CameraView/README.md

A fork of Dylan McIntyre's CameraKit-Android library, originally a fork of Google's CameraView library. The CameraKit-Android at this point has been fairly rewritten and refactored:

• lots of serious bugs fixed, I have lost the count
• decent orientation support for both pictures and videos
• EXIF support
• simpler APIs
• docs and comments in code
• introduced sessionType (picture or video), replacing Method and Permissions stuff
• new captureSnapshot API
• new setLocation and setWhiteBalance APIs
• option to pass a File when recording a video
• introduced a smart measuring and sizing behavior, replacing bugged adjustViewBounds
• measure CameraView as center crop or center inside
• add multiple CameraListeners for events

Feel free to open issues with suggestions or contribute.

CameraKit

CameraKit is an easy to use utility to work with the Android Camera APIs. Everything at the moment is work in progress, but it works well for pictures at least.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Setup
• Usage
  • Capturing Images
  • Capturing Video
  • Other camera events
• Dynamic Sizing Behavior
  • Center Inside
  • Center Crop
• Extra Attributes
  • cameraSessionType
  • cameraFacing
  • cameraFlash
  • cameraFocus
  • cameraZoomMode
  • cameraCropOutput
  • cameraJpegQuality
  • cameraWhiteBalance
  • Deprecated: cameraCaptureMethod
  • Deprecated: cameraPermissionsPolicy
• Permissions Behavior
• Manifest file
• Roadmap

Features

• Seamless image and video capturing, even within the same session
• System permission handling
• Dynamic sizing behavior
  • Create a CameraView of any size (not just presets!)
  • Center inside or center crop behaviors
  • Automatic output cropping to match your CameraView bounds
• Multiple capture methods
  • Take high-resolution pictures with capturePicture
  • Take quick snapshots as a freeze frame of the preview with captureSnapshot (similar to SnapChat and Instagram)
• Built-in tap to focus
• CameraUtils to help with Bitmaps and orientations
• EXIF support
  • Automatically detected orientation tag
  • Plug in location tags with CameraView.setLocation(double, double)
• Control the camera parameters via XML or programmatically

Setup

For now, you must clone the repo and add it to your project.

Usage

To use CameraKit, simply add a CameraView to your layout:

<com.flurgle.camerakit.CameraView
    android:id="@+id/camera"
    android:keepScreenOn="true"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

Make sure you override onResume, onPause and onDestroy in your activity, and call CameraView.start(), stop() and destroy().

@Override
protected void onResume() {
    super.onResume();
    cameraView.start();
}

@Override
protected void onPause() {
    super.onPause();
    cameraView.stop();
}

@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
    super.onDestroy();
    cameraView.destroy();
}

Capturing Images

To capture an image just call CameraView.capturePicture(). Make sure you setup a CameraListener to handle the image callback.

camera.setCameraListener(new CameraListener() {
    @Override
    public void onPictureTaken(byte[] picture) {
        // Create a bitmap or a file...
        // CameraUtils will read EXIF orientation for you, in a worker thread.
        CameraUtils.decodeBitmap(picture, ...);
    }
});

camera.capturePicture();

You can also use camera.captureSnapshot() to capture a preview frame. This is faster, though will ensure lower quality output.

Capturing Video

TODO: test size and orientation stuff.

To capture video just call CameraView.startRecordingVideo(file) to start, and CameraView.stopRecordingVideo() to finish. Make sure you setup a CameraListener to handle the video callback.

camera.setCameraListener(new CameraListener() {
    @Override
    public void onVideoTaken(File video) {
        // The File is the same you passed before.
        // Now it holds a MP4 video.
    }
});

File file = ...; // Make sure you have permissions to write here.
camera.startRecordingVideo(file);
camera.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
    @Override
    public void run() {
        // This will trigger onVideoTaken().
        camera.stopRecordingVideo();
    }
}, 2500);

Other camera events

Make sure you can react to different camera events by setting up a CameraListener instance.

camera.setCameraListener(new CameraListener() {

    @Override
    public void onCameraOpened() {}

    @Override
    public void onCameraClosed() {}

    @Override
    public void onPictureTaken(byte[] picture) {}

    @Override
    public void onVideoTaken(File video) {}

});

Dynamic Sizing Behavior

CameraView has a smart measuring behavior that will let you do what you want with a few flags. Measuring is controlled simply by layout_width and layout_height attributes, with this meaning:

• WRAP_CONTENT : try to stretch this dimension to respect the preview aspect ratio.
• MATCH_PARENT : fill this dimension, even if this means ignoring the aspect ratio.
• Fixed values (e.g. 500dp) : respect this dimension.

