diff --git a/snapshot b/snapshot
index 548f139..247f0cc 100755
--- a/snapshot
+++ b/snapshot
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 FILENAME_PREFIX = 'img'
 FILENAME_SUFFIX = '.png'
 AF_SYSFS_NODE = '/sys/module/ov5645_camera_mipi_v2/parameters/ov5645_af'
+CAMERA_INIT_QUERY_SYSFS_NODE = '/sys/module/ov5645_camera_mipi_v2/parameters/ov5645_initialized'
 HDMI_SYSFS_NODE = '/sys/class/drm/card0/card0-HDMI-A-1/status'
 
 # No of initial frames to throw away before camera has stabilized
@@ -266,6 +267,12 @@
   args = parser.parse_args()
 
   try:
+    with open(CAMERA_INIT_QUERY_SYSFS_NODE) as init_file:
+      init_file.seek(0)
+      init = init_file.read()
+      if int(init) != 1:
+        raise Exception('Cannot find ov5645 CSI camera, ' +
+                  'check that your camera is connected')
     with open(AF_SYSFS_NODE, 'w+') as sysfs:
       snap = SnapHelper(sysfs, args.prefix, args.oneshot, args.suffix)
       run_pipeline(snap)