Database Develop

Accessing the QCIf video camera directly in software

Does anyone know if it's possible to access the forward-facing video camera via software oneself, even if the Video Call feature is not available on your network ? I work for at a hospital and as a "pet project" ( telemedicine ) one of the doctors who has a Kaiser would like to be able to video conference in with the forward facing camera. I would like to pursue this ( and I just might get a Kaiser for myself in the process..hint..hint ), and am curious if anyone has attempted to access the QCIF camera directly.
Any suggestions will be welcomed. Thank you.

Yes
open the camera application, the open the camera menu. (little bar below in the screen) lower line in the middle shows camera, press this button and the camera switch to the forward camera...
And if you want the front camera to start up by default, I scanned the registry and you should change the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE --> software --> HTC --> Camera --> common
change the value of activecameraID from 1 to 2, voila front camera will start first.
offtopic: did anyone tried this already with an voip program and videovoiping? going to check it right away... Because it always starts the rear camera...
cheers

It doesn't work with MS Portrait
I have emailed MS regarding updates to Portrait and compatibility with front facing cameras. They replied saying they are aware of the Camera issue and that they would notify me of any updates.
I am not holding my breath... MS updates are few and far between compared to the rate of development achieved by some of the geniuses on here.

Thanks but....
Thanks for the replies, but I meant programmatically. I'm not trying to take pictures. I want to know where I can find information about how to programmatically access the camera, for a custom application that would run over 3G which would both stream video to the display, and capture and stream video out of the QCIF ....just as if the video call feature were available, but for networks where this is not possible.
As I said, this is for supporting a telemedicine application, that would allow the doctor to interact with a patient at bedside, when they are not physcially present.

For an application that would allow the video conferencing, you might want to consider MeBeam (www.mebeam.com). It's a flash based site that allows you to video conference with up to eight other people. I'm not sure if their flash application will be able to detect your hardware, but it's worth a shot.

[2017.08.02] DSLR Controller v1.05

In an effort to de-duplicate a lot of information, I have moved the bulk of it to the DSLR Controller website. This thread still remains the place to get support, discuss, and ask questions, though!
DSLR Controller was the first and remains the best app to fully control your Canon EOS DSLR from your Android device, through USB cable or Wi-Fi connection. No computer or laptop required, no root required, only a compatible mobile device, a compatible camera, and if connecting through USB, the right cable.
We strongly suggest you read up on the website ( http://dslrcontroller.com/ ) about what DSLR Controller can do, how it works, and how to use it, before purchasing. The website contains a wealth of information you should know before using.
Not all devices are compatible, especially if you want to use a USB connection. For a free app you can use to test compatibility, see the "Remote Release" app ( http://market.android.com/details?id=eu.chainfire.remoterelease ). If you need a refund, go to our website ( http://dslrcontroller.com/ ) and follow the instructions in the FAQ entry. We cannot process refunds through email.
Usage notes, feature lists, device compatibility lists, changelogs, FAQs, can all be found on our website: http://dslrcontroller.com/
Most questions should go to the support and discussion thread at XDA-Developers.com:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1202082
Features
Features include but are not limited to:
- Live View
- Auto Focus (tap Live View)
- Manual focus adjustments (in AF mode)
- Histogram
- Zoom control
- Grid and aspect ratio overlay
- Bulb capture
- Continuous capture
- Image review (+ follow shot, gallery)
- Image filters (peaking, contrast, channel mask, grayscale, 4 modes/filter)
- Video recording
- HDR/Auto Exposure Bracketing
- Focus Bracketing (incl. HDR)
- Focus A-B
- Mirror Lockup support
- Timelapse (incl. HDR)
- Wi-Fi Passthrough
- Extensive modification of settings
-- Shutter speed
-- Aperture
-- ExpComp and Bracket
-- ISO speed
-- Auto-Focus Mode
-- Focus and Zoom area (tap-and-hold Live View)
-- Picture Style
-- Drive Mode
-- White Balance
-- Color Temperature
-- Auto-Lighting Optimizer
-- Metering Mode
-- Image and video quality and format
Available options depend on the mode you have your camera set to (M, Av, Tv, etc) and camera model. Refer to the website ( http://dslrcontroller.com/ ) for further details.
Supported Android devices:
If you are connecting using Wi-Fi, virtually all modern Android devices are supported (your camera needs Wi-Fi support, though). If you are connecting over USB, your device needs USB host support - most recent devices do. Please see the 'Devices' section on our website ( https://dslrcontroller.com/devices.php ) for further information.
If your camera only supports USB, you can modify a TL-MR3040 to provide a Wi-Fi connection ( http://dslrcontroller.com/guide-wifi_mr3040.php )
Supported Canon EOS models:
Newer cameras than listed below are usually supported.
Full support:
- 1D Mark IV
- 1D X
- 1D X Mark II
- 5D Mark II
- 5D Mark III
- 5D Mark IV
- 5Ds(r)
- 50D
- 500D
- 550D
- 6D
- 60D
- 600D
- 650D
- 7D
- 7D Mark II
- 70D
- 700D
- 750D
- 760D
- 80D
- 1100D
- 1200D
- 1300D
- 100D
Limited support:
- 1D mk III
- 1Ds mk III
- 30D
- 40D
- 400D
- 450D
- 1000D
No support:
- pre-2006 models
- EOS M mirrorless devices (work in progress)
Let us know which hardware you are using with DSLR Controller!

