PiPiece UI

Appearance

Preview View ​

Overview ​

The Preview View provides advanced camera controls for capturing test images with adjustable parameters. It's ideal for testing camera settings before committing to longer captures or timelapses.

Features ​

  • Adjustable camera settings (gain, exposure, white balance)
  • Repeating capture mode for continuous testing
  • Settings persistence (last used values restored on load)
  • Real-time image preview
  • RGB histogram overlay on preview images
  • Histogram control embedded in the lower-right of the overlay (click "Hist" to collapse/expand)
  • Sidebar with form controls
  • Main area for image display

Preview View Screenshot =400x240

Access the Preview View at /preview.

Camera Settings ​

Gain ​

  • Adjusts sensor sensitivity
  • Range: Typically 0.1 to 16.0
  • Step: 0.1
  • Higher values = brighter images but more noise

Exposure (s) ​

  • Controls exposure time in seconds
  • Range: 0.001s to 300s
  • Step: 0.001s
  • Presets: 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 60, 120, 180, 300
  • Longer exposure = brighter images
  • Useful for low-light conditions

Red Gain ​

  • White balance adjustment for red channel
  • Default: 1.49
  • Step: 0.1

Blue Gain ​

  • White balance adjustment for blue channel
  • Default: 1.55
  • Step: 0.1

Repeat Mode ​

  • Checkbox to enable continuous capture
  • Automatically captures images at interval
  • Click "Stop" to end repeat mode

Usage ​

Single Capture ​

  1. Adjust camera settings as desired
  2. Click "Capture" button
  3. View captured image in main area
  4. Success message appears for 3 seconds

Repeat Capture ​

  1. Adjust camera settings
  2. Enable "Repeat" checkbox
  3. Click "Capture" to start continuous mode
  4. Images update automatically
  5. Click "Stop" to end repeat mode

Settings Persistence ​

  • Last used settings are automatically saved
  • Settings restore when returning to view
  • Stored via /api/camera/settings/preview endpoint
  • Saved to ~/pipiece/config/preview.json

Technical Details ​

  • Image resolution: 4056x3040 (default)
  • Images saved to /photos/preview/ directory
  • Uses cache-busting for real-time updates
  • Histogram data is loaded from sidecar files using <image>.histogram_table.txt
  • Responsive layout with sidebar and main area

Error Handling ​

  • Displays error messages in sidebar
  • Stops repeat mode on error
  • Logs detailed errors to console
  • Provides user-friendly error descriptions