Develop Reference

Android camera fails taking a picture every second

Let me start by saying that if image shooting interval is anything more than 1 second it works. For example taking a picture every 2 seconds works perfectly fine. But taking a picture every second sometimes throws java.lang.RuntimeException: takePicture failed. What could be causing this kind of a behaviour?
Here is the code I use and it is in Service:
#Override
public void onCreate()
{
super.onCreate();
prefs = getSharedPreferences("general",Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
handler = new Handler();
shotInterval = prefs.getInt(getString(R.string.prefs_int_imageShootingFrequency),1);
if (!getPackageManager().hasSystemFeature(PackageManager.FEATURE_CAMERA)) {
Toast.makeText(this, "No camera on this device", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
} else {
cameraId = findBackFacingCamera();
if (cameraId < 0) {
Toast.makeText(this, "No front facing camera found.",Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
} else {
camera = Camera.open(cameraId);
}
}
cameraParameters = camera.getParameters();
cameraParameters.setFocusMode(Camera.Parameters.FOCUS_MODE_CONTINUOUS_PICTURE); //set camera to continuously auto-focus
camera.setParameters(cameraParameters);
pictureTaker.run(); // Start looping
}
Runnable pictureTaker = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
takePicture();
} finally {
// 100% guarantee that this always happens, even if
// your update method throws an exception
handler.postDelayed(pictureTaker, shotInterval*1000);
}
}
};
private void takePicture(){
SurfaceView view = new SurfaceView(this);
try {
camera.setPreviewDisplay(view.getHolder());
camera.startPreview();
camera.takePicture(null, null,new PhotoHandler(getApplicationContext()));
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}

You should launch postDelayed() from the onPictureTaken() callback. You can check the system timer on call to takePicture() and reduce the delay respectively, to keep 1000ms repetition, but maybe once in a while, this delay will reach 0.

android camera click continous shots

I am trying to make camera application which takes 3 continuous shots.
i have tried to call "takePicture" several times by putting it in a loop.
but no success.
please help on this matter.
a little help will be appreciated.

You never should call PictureCallback.onPictureTaken() from your code; this callback receives data from the system when it is ready, as response to Camera.takePicture().
The latter call will only succeed if the camera is opened and preview is started. Therefore, simply calling Camera.takePicture() in a loop will not work (see e.g. Android 2.3.1 Camera takePicture() Multiple images with one button click). The correct way to handle this is to keep a counter of shots processed in your onPictureTaken(), and if it is less than 3, then restart camera preview and issue (synchroneously) another Camera.takePicture(). After this, onPictureTaken() should return, to allow processing of the next captured frame.

I use it like this when doing a PhotoBurst. It is also handling the FRameLayout holding the preview to start the PhotoBurst:
PictureCallback jpegCallback = new PictureCallback() {
public void onPictureTaken(byte[] data, Camera camera) {
FileOutputStream outStream = null;
try {
Parameters param = camera.getParameters();
param.setPictureSize(640, 480);
camera.setParameters(param);
// Or write to sdcard
outStream = new FileOutputStream(String.format(
Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getPath()+"/foto%d.jpg",
System.currentTimeMillis()));
outStream.write(data);
outStream.close();
sendBroadcast(new Intent(Intent.ACTION_MEDIA_MOUNTED,
Uri.fromFile(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory())));
Log.i(TAG, "onPictureTaken - wrote bytes: " + data.length);
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} finally {
}
Log.d(TAG, "onPictureTaken - jpg");
try {
stillCount++;
camera.startPreview();
if (stillCount < 10) {
preview.mCamera.takePicture(shutterCallback, rawCallback,
jpegCallback);
if (stillCount == 9) {
frameLayout.setClickable(true);
}
} else {
stillCount = 0;
takePictureButton.setEnabled(true);
frameLayout.setClickable(true);
}
} catch (Exception e) {
Log.d(TAG, "Error starting preview: " + e.toString());
}
}
};

I got the solution.
i was calling mCamera.startPreview(); out of my loop.
preview is must to take shots, and not including mCamera.startPreview(); was blocking my execution.

how to change the Android-camera to portrait in surfaceview?