You can have previews of all sizes, not just the supported presets. Whaterever you do, the preview will never be distorted.

Center inside

You can emulate a center inside behavior (like the ImageView scaletype) by setting both dimensions to wrap_content. The camera will get the biggest possible size that fits into your bounds, just like what happens with image views.

<com.flurgle.camerakit.CameraView
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

This means that the whole preview is visible, and the image output matches what was visible during the capture.

Center crop

You can emulate a center crop behavior by setting both dimensions to fixed values or to MATCH_PARENT. The camera view will fill the rect. If your dimensions don't match the aspect ratio of the internal preview surface, the surface will be cropped to fill the view, just like android:scaleType="centerCrop" on an ImageView.

<com.flurgle.camerakit.CameraView
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent" />

This means that part of the preview is hidden, and the image output will contain parts of the scene that were not visible during the capture. If this is a problem, see cameraCropOutput.

Extra Attributes

<com.flurgle.camerakit.CameraView xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:id="@+id/camera"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    app:cameraFacing="back"
    app:cameraFlash="off"
    app:cameraFocus="continuous"
    app:cameraZoom="pinch"
    app:cameraSessionType="picture"
    app:cameraCropOutput="true"  
    app:cameraJpegQuality="100"
    app:cameraVideoQuality="480p"
    app:cameraWhiteBalance="auto"
    android:adjustViewBounds="true" />

XML Attribute	Method	Values	Default Value
cameraSessionType	setSessionType()	picture video	picture
cameraFacing	setFacing()	back front	back
cameraFlash	setFlash()	off on auto torch	off
cameraFocus	setFocus()	off continuous tap tapWithMarker	continuous
cameraZoomMode	setZoom()	off pinch	off
cameraCropOutput	setCropOutput()	true false	false
cameraJpegQuality	setJpegQuality()	0 <= n <= 100	100
cameraVideoQuality	setVideoQuality()	max480p max720p max1080p max2160p highest lowest	max480p
cameraWhiteBalance	setWhiteBalance()	auto incandescent fluorescent daylight cloudy	auto
cameraCaptureMethod (Deprecated)	setCaptureMethod()	standard frame	standard
cameraPermissionPolicy (Deprecated)	setPermissionPolicy()	picture video	picture

cameraSessionType

What to capture - either picture or video. This has a couple of consequences:

• Sizing: capture and preview size are chosen among the available picture or video sizes, depending on the flag
• Picture capturing: you can capture pictures during a video session, though they will be captured as 'screenshots' of preview frames. This is fast and thus works well with slower camera sensors, but the captured image can be blurry or noisy.
• Permission behavior: when requesting a video session, the record audio permission will be requested. If this is needed, the audio permission should be added to your manifest or the app will crash.

cameraView.setSessionType(CameraKit.Constants.SESSION_TYPE_PICTURE);
cameraView.setSessionType(CameraKit.Constants.SESSION_TYPE_VIDEO);

cameraFacing

Which camera to use, either back facing or front facing.

cameraView.setFacing(CameraKit.Constants.FACING_BACK);
cameraView.setFacing(CameraKit.Constants.FACING_FRONT);

cameraFlash

Flash mode, either off, on, auto or torch.

cameraView.setFlash(CameraKit.Constants.FLASH_OFF);
cameraView.setFlash(CameraKit.Constants.FLASH_ON);
cameraView.setFlash(CameraKit.Constants.FLASH_AUTO);
cameraView.setFlash(CameraKit.Constants.FLASH_TORCH);

cameraFocus

Focus behavior. Can be off, continuous (camera continuously tries to adapt its focus), tap (focus is driven by the user tap) and tapWithMarker (a marker is drawn on screen to indicate focusing).

cameraView.setFocus(CameraKit.Constants.FOCUS_OFF);
cameraView.setFocus(CameraKit.Constants.FOCUS_CONTINUOUS);
cameraView.setFocus(CameraKit.Constants.FOCUS_TAP);
cameraView.setFocus(CameraKit.Constants.FOCUS_TAP_WITH_MARKER);

cameraZoomMode

TODO: work in progress. Right now 'off' is the onlly option.

