MIPI CSI-2 Driver - Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi 5 – MIPI CSI-2 Driver Operation

The Raspberry Pi 5 (BCM2712) integrates two MIPI CSI-2 D-PHY receiver ports, each supporting up to 4 data lanes at up to 2.0 Gbps per lane. Both ports can be used simultaneously for dual-camera configurations. Sensor drivers are implemented as standard V4L2 sub-devices registered via the async sub-device framework. Device-tree nodes define the CSI-2 port binding with properties: data-lanes (up to <1 2 3 4>), clock-lane, link-frequency, and power/reset GPIO assignments. Power sequencing (AVDD, DVDD, IOVDD) is handled through regulator and GPIO definitions in the device-tree. The V4L2 media pipeline on Raspberry Pi 5 routes through the CFE (Camera Front End) driver — the successor to the legacy Unicam driver — which interfaces with the ISP (PiSP) for image processing. Raw Bayer capture and processed YUV/RGB output are both supported depending on the sensor and application requirements. Supported sensor families include Sony IMX series (IMX219, IMX477, IMX708, IMX296, and custom variants), KT&C modules, and Tamron lens-integrated camera modules, each requiring sensor-specific I2C register initialization, mode configuration, and V4L2 control mappings (exposure, gain, frame rate, test pattern).