I am coding for an android tablet and i want my app to use the portrait view of the surfaceView camera preview. It is landscape by default, and I tried the following code to rotate to portrait view:
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder){
// The Surface has been created, acquire the camera and tell it where to draw.
mCamera = Camera.open();
Parameters params = mCamera.getParameters();
// If we aren't landscape (the default), tell the camera we want portrait mode
if (this.getResources().getConfiguration().orientation != Configuration.ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE){
params.set("orientation", "portrait"); // "landscape"
// And Rotate the final picture if possible
// This works on 2.0 and higher only
//params.setRotation(90);
// Use reflection to see if it exists and to call it so you can support older versions
try {
Method rotateSet = Camera.Parameters.class.getMethod("setRotation", new Class[] { Integer.TYPE } );
Object arguments[] = new Object[] { new Integer(270) };
rotateSet.invoke(params, arguments);
} catch (NoSuchMethodException nsme) {
// Older Device
Log.v("CameraView","No Set Rotation");
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
Log.v("CameraView","Exception IllegalArgument");
} catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
Log.v("CameraView","Illegal Access Exception");
} catch (InvocationTargetException e) {
Log.v("CameraView","Invocation Target Exception");
}
}
mCamera.setParameters(params);
try{
mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);
} catch (IOException exception) {
mCamera.release();
mCamera = null;
}
}
But it doesn't work. Could anybody fix it please?

You will probably want to use the setDisplayOrientation function as follows:
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 8) mCamera.setDisplayOrientation(90);
}
Using the camera params.set("orientation"... stuff is not consistent across devices and is really pre-SDK 8 language.

Enabling Camera Flash While Recording Video

I need a way to control the camera flash on an Android device while it is recording video. I'm making a strobe light app, and taking videos with a flashing strobe light would result in the ability to record objects that are moving at high speeds, like a fan blade.
The flash can only be enabled by starting a video preview and setting FLASH_MODE_TORCH in the camera's parameters. That would look like this:
Camera c = Camera.open();
Camera.Parameters p = c.getParameters();
p.setFlashMode(Camera.Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH);
c.setParameters(p);
c.startPreview();
Once the preview has started, I can flip that parameter back and forth to turn the light on and off. This works well until I try to record a video. The trouble is that in order to give the camera to the MediaRecorder, I first have to unlock it.
MediaRecorder m = new MediaRecorder();
c.unlock(); // the killer
m.setCamera(c);
After that unlock, I can no longer change the camera parameters and therefore have no way to change the flash state.
I do not know if it is actually possible to do this since I'm not the best at java-hacking, but here is what I do know:
Camera.unlock() is a native method, so I can't really see the mechanism behind the way it locks me out
Camera.Parameter has a HashMap that contains all of its parameters
Camera.setParameters(Parameters) takes the HashMap, converts it to a string, and passes it to a native method
I can eliminate all the parameters but TORCH-MODE from the HashMap and the Camera will still accept it
So, I can still access the Camera, but it won't listen to anything I tell it. (Which is kind of the purpose of Camera.unlock())
Edit:
After examining the native code, I can see that in CameraService.cpp my calls to Camera.setParameters(Parameters) get rejected because my Process ID does not match the Process ID the camera service has on record. So it would appear that that is my hurdle.
Edit2:
It would appear that the MediaPlayerService is the primary service that takes control of the camera when a video is recording. I do not know if it is possible, but if I could somehow start that service in my own process, I should be able to skip the Camera.unlock() call.
Edit3:
One last option would be if I could somehow get a pointer to the CameraHardwareInterface. From the looks of it, this is a device specific interface and probably does not include the PID checks. The main problem with this though is that the only place that I can find a pointer to it is in CameraService, and CameraService isn't talking.
Edit4: (several months later)
At this point, I don't think it is possible to do what I originally wanted. I don't want to delete the question on the off chance that someone does answer it, but I'm not actively seeking an answer. (Though, receiving a valid answer would be awesome.)

