I'd like to ask for some advice regarding the following problem. I'm currently working on a camera app for android and i am stuck. I used the official android development site for guidance, and the program is working fine except when i click the capture button for the first time the preview freezes and stays like that. Now, this is not causing the app to stop, because after the freezing i can still click the button and it takes the picture. I know this because if i check the save location the taken pictures are there.
So to summarize this mess, I'd like my program to show the preview continuously even after taking a picture. Any help would be appreciated!
My code:
My main activity:
package com.camera123.cr;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.SearchManager.OnCancelListener;
import android.hardware.Camera;
import android.hardware.Camera.PictureCallback;
import android.hardware.Camera.ShutterCallback;
import android.media.CamcorderProfile;
import android.media.MediaRecorder;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.FrameLayout;
public class Camera123 extends Activity{
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
private Camera mCamera;
private cameraPreview mPreview;
private MediaRecorder mMediaRecorder;
private boolean isRecording = false;
private Button captureButton;
FrameLayout preview;
public static final int MEDIA_TYPE_IMAGE = 1;
public static final int MEDIA_TYPE_VIDEO = 2;
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
// Create an instance of Camera
mCamera = getCameraInstance();
// Create our Preview view and set it as the content of our activity.
mPreview = new cameraPreview(this, mCamera);
captureButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_capture);
preview = (FrameLayout) findViewById(R.id.camera_preview);
preview.addView(mPreview);
captureButton.setOnClickListener(
new View.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
// get an image from the camera
mCamera.takePicture(null, null, mPicture);
}
}
);
}
/** A safe way to get an instance of the Camera object. */
public static Camera getCameraInstance(){
Camera c = null;
try {
c = Camera.open(); // attempt to get a Camera instance
if (c != null){
Camera.Parameters params = c.getParameters();
c.setParameters(params);
}
}
catch (Exception e){
Log.d("DEBUG", "Camera did not open");
// Camera is not available (in use or does not exist)
}
return c; // returns null if camera is unavailable
}
private PictureCallback mPicture = new PictureCallback() {
@Override
public void onPictureTaken(byte[] data, Camera camera) {
File pictureFile = getOutputMediaFile(MEDIA_TYPE_IMAGE);
if (pictureFile == null){
Log.d("DEBUG", "Error creating media file, check storage permissions: " /*+
e.getMessage()*/);
return;
}
try {
FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream(pictureFile);
fos.write(data);
fos.close();
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
Log.d("DEBUG", "File not found: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.d("DEBUG", "Error accessing file: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
};
/** Create a file Uri for saving an image or video */
private static Uri getOutputMediaFileUri(int type){
return Uri.fromFile(getOutputMediaFile(type));
}
private static File getOutputMediaFile(int type){
// To be safe, you should check that the SDCard is mounted
// using Environment.getExternalStorageState() before doing this.
File mediaStorageDir = new File(Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(
Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES), "MyCameraApp");
// This location works best if you want the created images to be shared
// between applications and persist after your app has been uninstalled.
// Create the storage directory if it does not exist
if (! mediaStorageDir.exists()){
if (! mediaStorageDir.mkdirs()){
Log.d("MyCameraApp", "failed to create directory");
return null;
}
}
// Create a media file name
String timeStamp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMdd_HHmmss").format(new Date());
File mediaFile;
if (type == MEDIA_TYPE_IMAGE){
mediaFile = new File(mediaStorageDir.getPath() + File.separator +
"IMG_"+ timeStamp + ".jpg");
} else if(type == MEDIA_TYPE_VIDEO) {
mediaFile = new File(mediaStorageDir.getPath() + File.separator +
"VID_"+ timeStamp + ".mp4");
} else {
return null;
}
return mediaFile;
}
private void releaseCamera(){
if (mCamera != null){
isRecording = false;
mCamera.stopPreview();
mCamera.setPreviewCallback(null);
mCamera.release(); // release the camera for other applications
mCamera = null;
}
}
}
My Preview Class:
package com.camera123.cr;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import android.content.Context;
import android.graphics.Canvas;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.graphics.Paint;
import android.hardware.Camera;
import android.hardware.Camera.PreviewCallback;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.SurfaceHolder;
import android.view.SurfaceView;
public class cameraPreview extends SurfaceView implements SurfaceHolder.Callback {
private SurfaceHolder mHolder;
private Camera mCamera;
public cameraPreview(Context context, Camera camera) {
super(context);
mCamera = camera;
// Install a SurfaceHolder.Callback so we get notified when the
// underlying surface is created and destroyed.
mHolder = getHolder();
mHolder.addCallback(this);
// deprecated setting, but required on Android versions prior to 3.0
mHolder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_PUSH_BUFFERS);
}
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
// The Surface has been created, now tell the camera where to draw the preview.
try {
mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);
mCamera.startPreview();
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.d("DEBUG", "Error setting camera preview: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
}
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.
if (mHolder.getSurface() == null){
// preview surface does not exist
return;
}
// stop preview before making changes
try {
mCamera.stopPreview();
} catch (Exception e){
// ignore: tried to stop a non-existent preview
}
// set preview size and make any resize, rotate or
// reformatting changes here
// start preview with new settings
try {
mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(mHolder);
mCamera.startPreview();
} catch (Exception e){
Log.d("DEBUG", "Error starting camera preview: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
}
My main.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
>
<FrameLayout
android:id="@+id/camera_preview"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:layout_weight="1"
/>
<Button
android:id="@+id/button_capture"
android:text="Capture"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center"
/>
</LinearLayout>
And my Manifest:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.camera123.cr"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="8" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_VIDEO" />
<application
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<activity
android:name=".Camera123"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:screenOrientation="landscape">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
I don't think it's well documented, but taking the picture actually stops your preview. Place:
mCamera.startPreview();
in your onPictureTaken() method in the PictureCallback to restart it after capture is complete.