diff --git a/launch/camera.launch.py b/launch/camera.launch.py
index 119acd75..0e25b4f5 100644
--- a/launch/camera.launch.py
+++ b/launch/camera.launch.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
+from launch.actions import DeclareLaunchArgument
 from launch.launch_description import LaunchDescription
+from launch.substitutions import LaunchConfiguration
 
 from launch_ros.actions import ComposableNodeContainer
 from launch_ros.descriptions import ComposableNode
@@ -13,6 +15,32 @@ def generate_launch_description() -> LaunchDescription:
         LaunchDescription: the launch description
 
     """
+    # parameters
+    camera_param_name = "camera"
+    camera_param_default = str(0)
+    camera_param = LaunchConfiguration(
+        camera_param_name,
+        default=camera_param_default,
+    )
+    camera_launch_arg = DeclareLaunchArgument(
+        camera_param_name,
+        default_value=camera_param_default,
+        description="camera ID or name"
+    )
+
+    format_param_name = "format"
+    format_param_default = str()
+    format_param = LaunchConfiguration(
+        format_param_name,
+        default=format_param_default,
+    )
+    format_launch_arg = DeclareLaunchArgument(
+        format_param_name,
+        default_value=format_param_default,
+        description="pixel format"
+    )
+
+    # composable nodes in single container
     container = ComposableNodeContainer(
         name='camera_container',
         namespace='',
@@ -23,9 +51,10 @@ def generate_launch_description() -> LaunchDescription:
                 package='camera_ros',
                 plugin='camera::CameraNode',
                 parameters=[{
-                    "camera": 0,
+                    "camera": camera_param,
                     "width": 640,
                     "height": 480,
+                    "format": format_param,
                 }],
                 extra_arguments=[{'use_intra_process_comms': True}],
             ),
@@ -38,4 +67,8 @@ def generate_launch_description() -> LaunchDescription:
         ],
     )
 
-    return LaunchDescription([container])
+    return LaunchDescription([
+        container,
+        camera_launch_arg,
+        format_launch_arg,
+    ])
diff --git a/src/CameraNode.cpp b/src/CameraNode.cpp
index 9010eefe..4219c9e9 100644
--- a/src/CameraNode.cpp
+++ b/src/CameraNode.cpp
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ CameraNode::CameraNode(const rclcpp::NodeOptions &options) : Node("camera", opti
     RCLCPP_INFO_STREAM(get_logger(), camera_manager);
     RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(),
                        "no camera selected, using default: \"" << camera->id() << "\"");
-    RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(), "set parameter 'camera' to silent this warning");
+    RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(), "set parameter 'camera' to silence this warning");
     break;
   case rclcpp::ParameterType::PARAMETER_INTEGER:
   {
@@ -255,6 +255,7 @@ CameraNode::CameraNode(const rclcpp::NodeOptions &options) : Node("camera", opti
   const std::vector<libcamera::PixelFormat> common_fmt = stream_formats.pixelformats();
 
   // list all camera formats, including those not supported by the ROS message
+  RCLCPP_DEBUG_STREAM(get_logger(), "default stream configuration: \"" << scfg.toString() << "\"");
   RCLCPP_DEBUG_STREAM(get_logger(), scfg.formats());
 
   if (common_fmt.empty())
@@ -265,13 +266,14 @@ CameraNode::CameraNode(const rclcpp::NodeOptions &options) : Node("camera", opti
     // check that the default pixel format is supported by the ROS encoding
     if (std::find(common_fmt.cbegin(), common_fmt.cend(), scfg.pixelFormat) == common_fmt.cend()) {
       // auto select first common pixel format
+      RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(), "default pixel format (" << scfg.pixelFormat << ") not supported");
       scfg.pixelFormat = common_fmt.front();
     }
 
     RCLCPP_INFO_STREAM(get_logger(), stream_formats);
     RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(),
-                       "no pixel format selected, using default: \"" << scfg.pixelFormat << "\"");
-    RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(), "set parameter 'format' to silent this warning");
+                       "no pixel format selected, auto-selecting: \"" << scfg.pixelFormat << "\"");
+    RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(), "set parameter 'format' to silence this warning");
   }
   else {
     // get pixel format from provided string
@@ -293,7 +295,7 @@ CameraNode::CameraNode(const rclcpp::NodeOptions &options) : Node("camera", opti
     RCLCPP_INFO_STREAM(get_logger(), scfg);
     RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(),
                        "no dimensions selected, auto-selecting: \"" << scfg.size << "\"");
-    RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(), "set parameter 'width' or 'height' to silent this warning");
+    RCLCPP_WARN_STREAM(get_logger(), "set parameter 'width' or 'height' to silence this warning");
   }
   else {
     scfg.size = size;
diff --git a/src/format_mapping.cpp b/src/format_mapping.cpp
index 7e9e3e3f..21cf348b 100644
--- a/src/format_mapping.cpp
+++ b/src/format_mapping.cpp
@@ -9,8 +9,10 @@
 namespace cam = libcamera::formats;
 namespace ros = sensor_msgs::image_encodings;
 
-//mapping of FourCC to ROS image encodings
-// see 'include/uapi/drm/drm_fourcc.h' for a full FourCC list
+// mapping of FourCC to ROS image encodings
+// references:
+// - full list of FourCC: 'include/uapi/drm/drm_fourcc.h'
+// - V4L2 image formats: 'https://docs.kernel.org/userspace-api/media/v4l/pixfmt.html'
 
 // supported FourCC formats, without conversion
 static const std::unordered_map<uint32_t, std::string> map_format_raw = {