I encountered a similar issue. The user should be able to change the flash mode during recording to meet their needs depending on the light situation. After some investigative research i came to the following solution:
I assume, that you've already set up a proper SurfaceView and a SurfaceHolder with its necessary callbacks. The first thing i did was providing this code (not declared variables are globals):
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
try {
camera = Camera.open();
parameters = camera.getParameters();
parameters.setFlashMode(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF);
camera.setParameters(parameters);
camera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);
camera.startPreview();
recorder = new MediaRecorder();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
My next step was initializing and preparing the recorder:
private void initialize() {
camera.unlock();
recorder.setCamera(camera);
recorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.CAMCORDER);
recorder.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.CAMERA);
recorder.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.MPEG_4);
recorder.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.AudioEncoder.AAC);
recorder.setVideoEncoder(MediaRecorder.VideoEncoder.H264);
recorder.setVideoFrameRate(20);
recorder.setOutputFile(filePath);
try {
recorder.prepare();
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
finish();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
finish();
}
}
It's important to note, that camera.unlock() has to be called BEFORE the whole initialization process of the media recorder. That said also be aware of the proper order of each set property, otherwise you'll get an IllegalStateException when calling prepare() or start(). When it comes to recording, i do this. This will usually be triggered by a view element:
public void record(View view) {
if (recording) {
recorder.stop();
//TODO: do stuff....
recording = false;
} else {
recording = true;
initialize();
recorder.start();
}
}
So now, i finally can record properly. But what's with that flash? Last but not least, here comes the magic behind the scenes:
public void flash(View view) {
if(!recording) {
camera.lock();
}
parameters.setFlashMode(parameters.getFlashMode().equals(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH) ? Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF : Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH);
camera.setParameters(parameters);
if(!recording) {
camera.unlock();
}
}
Everytime i call that method via an onClick action i can change the flash mode, even during recording. Just take care of properly locking the camera. Once the lock is aquired by the media recorder during recording, you don't have to lock/unlock the camera again. It doesn't even work. This was tested on a Samsung Galaxy S3 with Android-Version 4.1.2. Hope this approach helps.

After preparing media recorder, use camera.lock(), and then set whatever parameters you want to set to camera.
But before starting recording you need to call camera.unlock(), and after you stop media recorder you need to call camera.lock() to start preview.
Enjoy!!!

