Camera Class

Definition

[Android.Runtime.Register("android/hardware/Camera", DoNotGenerateAcw=true)]
[System.Obsolete("This class is obsoleted in this android platform")]
public class Camera : Java.Lang.Object

[<Android.Runtime.Register("android/hardware/Camera", DoNotGenerateAcw=true)>]
[<System.Obsolete("This class is obsoleted in this android platform")>]
type Camera = class
    inherit Object

Inheritance

Object

Object

Camera

Attributes

RegisterAttribute ObsoleteAttribute

Remarks

The Camera class is used to set image capture settings, start/stop preview, snap pictures, and retrieve frames for encoding for video. This class is a client for the Camera service, which manages the actual camera hardware.

To access the device camera, you must declare the android.Manifest.permission#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" />

To take pictures with this class, use the following steps:

<ol> <li>Obtain an instance of Camera from #open(int).

<li>Get existing (default) settings with #getParameters().

<li>If necessary, modify the returned Camera.Parameters object and call #setParameters(Camera.Parameters).

<li>Call #setDisplayOrientation(int) to ensure correct orientation of preview.

<li><b>Important</b>: Pass a fully initialized SurfaceHolder to #setPreviewDisplay(SurfaceHolder). Without a surface, the camera will be unable to start the preview.

<li><b>Important</b>: Call #startPreview() to start updating the preview surface. Preview must be started before you can take a picture.

<li>When you want, call #takePicture(Camera.ShutterCallback, Camera.PictureCallback, Camera.PictureCallback, Camera.PictureCallback) to capture a photo. Wait for the callbacks to provide the actual image data.

<li>After taking a picture, preview display will have stopped. To take more photos, call #startPreview() again first.

<li>Call #stopPreview() to stop updating the preview surface.

<li><b>Important:</b> Call #release() to release the camera for use by other applications. Applications should release the camera immediately in android.app.Activity#onPause() (and re-#open() it in android.app.Activity#onResume()). </ol>

To quickly switch to video recording mode, use these steps:

<ol> <li>Obtain and initialize a Camera and start preview as described above.

<li>Call #unlock() to allow the media process to access the camera.

<li>Pass the camera to android.media.MediaRecorder#setCamera(Camera). See android.media.MediaRecorder information about video recording.

<li>When finished recording, call #reconnect() to re-acquire and re-lock the camera.

<li>If desired, restart preview and take more photos or videos.

<li>Call #stopPreview() and #release() as described above. </ol>

This class is not thread-safe, and is meant for use from one event thread. Most long-running operations (preview, focus, photo capture, etc) happen asynchronously and invoke callbacks as necessary. Callbacks will be invoked on the event thread #open(int) was called from. This class's methods must never be called from multiple threads at once.

<p class="caution"><strong>Caution:</strong> Different Android-powered devices may have different hardware specifications, such as megapixel ratings and auto-focus capabilities. In order for your application to be compatible with more devices, you should not make assumptions about the device camera specifications.</p>

<div class="special reference"> <h3>Developer Guides</h3>

For more information about using cameras, read the Camera developer guide.

</div>

This member is deprecated. We recommend using the new android.hardware.camera2 API for new applications.

Java documentation for android.hardware.Camera.

Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by the Android Open Source Project and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution License.

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