Cheap Wi-Fi IP Surveillance Camera (Very little DIY needed)

Published at : 23 Dec 2025

To flash it you'll need a USB to UART converter, for example, this one: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c2Iv9EP9
ESP32 Camera module you can get here: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3EwPISb
5V LED Modules here: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_d7fCXNX

This camera uses ESP32 camera module, it can be programmed via Arduino IDE just like Arduino. You can even connect other devices to it, like sensors, displays, relays and much more (you'll need some Arduino coding skills for that).
Although it can work without any programming, I recommend to flash it with my modified code (or use code from Arduino IDE examples).

My modified code that supports LED control here: https://github.com/electrical-pro/ESP32CAM
Arduino IDE by default doesn't have ESP32 camera, so you'll need to go File/ Preferences and add in Additional Board Manager URLs this: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json
Then go to Tools/board/Boards manager/ and search for ESP32 and install it. More info here: https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32