Develop Reference

Front camera brightness get very low when start recording in custom camera

I'm working in a custom video recorder which contain both front and back camera. When i start recording in back camera no problem, when i start recording in front camera brightness of the camera reduced.
i have camera switch button to change front and back camera
int currentCameraId;
reverseCamera.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
mCamera.stopPreview();
mCamera.release();
if (currentCameraId == Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_BACK) {
currentCameraId = Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT;
} else {
currentCameraId = Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_BACK;
}
mCamera = Camera.open(currentCameraId);
setCameraDisplayOrientation(UnlVideoActivity.this, currentCameraId, mCamera);
try {
mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(mHolder);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
mCamera.startPreview();
}
});
public void setCameraDisplayOrientation(Activity activity,
int cameraId, android.hardware.Camera camera) {
android.hardware.Camera.CameraInfo info =
new android.hardware.Camera.CameraInfo();
android.hardware.Camera.getCameraInfo(cameraId, info);
int rotation = activity.getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay().getRotation();
int degrees = 0;
params.setRotation(rotation);
switch (rotation) {
case Surface.ROTATION_0:
Toast.makeText(UnlVideoActivity.this, "LAND", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
degrees = 0;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_90:
Toast.makeText(UnlVideoActivity.this, "PORT", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
degrees = 90;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_180:
degrees = 180;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_270:
degrees = 270;
break;
}
int result;
if (info.facing == Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT) {
result = (info.orientation + degrees) % 360;
result = (360 - result) % 360; // compensate the mirror
} else { // back-facing
result = (info.orientation - degrees + 360) % 360;
}
camera.setDisplayOrientation(result);
camera.startPreview();
}
by this way i switch the front camera when i start recoring the brightness came to low.
code for recording
private boolean prepareMediaRecorder() {
mCamera = getCameraInstance();
mediaRecorder = new MediaRecorder();
mediaRecorder.setOrientationHint(orientationHint);
mCamera.unlock();
mediaRecorder.setPreviewDisplay(mHolder.getSurface());
mediaRecorder.setCamera(mCamera);
mediaRecorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.CAMCORDER);
mediaRecorder.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.CAMERA);
mediaRecorder.setProfile(CamcorderProfile.get(CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_HIGH));
mediaRecorder.setOutputFile("/sdcard/myvideo.mp4");
mediaRecorder.setMaxDuration(60000); // Set max duration 60 sec.
mediaRecorder.setMaxFileSize(5000000); // Set max file size 5M
mediaRecorder.setPreviewDisplay(mCameraSurfaceView.getHolder().getSurface());
try {
mediaRecorder.prepare();
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
releaseMediaRecorder();
return false;
} catch (IOException e) {
releaseMediaRecorder();
return false;
}
return true;
}

You should try manipulating camera iso settings. As it will let camera capture more light and you might solve your issue.
Camera camera = Camera.open();
Camera.Parameters params =
camera.getParameters();
params.set("iso", "400");
camera.setParameters(params);
There can be more iso settings as 100,200,1000,auto etc
If you want to isolate this setting only for front cam then just manipulate it if the cam in action is front cam.
Do let me know if this changed anything for you.