Try this.. hopefully it will work.. :)
private static Torch torch;
public Torch() {
super();
torch = this;
}
public static Torch getTorch() {
return torch;
}
private void getCamera() {
if (mCamera == null) {
try {
mCamera = Camera.open();
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
Log.e(TAG, "Camera.open() failed: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
}
public void toggleLight(View view) {
toggleLight();
}
private void toggleLight() {
if (lightOn) {
turnLightOff();
} else {
turnLightOn();
}
}
private void turnLightOn() {
if (!eulaAgreed) {
return;
}
if (mCamera == null) {
Toast.makeText(this, "Camera not found", Toast.LENGTH_LONG);
button.setBackgroundColor(COLOR_WHITE);
return;
}
lightOn = true;
Parameters parameters = mCamera.getParameters();
if (parameters == null) {
button.setBackgroundColor(COLOR_WHITE);
return;
}
List<String> flashModes = parameters.getSupportedFlashModes();
if (flashModes == null) {
button.setBackgroundColor(COLOR_WHITE);
return;
}
String flashMode = parameters.getFlashMode();
Log.i(TAG, "Flash mode: " + flashMode);
Log.i(TAG, "Flash modes: " + flashModes);
if (!Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH.equals(flashMode)) {
if (flashModes.contains(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH)) {
parameters.setFlashMode(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH);
mCamera.setParameters(parameters);
button.setBackgroundColor(COLOR_LIGHT);
startWakeLock();
} else {
Toast.makeText(this, "Flash mode (torch) not supported",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG);
button.setBackgroundColor(COLOR_WHITE);
Log.e(TAG, "FLASH_MODE_TORCH not supported");
}
}
}
private void turnLightOff() {
if (lightOn) {
button.setBackgroundColor(COLOR_DARK);
lightOn = false;
if (mCamera == null) {
return;
}
Parameters parameters = mCamera.getParameters();
if (parameters == null) {
return;
}
List<String> flashModes = parameters.getSupportedFlashModes();
String flashMode = parameters.getFlashMode();
if (flashModes == null) {
return;
}
Log.i(TAG, "Flash mode: " + flashMode);
Log.i(TAG, "Flash modes: " + flashModes);
if (!Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF.equals(flashMode)) {
if (flashModes.contains(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF)) {
parameters.setFlashMode(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF);
mCamera.setParameters(parameters);
stopWakeLock();
} else {
Log.e(TAG, "FLASH_MODE_OFF not supported");
}
}
}
}
private void startPreview() {
if (!previewOn && mCamera != null) {
mCamera.startPreview();
previewOn = true;
}
}
private void stopPreview() {
if (previewOn && mCamera != null) {
mCamera.stopPreview();
previewOn = false;
}
}
private void startWakeLock() {
if (wakeLock == null) {
Log.d(TAG, "wakeLock is null, getting a new WakeLock");
PowerManager pm = (PowerManager) getSystemService(Context.POWER_SERVICE);
Log.d(TAG, "PowerManager acquired");
wakeLock = pm.newWakeLock(PowerManager.PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK, WAKE_LOCK_TAG);
Log.d(TAG, "WakeLock set");
}
wakeLock.acquire();
Log.d(TAG, "WakeLock acquired");
}
private void stopWakeLock() {
if (wakeLock != null) {
wakeLock.release();
Log.d(TAG, "WakeLock released");
}
}
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
if (Eula.show(this)) {
eulaAgreed = true;
}
setContentView(R.layout.main);
button = findViewById(R.id.button);
surfaceView = (SurfaceView) this.findViewById(R.id.surfaceview);
surfaceHolder = surfaceView.getHolder();
surfaceHolder.addCallback(this);
surfaceHolder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_PUSH_BUFFERS);
disablePhoneSleep();
Log.i(TAG, "onCreate");
}

To access the device camera, you must declare the CAMERA permission in your Android Manifest. Also be sure to include the <uses-feature> manifest element to declare camera features used by your application. For example, if you use the camera and auto-focus feature, your Manifest should include the following:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera" />
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.autofocus" />
A sample that checks for torch support might look something like this:
//Create camera and parameter objects
private Camera mCamera;
private Camera.Parameters mParameters;
private boolean mbTorchEnabled = false;
//... later in a click handler or other location, assuming that the mCamera object has already been instantiated with Camera.open()
mParameters = mCamera.getParameters();
//Get supported flash modes
List flashModes = mParameters.getSupportedFlashModes ();
//Make sure that torch mode is supported
//EDIT - wrong and dangerous to check for torch support this way
//if(flashModes != null && flashModes.contains("torch")){
if(flashModes != null && flashModes.contains(Camera.Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH)){
if(mbTorchEnabled){
//Set the flash parameter to off
mParameters.setFlashMode(Camera.Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF);
}
else{
//Set the flash parameter to use the torch
mParameters.setFlashMode(Camera.Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH);
}
//Commit the camera parameters
mCamera.setParameters(mParameters);
mbTorchEnabled = !mbTorchEnabled;
}
To turn the torch on, you simply set the camera parameter Camera.Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH
Camera mCamera;
Camera.Parameters mParameters;
//Get a reference to the camera/parameters
mCamera = Camera.open();
mParameters = mCamera.getParameters();
//Set the torch parameter
mParameters.setFlashMode(Camera.Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH);
//Comit camera parameters
mCamera.setParameters(mParameters);
To turn the torch off, set Camera.Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF

