixel camera that supports 1080-pixel video recording and image capture. Applications include as a home security system.
He reported that that Zero quickly sold out when it was rolled out last November. In addition, all copies of issue 40 of the Foundation's magazine "MagPi" sold out. The reason is that each copy included a free Pi Zero.
Raspberry claims Pi Zero is 40 percent faster than the company's Raspberry Pi 1. It has 512MB of SDRAM, micro-SD card slot, and Micro-USB sockets for both data and power.
The foundation had to stop production of Zero while it focused on the Raspberry Pi 3 release in February. That gave the Raspberry Pi team some time to figure out how to add the camera connector to the mini computer.
Upton noted that about 30,000 Pi Zero v1.3 units are available globally. The foundation will produce thousands more of the units until demand starts to drop.
Pi Zero is available in the United States at Adafruit and Micro Center. However, the in-store availability at both distributors is very limited. It is sold out at Adafruit, and Micro Center seems to be selling the non-camera enabled version.