How ArduPilot controls a camera
ArduPilot’s camera library supports up to two cameras. The CAM1_TYPE parameter decides how it reaches the first one:
| CAM1_TYPE | Method | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Servo | A PWM output pulses the shutter | Shutter only |
| 2 · Relay | A relay pin closes the shutter line | Shutter only |
| 5 · MAVLink | Commands sent to a MAVLink camera device | Shutter, plus whatever the device supports |
| 6 · MAVLinkCamV2 | MAVLink Camera Protocol v2 | Shutter, video, and camera settings in the GCS |
Servo and relay triggering need a camera with a wired shutter input and give you nothing beyond the click. The ILX-LR1 is built to be driven over USB, so the MAVLink route is the one that also gets you exposure, focus, video and the camera menu. That is what TAG-E does: it sits between the flight controller’s MAVLink port and the camera’s USB-C port and turns MAVLink camera commands into Sony camera commands.
Setting up the ILX-LR1 on ArduPilot
What you need
- ArduPilot 4.6.0 or later on the flight controller (Copter, Plane or Rover)
- Sony ILX-LR1 and a TAG-E with its USB-C cable to the camera
- A free TELEM port and the TAG-E MAVLink cable
- A 5 V supply for TAG-E that can deliver at least 2 A. Higher voltages damage TAG-E and the camera.
- QGroundControl 4.4.3 or newer, or Mission Planner with the AirPixel camera control plugin
Step by step
- Wire it. Connect TAG-E’s IO-B connector to TELEM1 or TELEM2 on the flight controller, and TAG-E’s USB-C to the camera. Pinouts are in the TAG-E pinout manual.
- Configure the serial port. In Mission Planner’s Full Parameter Tree (or QGC’s parameter editor), set the port TAG-E is on.
xis the SERIAL number of that port, usually 1 for TELEM1 and 2 for TELEM2.
| Parameter | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
SERIALx_PROTOCOL | 2 (MAVLink2) | TAG-E speaks MAVLink 2 |
SERIALx_BAUD | 921 (921600 bps) | Lower rates drop packets |
SRx_* (all) | 0 | TAG-E requests the streams it needs itself |
CAM1_TYPE | 5 or 6 | MAVLink camera; both work with TAG-E |
- Write the parameters and reboot the flight controller.
- Check the link. When the camera is online, TAG-E’s LED turns green and a CAMERA entry appears in the device list. In QGroundControl, the camera panel appears on the right of the fly view.
- Measure the GPS link delay. Every airframe delays GPS data slightly differently. The GPS delay calculation takes a few minutes and tightens the geotag accuracy.
Older TAG-E firmware used 230400 bps on the MAVLink port. To move to 921600: set TAG-E’s IOB_BAUD to 9216, then the flight controller’s SERIALx_BAUD to 921, reboot, and save TAG-E’s configuration with FW_SAVE_CFG = 1. TAG-E doesn’t save its configuration automatically.
Triggering the camera from ArduPilot
Once CAM1_TYPE points at the MAVLink camera, ArduPilot’s normal camera triggers all end up at the ILX-LR1:
| Trigger | Use it for |
|---|---|
DO_SET_CAM_TRIGG_DIST | Survey and mapping: a photo every N metres. Mission Planner’s Survey (Grid) tool inserts it for you. |
DO_DIGICAM_CONTROL | A single photo at a waypoint |
IMAGE_START_CAPTURE / IMAGE_STOP_CAPTURE | One photo, or photos at a fixed interval |
VIDEO_START_CAPTURE / VIDEO_STOP_CAPTURE | Recording video during part of a mission |
RCx_OPTION = 9 / 166 | An RC switch for Camera Trigger / Camera Record Video |
| GCS shutter button | Manual photos from QGroundControl, Mission Planner or MavCam |
TAG-E geotags each photo as it is taken, so triggering runs at the camera’s full speed. A tight distance trigger on a fast survey isn’t slowed down by the geotagging.
Controlling the camera from the ground
- QGroundControl (Android, Windows, macOS) finds the camera through MAVLink Camera Protocol v2 and shows a panel with the shutter button, photo/video switch, exposure settings and a gear icon for the full configuration. Use 4.4.3 or newer, and skip 5.0 RC1 to RC3. QGC camera control manual
- Mission Planner gets a camera control tab through the AirPixel plugin: arrows, MENU, Display, Play and AF, so you can reach any camera setting in flight.
- HereLink, SIYI and Skydroid controllers can run MavCam, an on-screen overlay with exposure, focus and video controls on top of QGC or Mission Planner.
Geotagging on ArduPilot
ArduPilot’s own route to geotagged photos runs through the log: every trigger writes a CAM message to the dataflash log, and after the flight Mission Planner matches the photos to those messages and writes the coordinates in. It works, but it adds a step after every flight, and a single missed or extra photo throws the matching off.
TAG-E skips that step. It takes position, altitude and attitude from the autopilot over MAVLink, keeps its clock synchronised to the flight controller, and writes the values into the EXIF and XMP of each photo on the camera’s card. With RTK on the aircraft, the geotags carry RTK precision, and the lever-arm correction moves the coordinates from the GPS antenna to the camera. The ArduPilot and PX4 geotagging comparison goes through the options in detail.
Troubleshooting
- No camera in QGC or Mission Planner. Check that TAG-E’s LED is green (camera online). If it isn’t, check the USB-C cable and the camera power. If the LED is green, check the wiring,
SERIALx_PROTOCOL, the baud rate on both sides, and that the port’sSRx_*values are 0. - Camera panel missing in QGC. Update QGroundControl; 5.0 RC1 to RC3 don’t show it.
- Photos are taken but the positions look shifted. Run the GPS delay calculation and enter the antenna-to-camera offsets for the lever-arm correction.
- TAG-E no longer answers on the port. Hold the reset button behind the front hole until the status LED turns solid purple to restore the defaults.
Camera control and geotagging for your ILX-LR1
TAG-E costs €299: one USB-C cable to the camera, one MAVLink cable to the autopilot.