Trouble with Android Camera

I have some code I have been experimenting with to see what I can do with the camera device. This following code works, but I have some issues with it that I cannot seem to solve.
The first call never works. The first time running the code the onPictureTaken callback is never called, so the file is never written. However the camera goes through all the other steps, including making the fake shutter noise.
I can't seem to set the picture size to something other than whatever it defaults to. If I try to set it to something else, the code stops working. Does the same as above, where the camera goes through all the motions, but the onPictureTaken callback is never called.
When the pictures are saved to the DCIM folder, the taken pictures do not show up in the default 'Photos' app on my phone, unless i reboot the phone.
Is there any way through code to disable the shutter noise?
Sorry, the code is a little messy because its an experiment.
Also, this code is executed in a BroadcastReceiver
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
if(intent.getAction().equals(TAKE_PICTURE_INTENT))
{
Toast.makeText(context, "Test", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
System.out.println("GOT THE INTENT");
try
{
Camera camera = Camera.open();
System.out.println("CAMERA OPENED");
Parameters params = camera.getParameters();
params.set("flash-mode", "off");
params.set("focus-mode", "infinity");
params.set("jpeg-quality", "100");
//params.setPictureSize(2592, 1952);
String str = params.get("picture-size" + "-values");
System.out.println(str);
String size = str.split(",")[0];
System.out.println(size);
//params.set("picture-size", size);
camera.setParameters(params);
System.out.println("CAMERA PARAMETERS SET");
camera.startPreview();
System.out.println("CAMERA PREVIEW STARTED");
camera.autoFocus(new AutoFocusCallBackImpl());
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
System.out.println("CAMERA FAIL, SKIP");
return ;
}
}//if
}//onreceive
private void TakePicture(Camera camera)
{
camera.takePicture(new Camera.ShutterCallback() {
#Override
public void onShutter() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
System.out.println("CAMERA SHUTTER CALLBACK");
}
}
, null,
new Camera.PictureCallback() {
public void onPictureTaken(byte[] imageData, Camera c) {
//c.release();
System.out.println("CAMERA CALLBACK");
FileOutputStream outStream = null;
try {
System.out.println("Start Callback");
File esd = Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory();
outStream = new FileOutputStream(esd.getAbsolutePath() + String.format(
"/DCIM/%d.jpg", System.currentTimeMillis()));
outStream.write(imageData);
outStream.close();
System.out.println( "onPictureTaken - wrote bytes: " + imageData.length);
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
System.out.println("File not found exception");
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
System.out.println("IO exception");
} finally {
System.out.println("Finally");
c.release();
}
}
}
);
//camera.release();
}//TAKE PICTURE
private class AutoFocusCallBackImpl implements Camera.AutoFocusCallback {
#Override
public void onAutoFocus(boolean success, Camera camera) {
//bIsAutoFocused = success; //update the flag used in onKeyDown()
System.out.println("Inside autofocus callback. autofocused="+success);
//play the autofocus sound
//MediaPlayer.create(CameraActivity.this, R.raw.auto_focus).start();
if(success)
{
System.out.println("AUTO FOCUS SUCCEDED");
}
else
{
System.out.println("AUTO FOCUS FAILED");
}
TakePicture(camera);
System.out.println("CALLED TAKE PICTURE");
}
}//AUTOFOCUSCALLBACK

1.First of all put all camera logic out of BroadCast receiver & put it into seprate Activity.
2.
When the pictures are saved to the DCIM folder, the taken pictures do not show up in the default 'Photos' app on my phone, unless i reboot the phone.
because MediaScanner needs to be called to rescan images/changes once you take photo. When u reboot phone mediascanner scans media & finds new images. for this isuue you should check out MediaScanner.
3.Follow Android Camera Tutorial & Camera API
-Thanks