low power MCU for MIPI camera

[MRknight]

I'm trying to find an ultra low power microcontroller that can talk directly to my MIPI camera sensor (OmniVision).
All the easy to find lowpower MCUs, like the STM32L4, only seem to have that older DVP parallel interface.

Does anyone know of a small, lowpower chip that has native MIPI support so I don't have to add a separate translation chip? I need that seamless, lowpower connection!

 

[Jax_]

hi @MRknight have you looked at anything from the ESP32 S3 line? I know it's not a traditional ultra low power chip, but its camera capabilities might be worth checking the power specs on

 

[Circuitsmith]

Cool, I messed around with the ESP32-S3 for a small project last year. I wanted to add a camera to a homemade monitor. It's not the most power-saving option out there, but it did what I needed it to do.

 

[spaghettiman]

you know, since you’re already using an OmniVision sensor, have you looked at their own OA8000 or OV798 processors?
they’re designed for battery powered cams and obviously play nice with MIPI

 

[Alan]

Good point, the OP should look into those and check them out. Appreciate the tip.

 

[CoolBrad2025]

I'm trying to find an ultra low power microcontroller that can talk directly to my MIPI camera sensor (OmniVision).
All the easy to find lowpower MCUs, like the STM32L4, only seem to have that older DVP parallel interface.

Does anyone know of a small, lowpower chip that has native MIPI support so I don't have to add a separate translation chip? I need that seamless, lowpower connection!

yeah. check out Himax, these chips are extremely tiny and low power, can be connected with OmniVision or similar sensors for computer vision tasks (like face detection) while drawing milliwatts