Camera lags when orientation is changed

I am trying to create a camera preview using SurfaceView and it mostly works fine. I initialize the camera on onSurfaceCreated method and destroy it on onSurfaceDestroyed. Why are the above methods being called when the orientation of the device changes. Following is the surface view code.
#Override
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
// Initialize the camera
initCamera();
Log.d("tags", "Camera Started!");
}
#Override
public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
if (camera != null) {
camera.stopPreview();
camera.release();
}
Log.d("tags", "Camera destroyed!");
}
public void initCamera() {
if (camera == null) {
camera = Camera.open(); // Get's the first camera
}
try {
camera.setPreviewDisplay(sfHolder);
} catch (IOException err) {
err.printStackTrace();
}
// Set camera orientation
Activity activity = (Activity)this.getContext();
this.setCameraDisplayOrientation(activity);
camera.startPreview();
}
private void setCameraDisplayOrientation(Activity activity) {
Camera.CameraInfo info = new Camera.CameraInfo();
Camera.getCameraInfo(cameraId, info);
int rotation = activity.getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay().getRotation();
int degrees = 0;
switch (rotation) {
case Surface.ROTATION_0: degrees = 0; break;
case Surface.ROTATION_90: degrees = 90; break;
case Surface.ROTATION_180: degrees = 180; break;
case Surface.ROTATION_270: degrees = 270; break;
}
int result;
if (info.facing == Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT) {
result = (info.orientation + degrees) % 360;
result = (360 - result) % 360; // compensate the mirror
} else { // back-facing
result = (info.orientation - degrees + 360) % 360;
}
Log.d("tag", "Result -- " + result);
boolean camNull = camera == null;
Log.d("tag", String.valueOf(camNull));
camera.setDisplayOrientation(result);
When I launch the application on my device, the preview starts as expected but when I change the orientation from portrait to landscape and vice versa, the preview hangs for a few seconds and the new preview is shown with the changed orientation.
According to the logs surface is being destroyed and created again when orientation changes and hence the camera is being re-initialized everytime orientation changes. How can I overcome this ? Am I doing anything wrong here ?

How can I resolve rotating 90 degree of video when playing on android?

I have a video recorder on my android app which works well. Most important piece of code is here:
protected void startRecording() throws IOException
{
mCamera.stopPreview();
mCamera.unlock();
mrec = new MediaRecorder();
mrec.setCamera(mCamera);
mrec.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC);
mrec.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.CAMERA);
mrec.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.MPEG_4);
mrec.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.AudioEncoder.AMR_NB);
mrec.setVideoEncoder(MediaRecorder.VideoEncoder.MPEG_4_SP);
mrec.setOutputFile(Videopath);
mrec.setPreviewDisplay(surfaceHolder.getSurface());
mrec.prepare();
isRecording=true;
mrec.start();
}
//-------------------------------------------------------------
protected void stopRecording()
{
releaseOnExit();
mCamera = Camera.open();
mCamera.lock();
surfaceView = (SurfaceView) findViewById(R.id.surface_camera);
surfaceHolder = surfaceView.getHolder();
surfaceHolder.addCallback(this);
surfaceHolder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_PUSH_BUFFERS);
Parameters params = mCamera.getParameters();
mCamera.setParameters(params);
mCamera.setDisplayOrientation(90);
try {
mCamera .setPreviewDisplay(surfaceHolder);
}
catch (IOException e)
{
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
mCamera .startPreview();
btnlistToggle.setEnabled(true);
}
//-------------------------------------------------------------
#Override
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder)
{
if (mCamera != null)
{
Parameters params = mCamera.getParameters();
mCamera.setParameters(params);
mCamera.setDisplayOrientation(90);
try {
mCamera .setPreviewDisplay(holder);
}
catch (IOException e)
{
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
mCamera .startPreview();
}
else
{
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Camera not available!", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
VideoRecorderActivity.this.finish();
}
}
I have a video player on my app ,too. But when I play my recorded videos , video 90 degree rotates which isn't good for showing. I play my recorded video by KMplayer on windows But video has 90 degree rotation at there . And I must tell that I use SurfaceView for player. How can I resolve it?
It is necessary for me or for other users read this post.

Preview orientation depends on the orientation of the device and camera orientation.
Basically what you need is to calculate the orientation of the camera preview based on those conditions.
We need two help methods:
1 - Calculate the device orientation:
public int getDeviceOrientation(Context context) {
int degrees = 0;
WindowManager windowManager =
(WindowManager) context.getSystemService(Context.WINDOW_SERVICE);
int rotation = windowManager.getDefaultDisplay().getRotation();
switch(rotation) {
case Surface.ROTATION_0:
degrees = 0;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_90:
degrees = 90;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_180:
degrees = 180;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_270:
degrees = 270;
break;
}
return degrees;
}
2 - Calculate Camera preview rotation:
public static int getPreviewOrientation(Context context, int cameraId) {
int temp = 0;
int previewOrientation = 0;
Camera.CameraInfo cameraInfo = new Camera.CameraInfo();
Camera.getCameraInfo(cameraId, cameraInfo);
int deviceOrientation = getDeviceOrientation(context);
temp = cameraInfo.orientation - deviceOrientation + 360;
previewOrientation = temp % 360;
return previewOrientation;
}
At your code, before mediaRecorder.prepare();
int rotation = getPreviewOrientation(context, cameraId);
mediaRecorder.setOrientationHint(rotation);
To use those methods is required a context and the camera Id in use.
Get the camera Id for back camera:
public int getCamaraBackId(){
numberOfCameras = Camera.getNumberOfCameras();
CameraInfo cameraInfo = new CameraInfo();
for (int i = 0; i < numberOfCameras; i++) {
Camera.getCameraInfo(i, cameraInfo);
if (cameraInfo.facing == CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_BACK) {
return i;
}
}
return -1 // Device do not have back camera !!!!???
}
Open camera with Camera.open(getCamaraBackId());
For more information see Android documentation

