LILYGO T-Camera-Plus-S3 - An ESP32-S3 powered dev board with night vision camera and touchscreen display

The LILYGO T-Camera-Plus-S3 is an ESP32-S3 development board designed for building smart home devices, monitoring systems, and other connected projects. The board features a 1.3-inch TFT LCD and the option to choose from OV2640 or OV5640 camera modules.

The T-Camera-Plus-S3 can be considered an upgrade from the T-Camera S3, which was introduced in 2022. The upgraded features include a 1.3″ SPI TFT LCD (240×240), a microphone with MAX98357A codec and external speaker support, support for a micro SD card, a battery connector, and many other features.

Previously we have written many different types of ESP32-S3-based boards like the Waveshare ESP32-S3-Matrix, ESP32-S3-Tiny board, and Unexpected Maker NANOS3 feel free to check those out if you are looking for unique ESP32 boards.

LILYGO T-Camera-Plus-S3 specification

ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 wireless module
- SoC – ESP32-S3R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz (Note: this SKU is not listed in the official ESP32-S3 datasheet) with
  - 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFI 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity
  - Memory – 8MB PSRAM
- Storage – 16MB SPI flash
Storage – MicroSD card socket
Camera – 2MP OV2640 camera (Optional 5MP OV5640) with IR-Cut for enhanced low-light performance
Display
- 1.3″ 240 x 240 fp-133h0M1d TFT display with ST7789V driver chip controlled via SPI
- Touch – CST816S chip controlled via I2C
Speaker – 3.2W 14×7.1×3.9cm FS2011NB0807x speakers driver via I2S with MAX98357A driver chip
Microphone – Standard microphone driven via MSM261S4030H0R driver chipo
USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming
Expansion – 2x QWIIC connectors
Misc – Boot button (under the camera), Power and reset buttons
Power Supply
- 5V via USB Type-C port
- 2-pin 1.25mm JST-GH connector for battery
Dimensions
- Board only: 69 x 28 x 18.5 mm (including PIR dome)
- Shell: 75 x 35 x 12 mm

The board features two Qwiic connectors and multiple exposed GPIO pins on the board to support protocols like I2C, SPI, and serial connections.

In terms of software and programming the board supports programming with the Arduino IDE, VS code, and platform IO. Usually, the company provides links to resources but this time it was a little hard to find, upon looking I found a GitHub repository with examples of the camera, SD music, touchscreen, and more.

The LILYGO T-Camera-Plus-S3 is available for purchase through LILYGO’s official AliExpress store with a price tag of $37.98 including shipping. The company also posted a live demonstration video on its X account.

Debashis Das

Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication