rpicam-still
Capture still images from Raspberry Pi camera
TLDR
Capture an image immediately (no preview)
$ rpicam-still -n -o path/to/file.jpg
Capture with different encoding format$ rpicam-still -e png -o path/to/file.png
Capture a raw image (DNG alongside JPEG)$ rpicam-still -r -o path/to/file.jpg
Capture with long exposure in microseconds$ rpicam-still --shutter 100000 -o path/to/file.jpg
Capture with specific dimensions$ rpicam-still --width 1920 --height 1080 -o path/to/file.jpg
Capture a timelapse (one image every 10 seconds for 10 minutes)$ rpicam-still -t 600000 --timelapse 10000 -o image%04d.jpg
SYNOPSIS
rpicam-still [options]
DESCRIPTION
rpicam-still captures photos with additional format options and features not available in rpicam-jpeg. It supports multiple output formats and raw sensor data capture.This tool provides more control over image capture than the simpler rpicam-jpeg.
PARAMETERS
-o, --output file
Output file path (use %d for timelapse numbering).-e, --encoding format
Output format (jpg, png, bmp, rgb, yuv420).-r, --raw
Also save raw Bayer sensor data as a DNG file.-n, --nopreview
Disable the preview window.-t, --timeout ms
Duration of preview before capture in milliseconds (default: 5000).--immediate
Skip the preview phase and capture immediately.--timelapse ms
Capture images every ms milliseconds until timeout.--width px, --height px
Output image dimensions.-q, --quality 0-100
JPEG compression quality.--shutter microseconds
Manual exposure time.--gain value
Analog gain (ISO multiplier).--awb mode
Auto white balance mode (auto, incandescent, tungsten, fluorescent, indoor, daylight, cloudy).
CAVEATS
Raw images include DNG data alongside the main image. Some formats produce larger files than JPEG.
HISTORY
Part of rpicam-apps, the official Raspberry Pi camera application suite using libcamera. Replaces legacy raspistill.
SEE ALSO
rpicam-jpeg(1), rpicam-hello(1), rpicam-vid(1)
