What time point does the timestamp of the image buffer refer to?

Yocto
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1

Hi there,

I’m developing my camera app on Genio 1200 EVK. The v4l2 buffer I got has a timestamp. What time point does this timestamp refer to? I guess it could be SOF (start of frame), EOF (end of frame), or a software timestamp?

Thanks

3

On MediaTek Genio 510/700/1200 platforms utilizing the MediaTek Imgsensor Architecture, the timestamp returned by the V4L2 driver corresponds to SOE (Start Of Exposure). This means the timestamp marks the moment when the image sensor actually begins exposing for each frame.

A few clarifications:

  • SOE (Start Of Exposure): Indicates the time point at which the sensor starts to integrate light (begin exposure).
  • SOF (Start Of Frame): This is the hardware time when the ISP receives the “start of frame” signal from the sensor.
  • The relationship between the two is: SOE = SOF - Exposure Duration