I know your issue,
Video use Media Recorder from Camera, so you need rotate Media Recorder. use below codes should be fixed your issue.
/**
*
* #param mMediaRecorder
* #return
*/
public static MediaRecorder rotateBackVideo(MediaRecorder mMediaRecorder) {
/**
* Define Orientation of video in here,
* if in portrait mode, use value = 90,
* if in landscape mode, use value = 0
*/
switch (CustomCamera.current_orientation) {
case 0:
mMediaRecorder.setOrientationHint(90);
break;
case 90:
mMediaRecorder.setOrientationHint(180);
break;
case 180:
mMediaRecorder.setOrientationHint(270);
break;
case 270:
mMediaRecorder.setOrientationHint(0);
break;
}
return mMediaRecorder;
}
Should add before prepare() method :
// Step 5: Set the preview output
/**
* Define Orientation of image in here,
* if in portrait mode, use value = 90,
* if in landscape mode, use value = 0
*/
CustomCamera.mMediaRecorder = Utils.rotateBackVideo(CustomCamera.mMediaRecorder);
CustomCamera.mMediaRecorder.setPreviewDisplay(mCameraPreview.getHolder().getSurface());
Thank you

Use this for your MediaRecorder.
mrec.setOrientationHint(90);
Take a look at the documentation

mrec.setVideoEncoder(MediaRecorder.VideoEncoder.MPEG_4_SP);
mrec.setOutputFile(Videopath);
mrec.setPreviewDisplay(surfaceHolder.getSurface());
mrec.setOrientationHint(90);
mrec.prepare();

Nexus 7 Camera (or all front cameras?) are mirrored (upside-down)

To get the camera reference, I do this:
#Override
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
Log.d(TAG, "Surface created!");
mCamera = Camera.open();
if (mCamera == null) {
// try to open front facing camera
try {
mCamera = Camera.open(0);
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
"No camera available!", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
}
try {
mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(mCameraHolder);
setCameraDisplayOrientation(CameraActivity.this, 0, mCamera);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
if (mCamera != null)
mCamera.release();
mCamera = null;
}
}
Where setCameraDisplayOrientation is this (which I found on stackoverflow somewhere):
public static void setCameraDisplayOrientation(Activity activity,
int cameraId, android.hardware.Camera camera) {
android.hardware.Camera.CameraInfo info = new android.hardware.Camera.CameraInfo();
android.hardware.Camera.getCameraInfo(cameraId, info);
int rotation = activity.getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay()
.getRotation();
int degrees = 0;
switch (rotation) {
case Surface.ROTATION_0:
degrees = 0;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_90:
degrees = 90;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_180:
degrees = 180;
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_270:
degrees = 270;
break;
}
int result;
if (info.facing == Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT) {
result = (info.orientation + degrees) % 360;
result = (360 - result) % 360; // compensate the mirror
} else { // back-facing
result = (info.orientation - degrees + 360) % 360;
}
camera.setDisplayOrientation(result);
}
When I take a picture with my Nexus 4, it has the right orientation. When I try it with my Nexus 7, which only has a front facing camera, it is mirrored (upside down) (was it even without this piece of code actually, so it kind of does nothing I guess.).
Is there any reliable way to get the camera orientation and to make this work? I've searched on Google and Stackoverflow but did not find anything that works so far.

