Hi folks!

We've got some exciting news!

OpenMV Cam H7 Update

Okay, first for the OpenMV Cam H7 we completed a new sensor board for the MT9M114 and a high performance software driver control it. The new sensor offers much improved image quality compared to the OV7725 along with a higher resolution. We've also changed the lens from 2.8mm to 2.1mm to keep the field of view the same as original OpenMV Cam H7. The sensor FPS hits about 80 in bright environments and 40 in dark rooms. Higher frame rates up to 120 FPS can be unlocked by setting the readout window (but, this crops the field-of-view).

It was MUCH easier to write the driver for this sensor compared to the OV5640 as we had access to extensive documentation from OnSemi along with a much improved camera sensor driver that's able to handle the data bandwidth and line rate of the sensor with full processor offload. The MT9M114 like the OV5640 has a databus that runs at 80 MHz which is the maximum limit of the STM32H7's DCMI hardware and stresses the STM32H7's memory architecture.

Anyway, production is unblocked for the OpenMV Cam H7. We will be building 3240 units. However, about 2176 have already sold. We will only have about 1K units left in general inventory for folks to buy.

However our manufacture managed to secure parts to produce another 2160 OpenMV Cam H7 units last year in anticipation of the chip shortage.

So:

• If you are interested in buying OpenMV Cam H7 units please send us an email now to pre-order stock if you need to buy 100+ units. For the remaining 2176 units we need to produce we will not be able to ship them to customers except in bulk of 100+ units.
• We do not have access to anymore STM32H743VIT6 chips and have no idea on when we can produce anymore OpenMV Cam H7 units after the above stock runs out. If you want the OpenMV Cam H7 you should pre-order now. Once the above sellout we will not likely re-stock until the chip shortage eases.

The new system will be called the OpenMV Cam H7 R2. We will have the product updated on the website shortly. Right now the OpenMV Cam H7 product itself can be pre-ordered which will be switched to the R2. To avoid any functional surprises only the camera module was changed. The base board remains the same.

OpenMV Cam H7 Plus Update

For the H7 Plus we were promised 6K STM32H743II chips in June. These orders have fallen through. Given this, we hope to receive 2K more chips from another distributor in October.

So... the H7 Plus is going to remain out of stock. Note that 600 units of the above 2K have already sold. If you are interested in pre-ordering the H7 plus you should do so now to lock yourself in-line for the 2K supply of chips we hope to receive.

OpenMV Cam H7 Plus Alt

We tried to purchase different packages of the STM32H7 chip to keep producing the OpenMV Cam H7 Plus. However, while we placed a complete down payment on 1K chips with a different package for delivery in June... our order was cancelled and moved to a delivery date next year in 2022. So, I repeat that the above 2K we hope to receive in October is all that we will receive. If you go onto FindChips and search for the STM32H743 everything is out of stock of all packages.

Firmware Update

Firmware v4.0.2 has now been pushed to the IDE for download! Full MDMA offload support with 0% processor overhead is now working on all H7 based OpenMV Cams. With firmware 4.0.2 you get the benefits of triple buffering in the camera driver along with MDMA doing all the work receiving the frame.

Additionally, we finally added frame rate control via set_framerate(). Now if you want to set the camera FPS to exactly 30 Hz you can. The feature works by selectively dropping frames in the camera driver. And if possible, it will also adjust the camera sensor FPS to save power and improve image quality by increasing the exposure.

IDE Update

We've been trying to release a new version of OpenMV IDE with support for non-stm32 based microcontrollers. Our focus will be on this now. Also! Tabs are coming to OpenMV IDE! Along with a lot of other new features. We're going to focus on trying to get an IDE release out in the next couple of weeks followed by a second release with a lot of new editing features like split panel text editors and code minimap support.

Anyway, that's all folks! And... please pre-order the OpenMV Cam H7 or send us your bulk purchase order requests via email. We do not have a timeline for more stock once the above units run out - which can happen quickly. Our store was mobbed back in March with customers buying up everything.