Must-read information
Screenshots and video:
http://dslrcontroller.com/about.php
Download, BETA usage notes, and changelogs:
http://dslrcontroller.com/download.php
Table of supported Android devices and Canon EOS DSLRs:
http://dslrcontroller.com/devices.php
FAQ:
http://dslrcontroller.com/faq.php

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very nice
Slashgear article here: http://www.slashgear.com/dslr-contr...eos-released-today-on-android-video-04169575/
android community article here: http://androidcommunity.com/dslr-co...control-your-dslr-with-android-beta-20110804/

Anybody knows is it will work with 450d or is it to old? If it does I definitely buy the app
dont realy know whats DSLR mean...

Mackzen said:
dont realy know whats DSLR mean...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Digital single-lens reflex. The first DSLR to make it big in the US was Canon's Digital Rebel.

thats cool. too bad ive a nikon
xD

NotATreoFan said:
Digital single-lens reflex. The first DSLR to make it big in the US was Canon's Digital Rebel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, so all those cameras will work? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Canon_EOS_DSLR_cameras

Some really nice updates in the beta! I have seen greater stability and manual mode is working much better!
For the first time, I have access to the AF button and can focus using those. That is a big step forward. I had it stop responding once, but after restarting, it worked great.
Question, not sure if this is a current limitation or if i am not doing something right. When I choose to magnify the image, it zooms in the rectangle box. Is there a way to move that box around the screen, like on the liveview of my camera when zooming?

didn't work
Hello,
I have Canon EOS D1000 and Notion Ink Adam running AdamComb 0.3 custom Honeycomb ROM. Software said that USB host mode not supported on my device, although it should be . Too bad, because I was very exited about this software Maybe my camera and device could be added to next update? And if I can be any help, I would be glad to do so.

I realy hope you make it work with nikon cameras, I have a nikon d60 so i would not get livewiev. but just to be able to remote triger would be nice plus reviewing the taken photo on the fly. right now the built in gallery in android works, it reconises the camera and shows me the pictures on it. But if i take a new shoot i have to exit out of the gallery to get it to show me the new photo.

Hello,
Got 10" Acer Iconia A500 tablet, Canon 50D. Could I connect my camera to an ordinary USB port this device has, and use your software?

Looks great, just what I have been looking for and I'll happily pay for it and test out on the Canon 450d but I can't find it on the market.
Edit: Ignore that I found it! Will test it out as soon as my USB Host cable arrives and report back.

super cool you guys made techcrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/GOsO-gx0eK0/

You continue to be one of my mobile developer heros!

Amazing!
I would love to have this, but I don't have a capable phone. Hopefully CM can gain the support and the Evo 3D can gain CM . I assume this will work on any EOS? If it works on the 550D I don't see why it wouldn't work on the 600D...
Saw it here...
http://cheesycam.com/control-dslr-with-usb-android/

this is great! Found it on Android Police I believe.
Is there a reason this beta is a paid app?
Also, do you think its possible to do something like this on a Nikon? I'm not asking you to do it (I mean,unless you wanted to), but just wondering if there's hope... my D80 may be too old for it anyway, but it'd be awesome either way.
Great work, congrats on this getting out to the public so quickly!

Is this only for cameras that support live view
I may be wrong but from the list of cameras supported so far, they are all new EOS models that have the live view feature. I suspect the application may not work with older EOS models. Has anyone got it to work with a 1D Mark2N?