This is the solution that I found worked with the nexus 7 and majority other devices I tested like HTC One M8, Lenovo Yoga, Lg G4 Nexus 4, Note 4 and the Oneplus One.
camera.setDisplayOrientation(90);
However, this solution doesn't work with the Nexus 6 which flips the preview, so if anyone has a better solution than this please share.

MediaRecorder video capturing in portrait mode

I'm try to make custom video app. Iwork using settings in manifest 2.2 only (API 8).
All goes well but I don't understand why portrait mode video does not differ from lanscape one.
To make detection of device changed orientation I use this code within surfaceChanged()
if (mCamera != null) {
Camera.Parameters p = mCamera.getParameters();
try {
mCamera.stopPreview();
} catch (Exception e) {
// TODO: handle exception
}
int previewWidth = 0;
int previewHeight = 0;
if (mPreviewSize != null) {
Display display = ((WindowManager) mContext.getSystemService(Context.WINDOW_SERVICE)).getDefaultDisplay();
int rotation = display.getRotation();
switch (rotation) {
case Surface.ROTATION_0:
previewWidth = mPreviewSize.height;
previewHeight = mPreviewSize.width;
mCamera.setDisplayOrientation(90);
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_90:
previewWidth = mPreviewSize.width;
previewHeight = mPreviewSize.height;
mCamera.setDisplayOrientation(0);
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_180:
previewWidth = mPreviewSize.height;
previewHeight = mPreviewSize.width;
mCamera.setDisplayOrientation(270);
break;
case Surface.ROTATION_270:
previewWidth = mPreviewSize.width;
previewHeight = mPreviewSize.height;
mCamera.setDisplayOrientation(180);
break;
}
p.setPreviewSize(previewWidth, previewHeight);
mCamera.setParameters(p);
}
try {
mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(mHolder);
mCamera.startPreview();
} catch (Exception e) {
Log.d(TAG, "Cannot start preview.", e);
}
}
Works like a charm. If I rotate device surface change orientation, calling surfaceChanged, where camera is set to appropriate DisplayRotation.
The question is how to determine later if the video captured either in lanscape mode or in portrait one. As I got all the videos are captured in landscape orientation. It does not depend of setDisplayOrientation which affect only preview process.
Also exploring the problem I noticed that if to use standard Camera app it writes special tag to video file (seen in MediaInfo): Rotation : 90 for the portrait captured videos.
But MediaRecorder class does not.
Seems that is the problem. Anybody got to solve this?

Found it !
Indeed, you can change the preview, you can tag the video, but there's no way to actually change the video... (maybe a speed issue or something)
camera.setDisplayOrientation(90);
To rotate the preview, then
recorder.setOrientationHint(90);
To tag the video as having a 90° rotation, then the phone will automatically rotate it when reading.
So all you have to do is
camera = Camera.open();
//Set preview with a 90° ortientation
camera.setDisplayOrientation(90);
camera.unlock();
holder = getHolder();
holder.addCallback(this);
holder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_PUSH_BUFFERS);
recorder = new MediaRecorder();
recorder.setCamera(camera);
recorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC);
recorder.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.DEFAULT);
recorder.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.MPEG_4);
recorder.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.AudioEncoder.AMR_NB);
recorder.setVideoEncoder(MediaRecorder.VideoEncoder.MPEG_4_SP);
recorder.setOutputFile(getVideoFolder()+rnd.nextString()+".mp4");
recorder.setPreviewDisplay(holder.getSurface());
//Tags the video with a 90° angle in order to tell the phone how to display it
recorder.setOrientationHint(90);
if (recorder != null) {
try {
recorder.prepare();
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
Log.e("IllegalStateException", e.toString());
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e("IOException", e.toString());
}
}
recorder.start();
Hope it helps ;-)