cameraView.setZoom(CameraKit.Constants.ZOOM_OFF);
cameraView.setZoom(CameraKit.Constants.ZOOM_PINCH);

cameraCropOutput

Wheter the output picture should be cropped to fit the aspect ratio of the preview surface. This can guarantee consistency between what the user sees and the final output, if you fixed the camera view dimensions. This does not support videos.

cameraJpegQuality

Sets the JPEG quality of pictures.

cameraView.setJpegQuality(100);
cameraView.setJpegQuality(50);

cameraVideoQuality

Sets the desired video quality.

cameraView.setVideoQuality(CameraKit.Constants.VIDEO_QUALITY_480P);
cameraView.setVideoQuality(CameraKit.Constants.VIDEO_QUALITY_720P);
cameraView.setVideoQuality(CameraKit.Constants.VIDEO_QUALITY_1080P);
cameraView.setVideoQuality(CameraKit.Constants.VIDEO_QUALITY_2160P);
cameraView.setVideoQuality(CameraKit.Constants.VIDEO_QUALITY_LOWEST);
cameraView.setVideoQuality(CameraKit.Constants.VIDEO_QUALITY_HIGHEST);
cameraView.setVideoQuality(CameraKit.Constants.VIDEO_QUALITY_QVGA);

cameraWhiteBalance

Sets the desired white balance for the current session.

cameraView.setWhiteBalance(CameraKit.Constants.WHITE_BALANCE_AUTO);
cameraView.setWhiteBalance(CameraKit.Constants.WHITE_BALANCE_INCANDESCENT);
cameraView.setWhiteBalance(CameraKit.Constants.WHITE_BALANCE_FLUORESCENT);
cameraView.setWhiteBalance(CameraKit.Constants.WHITE_BALANCE_DAYLIGHT);
cameraView.setWhiteBalance(CameraKit.Constants.WHITE_BALANCE_CLOUDY);

cameraCaptureMethod

Deprecated. Use cameraSessionType instead

How to capture pictures, either standard or frame. The frame option lets you capture and save a preview frame, which can be better with slower camera sensors, though the captured image can be blurry or noisy.

cameraView.setMethod(CameraKit.Constants.CAPTURE_METHOD_STANDARD);
cameraView.setMethod(CameraKit.Constants.CAPTURE_METHOD_FRAME);

cameraPermissionPolicy

Deprecated. Use cameraSessionType instead

Either picture or video. This tells the library which permissions should be asked before starting the camera session. In the case of 'picture', we require the camera permissions. In the case of 'video', the record audio permission is asked as well.

Please note that, if needed, the latter should be added to your manifest file or the app will crash.

cameraView.setPermissionPolicy(CameraKit.Constants.PERMISSIONS_PICTURE);
cameraView.setPermissionPolicy(CameraKit.Constants.PERMISSIONS_VIDEO);

Permissions behavior

CameraView needs two permissions:

• android.permission.CAMERA : required for capturing pictures and videos
• android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO : required for capturing videos

You can handle permissions yourself and then call CameraView.start() once they are acquired. If they are not, CameraView will request permissions to the user based on the sessionType that was set. In that case, you can restart the camera if you have a successful response from onRequestPermissionResults().

Manifest file

The library manifest file is not strict and only asks for camera permissions. This means that:

• If you wish to record videos, you should also add android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO to required permissions

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO"/>

• If you want your app to be installed only on devices that have a camera, you should add:

<uses-feature
    android:name="android.hardware.camera"
    android:required="true"/>

If you don't request this feature, you can use CameraUtils.hasCameras() to detect if current device has cameras, and then start the camera view.

Roadmap

These are things that need to be done, off the top of my head:

• fix CropOutput class presumably not working on rotated pictures
• test video and 'frame' capture behavior, I expect some bugs there
• simple APIs to draw grid lines
• replace setCameraListener() with addCameraListener()
• add a sizingMethod API to choose the capture size? Could be max, 4:3, 16:9... Right now it's max
• pinch to zoom support
• exposure correction APIs
• revisit demo app (added video support)
• Camera2 integration
• EXIF support for 'frame' captured pictures, using ExifInterface library, so we can stop rotating it in Java
• add onRequestPermissionResults for easy permission callback
• better error handling, maybe with a onError(e) method in the public listener
• better threading, for example ensure callbacks are called in the ui thread