Python OpenCV convert image to byte string?

Question

I\'m working with PyOpenCV. How to convert cv2 image (numpy) to binary string for writing to MySQL db without a temporary file and imwrite?

I googled it

Answer 1

It works in 2020 with numpy==1.19.4 and opencv==4.4.0:

import cv2

cam = cv2.VideoCapture(0)

# get image from web camera
ret, frame = cam.read()

# convert to jpeg and save in variable
image_bytes = cv2.imencode('.jpg', frame)[1].tobytes()