ESP32-S3-EYE sleep mode with OV5640 camera

[DaveDC]

Hi Espressif Community:

I am looking at the power consumption of the Espressif ESP32-S3-EYE development board when using a 5MP OV5640 camera module. Please refer to the OV6540 Camera Module Hardware Application Note here:

http://ica123.com/wp-content/uploads/20 ... %86%8C.pdf

According to the section 4.2 of this App note, it is not possible to put the camera into low-power mode with DOVDD = 2.8V as it is on the ESP32-S3-EYE development board. Also, it appears that the latest version of the Espressif ESP32-camera driver software does not set the System Control Register "SC PWC" (address 0x3031) to the value of 0x04 which is necessary to disable the OV5640's internal voltage regulator and allow the ESP32-S3-EYE's 1.5V regulator to power the camera core. Setting this bit correctly will reduce the camera power dissipation. Please consider an update to the ESP32-camera driver that allows control of this register.

This register information can be found in Table 7.1 of the OV5640 datasheet here:

https://cdn.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sen ... asheet.pdf

Please consider a future update to the ESP32-S3-EYE board to allow the camera voltage regulator ENABLE pins U7.3 and U8.3 to be controlled by software instead of being tied to VDD_3V3. This would allow the camera be disabled entirely, extending battery life significantly.

Thanks!
DaveC