Missing features / replacement apps

Hi,
I was using a Samsung WB850F (smart camera as they call it) prior to Galaxy Camera. Now I miss some of the features that it has but GC does not. Maybe we could find equivalent apps on the Play Store which could bring these features on GC. I will try to update this thread with recommended apps for those missing features. Please share your ideas with me.
Also, I couldn't find how to activate digital zoom on Galaxy Camera. I don't believe that it is missing on GC. Do you have any ideas on how to activate it ?
Missing features and apps to get them:
- DLNA share (app: Skifta)
- 3D still photo
- 3D panorama
- Action panorama
- Remote Viewfinder

Hi,
it's surprising to have zero replies
I'd expect at least someone to answer my question about digital zoom.

There isn't a digital zoom on this camera, optical only I'm afraid.
AllShare is it's version of DLNA (as DLNA is the underlying technology of AllShare) is there something specific you're wanting to do?
You can't have true 3D without 2 lenses so I'm not sure what to suggest there?
Remote view finder/control, we're all gonna have to wait for Samsung to pull their fingers out before we get an official app, I know some people have used Remote Camera from the Play store but I dont rate it much.

Why do you need digital Zoom? That's something what you can do better with photshop and else. And, oh yeah, you have 21x optical zoom, u know?
Do you know Allshare? It's integrated and Samsung's way of dlna. For myself i use bubbleupnp. You'll find it within network-settings ---> more settings ---> nearby devices.
3D, ok that's a thing what can't be done, at the moment. With Android 4.1.2 Samsung brought some new smart-modes. That's the big deal with an android-camera, it can be upgraded and u can use other camera-apps. I use 360 camera for Tilt-Shift-Photography, but can only be used in portrait-mode.
Within 4.1.2 Remote-Viewfinder support is integrated but don't work with the available apps from Samsung. We have to wait for updates.
Regards, Martin
Sent from my GT-P5110 using xda premium

thanks for your replies. it's really suprising to see there's no digital zoom.
On the WB850F, I had 21x optic zoom and 4x digital zoom. It also had a smart zoom mode which supplies 26x zoom without any resolution loss.
I thought we should have it on GC too.
3D still photo and 3D panorama is also possible with one lens on WB850F.
I think it does it with some technology like sensor shifting.
You see, I thought GC would be an upgrade after WB850F but it (GC) has lots of missing features.
Maybe I should keep WB850F and sell the GC...
I know, to have Android on such hardware is really nice. It would be very customizable. But on the other hand, I really miss the features of WB850F.

Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch Hands on video

http://youtu.be/qQHVN1hcrWY
The centerpiece of the Galaxy Gear, as you may have read by now, is a 320 x 320-pixel, 1.63-inch AMOLED touchscreen. There's a speaker and a pair of mics for recording and playing back video content and communicating with a caller via the built-in dialer, which works with the native phone app in your connected Galaxy device. The Gear includes an 800MHz processor, a 315mAh battery, and -- in a somewhat surprising twist -- a BSI sensor and autofocus lens mounted in the wrist strap that's tasked with capturing 1.9-megapixel stills and 10-second video clips at 720p, 640 x 640 or VGA resolution with sound. That camera, designed for on-the-go captures where convenience, not image quality, is a priority, is paired with a pre-installed app called Memographer. That application, and dozens of others that will be available at launch, are key to boosting the Gear's appeal, and setting it apart from the competition.
Like other smartwatches we've seen and reviewed, such as the monochrome Pebble, the Gear organizes apps, watch faces and other pages in swappable cards. With such a limited display resolution, it's only possible to display one at a time, and that's where touch comes in. To navigate through the wearable's many cards, you can swipe with a finger. There's a single button, located on the right side. Press it once to go to the home screen. A double press launches S Voice, and a triple tap activates the "safety assistance" feature, which sends your location info to a saved contact, along with a message notifying them that there's an emergency.
We haven't been blown away by any smartwatch's performance, and that's much the case here. The Gear feels awfully sluggish, whether you're launching an app such as Evernote or Path, or swiping down from the home screen to activate the camera. Watch faces, which you can upload from the Gear's Android companion app, performed well, as did the Music card, which simply serves as a remote for any music app (native or third-party) currently active on a connected device.

Question Mi 11 Ultra - run camera in the background?

