Best Camera and protocol for embedded real time CNN project I'm looking to develop a stand-alone real-time outdoor imaging CNN application, and I can't wrap my head around the myriad of camera options and their communication protocols.
The target is a Linux embedded device (such as beaglebone + edge TPU). and the top language is python. (though if it's unavoidable, I can write some c++ driver)

I have done a number of projects with webcams with OpenCV. However, this project requires a more serious camera, with a motorized zoom and autofocus functions,
with at least 3MP and 30fps. 


There are numerous Chinese IP Camera blocks with zoom functions.
but they stream H.265, and I'm not sure how OpenCV would interface with that.
additionally, it's not clear how to control the zoom feature via python in one of them.
Then there are USB2 camera blocks, they seem to be of lower but sufficient quality, but I couldn't find one with motorized zoom.
Then there are Gige and USB3 Vision cameras, they seem optimal but are prohibitively expensive (500$+). 


This is kind of an open-ended question, but I couldn't find much information online on this topic, so I hope to find wisdom here.

Thus, I was wondering if someone has advice or recommendations on this.
The Raspberry Pi ZeroW with V2 camera doesn't quite have the specs you need, but it is close: https://picamera.readthedocs.io/en/latest/fov.html#sensor-modes

Here's a waterproof enclosure for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CWksss_5lQ