camera.setDisplayOrientation(90) does not work in all devices. Following solution work perfectly in different devices and also handling marshmallow runtime permission.
See setCameraRotation method
public class CameraPreview extends SurfaceView implements SurfaceHolder.Callback {
private SurfaceHolder mHolder;
private Camera mCamera;
public static int rotate;
private Context mContext;
public CameraPreview(Context context, Camera camera) {
super(context);
mCamera = camera;
mHolder = getHolder();
mHolder.addCallback(this);
// deprecated setting, but required on Android versions prior to 3.0
mHolder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_PUSH_BUFFERS);
mContext = context;
}
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
try {
// create the surface and start camera preview
if (mCamera != null) {
mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);
mCamera.startPreview();
}
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.d(VIEW_LOG_TAG, "Error setting camera preview: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
public void refreshCamera(Camera camera) {
if (mHolder.getSurface() == null) {
// preview surface does not exist
return;
}
// stop preview before making changes
stopPreview();
// set preview size and make any resize, rotate or
// reformatting changes here
setCamera(camera);
// start preview with new settings
startPreview();
}
public void stopPreview(){
try {
if(mCamera != null)
mCamera.stopPreview();
} catch (Exception e) {
// ignore: tried to stop a non-existent preview
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void startPreview(){
try {
if(mCamera != null) {
mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(mHolder);
mCamera.startPreview();
}else{
Log.d(VIEW_LOG_TAG, "Error starting camera preview: " );
}
} catch (Exception e) {
Log.d(VIEW_LOG_TAG, "Error starting camera preview: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder holder, int format, int w, int h) {
// If your preview can change or rotate, take care of those events here.
// Make sure to stop the preview before resizing or reformatting it.
refreshCamera(mCamera);
}
public void setCamera(Camera camera) {
//method to set a camera instance
mCamera = camera;
/**
* add camera orientation and display rotation according to screen landscape or portrait
*/
setCameraRotation();
}
#Override
public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
if(mCamera != null){
mCamera.release();
}
}
public void setCameraRotation() {
try {
Camera.CameraInfo camInfo = new Camera.CameraInfo();
if (VideoCaptureActivity.cameraId == 0)
Camera.getCameraInfo(Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_BACK, camInfo);
else
Camera.getCameraInfo(Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT, camInfo);
int cameraRotationOffset = camInfo.orientation;
// ...
Camera.Parameters parameters = mCamera.getParameters();
int rotation = ((Activity)mContext).getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay().getRotation();
int degrees = 0;
switch (rotation) {
case Surface.ROTATION_0:
degrees = 0;
break; // Natural orientation
case Surface.ROTATION_90:
degrees = 90;
break; // Landscape left
case Surface.ROTATION_180:
degrees = 180;
break;// Upside down
case Surface.ROTATION_270:
degrees = 270;
break;// Landscape right
}
int displayRotation;
if (camInfo.facing == Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT) {
displayRotation = (cameraRotationOffset + degrees) % 360;
displayRotation = (360 - displayRotation) % 360; // compensate
// the
// mirror
} else { // back-facing
displayRotation = (cameraRotationOffset - degrees + 360) % 360;
}
mCamera.setDisplayOrientation(displayRotation);
if (camInfo.facing == Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT) {
rotate = (360 + cameraRotationOffset + degrees) % 360;
} else {
rotate = (360 + cameraRotationOffset - degrees) % 360;
}
parameters.set("orientation", "portrait");
parameters.setRotation(rotate);
mCamera.setParameters(parameters);
} catch (Exception e) {
}
}
}
Now prepare media recorder with correct rotation so that recorded video play in right orientation.
mediaRecorder.setOrientationHint(CameraPreview.rotate);
private boolean prepareMediaRecorder() {
mediaRecorder = new MediaRecorder();
mCamera.unlock();
mediaRecorder.setCamera(mCamera);
mediaRecorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.CAMCORDER);
mediaRecorder.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.CAMERA);
mediaRecorder.setOrientationHint(CameraPreview.rotate);
mediaRecorder.setProfile(CamcorderProfile.get(CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_LOW));
mediaRecorder.setOutputFile(filePath);
mediaRecorder.setMaxDuration(15000); // Set max duration 15 sec.
mediaRecorder.setMaxFileSize(10000000); // Set max file size 1M
try {
mediaRecorder.prepare();
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
releaseMediaRecorder();
return false;
} catch (IOException e) {
releaseMediaRecorder();
return false;
}
return true;
}
You can download complete sample https://github.com/umesh-kushwaha/Android_Video_Recording_portrait