Hi All I realise the security risk of this, but I want to use the Mi camera app in the background so I can use the UW lens as a dashboard cam. In the foreground will be my satnav program and also in the background will be VLC playing my favourite music.
The problem I have is that the Mi Camera app won't run in the background. If I start it and switch away, when I switch back, it's stopped recording. There are plenty of 3rd party dashcam apps, but camera2 API only reports 2 cameras and typically 3rd party apps haven't caught on to the multiple camera configs of phones these days.
I did find a setting in Settings/Privacy/Protection/Network Interception/Restrict Using camera in the background which I thought might be a clue, but the setting doesn't work and has blue text "Protected" next to it. Am I asking for the impossible? All workarounds gratefully received.... Cheers Steve
ps I'm running Chinese MIUI 12.5.4 Stable

If you can figure out some way to do this, the phone is going to get hot and you will probably need to keep it plugged in... This phone eats battery life using the cameras

Hi @speedtripler thanks for your reply. After much googling and playing with privacy protection settings, I found an app, cunningly called Background Video Recorder here:
Background Video Recorder Pro - Apps on Google Play
motion detection / recording videos / baby monitor / burst image capturing
play.google.com
After a quick play, it seems to work, so I'll go for the 'full monty' later and try it out with Navmii navigating and VLC playing my music. I do use a power supply in the car and I'll take a bucket of water too, in case it catches fire!
My attempts with Mi camera and GCAM 8.1 failed, as both pause video recording as soon as they go into the background.
What I really wanted was the UW lens, as this will cover the most ground, but I may have to stick with plain old Wide as not many apps support multiple lenses.
I'll update later after putting the fire out
Cheers Steve

Ok so I did a quick test last night and ran my satnav (Navmii) in the foreground, VLC playing music in the background and Background Video Recorder in the background and it all worked just dandy.
The only slight issue is the file size was large, 700MB after 15 mins. Now I have 500GB of storage, but that's a little high. There doesn't seem to be an option to set the save location, otherwise I could save it to an SD card so I've emailed the developer with the suggestion and see what he says. Also I've asked if he can support multiple lenses, as UW would be just great.
It does offer various framerates, though and 5fps is probably OK for a dashcam so I'll give that a try and report back.
After a 15 minute drive I didn't notice any overheating problems, but I have 4 hour drive on Wednesday so see how that goes.
Cheers Steve

The nice man at Arbel Solutions replied very quickly and pointed out it is possible to save to other locations in Settings. This was greyed out so I didn't see it, but you have to pay for the software to enable it as it's a premium feature which is fair enough.
On switching lenses, this is also supported, but it just offers Main and Selfie, which ties up with the Camera2 API checkers. I guess I need to root my phone and enable Camera2 API.
That's all for now....
Steve

Just a quick update on this. I ran Background Video Recorder on my trip to see my daughetr and grandkids. It's a 200 mile trek and all worked fine. I used Navmii, VLC and BVR all at once and didn't notice any over heating problems.
However, on the way back, I did the same but this time with BVR recording 8K video. Gosh, that quality is good . Now I want to buy a 4K TV!
After a couple of hours, the phone overheated, popped up a message saying just that, so I switched it off and let it cool down. The phone is working fine again now it's cool phew! I guess @speedtripler was right lol.
The 2 issues with heat are
1) The sun was shining on the phone
2) I'm using a hard plastic backing cover on the phone to mount it on the holder
2) must frustrate heat dissipation quite a bit.
So next up is to buy some gauze on eBay, cut an opening in the backing cover and fit the gauze. If that doesn't work, I'll probably have to make a piped cooling system with a fan.
Oh well, back to reality!
Cheers
Steve

Oh, I forgot there's another workaround for this. If the camera doesn't work in the background, you can run it in the foreground with other apps.
Sound simple? Well it's a bit fiddly, but Android 11 offers split screen, so you can have two apps running in the foreground. The only gotcha is that both apps need to support split screen.
Surprisingly, the stock camera doesn't so that's out. Neither does GCAM 8.1. Good 'ole OpenCamera does and it works well.
I'm still getting the hang of split screen but here's a basic guide:
1) start both apps
2) Go to Task Manager (hamburger icon)
3) long press on the first app and choose split screen ( like 2 oblong boxes, 1 on top of the other)
4) In Task Manager, click on the other app
Now the 1st app will appear in the top of the screen and the second at the bottom.
For my example, I now have OpenCamera recording video and Navmii giving me directions.
Brill!
Below is a screenshot. See the small white horizontal bar in the middle of the pic? You use this to change the size of the window. What's not to like? (sorry about getting my big finger in front of the lens)

The grids arrived yesterday to ventilate my hard plastic case so I set about cutting holes in it to fit them. The case is very hard and difficult to scratch, but was no match for my Dremel.
Hopefully this will promote air flow and cooling when the phone is crying while it's pushed hard.
The grids were stuck on with Gasket Goo which is good up to 230° C at which point I think the phone would be spitting flames!
This needs testing on a long journey on a hot day. If it still overheats, I'll clip on a mini 5V fan which I'm sure will sort it.
A phone with a cooling fan? Lol
Cheers
Steve