How to Create Custom Camera using CameraX in Android? (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025

CameraX is used to create a custom camera in the app. **CameraX is a Jetpack support library, built to help you make camera app development easier. A sample video is given below to get an idea about what we are going to do in this article. Note that we are going to implement this project using **Java/Kotlin.

**Important: The **android.hardware.Camera package was deprecated due to its non-standard API, limited advanced features, and inconsistent support across devices. To address these issues, Android introduced the **android.hardware.camera2 API, which offers a more flexible, standardized, and feature-rich approach to camera control. This ensures better compatibility across devices and access to advanced camera capabilities. Developers should use camera2 for improved performance and consistency.

Step by Step Implementation

Step 1: Create a new project

To create a new project in Android Studio please refer to How to Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio.

Step 2: Adding dependencies for Camera

dependencies {
...
implementation ("androidx.camera:camera-core:1.3.0")
implementation ("androidx.camera:camera-camera2:1.3.0")
implementation ("androidx.camera:camera-lifecycle:1.3.0")
implementation ("androidx.camera:camera-view:1.3.0")
}

Step 3: Add Camera permission and File provider

Go to **app > manifests > AndroidManifest.xml and add the following permissions for camera and storage.

**AndroidManifest.xml:

XML `

Now, under the ****** tag add the following code for provide

**AndroidManifest.xml:

XML `

Step 4: Define file path in file_paths.xml

Navigate to **app > res > xml right click on the folder and choose **New > XML Resource File. Then, set the **file name as ****"file_paths.xml"** and the **root element and ****"paths"**. Now, add the following code to the file

**file_paths.xml:

XML `

Step 5: Working with the activity_main.xml file

Go to the **activity_main.xml file and refer to the following code. Below is the code for the **activity_main.xml file. Notice that there is a view called **androidx.camera.view.PreviewView with id **previewView which we will use asViewfinderfor the camera.

**activity_main.xml:

XML `

<androidx.camera.view.PreviewView
    android:id="@+id/previewView"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="0dp"
    android:layout_weight="1"/>

<Button
    android:id="@+id/captureButton"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="Capture Image"
    android:layout_marginTop="16dp"/>

Step 6: Working with the MainActivity file

Go to the **MainActivity file and refer to the following code. Below is the code for the **MainActivity file. Comments are added inside the code to understand the code in more detail.

MainActivity.java `

package org.geeksforgeeks.demo;

import android.Manifest; import android.content.ContentValues; import android.content.pm.PackageManager; import android.os.Build; import android.os.Bundle; import android.provider.MediaStore; import android.widget.Button; import android.widget.Toast;

import androidx.annotation.NonNull; import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity; import androidx.camera.core.*; import androidx.camera.lifecycle.ProcessCameraProvider; import androidx.camera.view.PreviewView; import androidx.core.app.ActivityCompat; import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat;

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat; import java.util.Date; import java.util.Locale; import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService; import java.util.concurrent.Executors;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

private PreviewView previewView;
private Button captureButton;
private ImageCapture imageCapture = null;
private ExecutorService cameraExecutor;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

    previewView = findViewById(R.id.previewView);
    captureButton = findViewById(R.id.captureButton);

    if (allPermissionsGranted()) {
        startCamera();
    } else {
        ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this, REQUIRED_PERMISSIONS, REQUEST_CODE_PERMISSIONS);
    }

    captureButton.setOnClickListener(v -> captureImage());

    // Initialize camera executor
    cameraExecutor = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
}

private void startCamera() {
    ProcessCameraProvider cameraProviderFuture = ProcessCameraProvider.getInstance(this);

    cameraProviderFuture.addListener(() -> {
        try {
            ProcessCameraProvider cameraProvider = cameraProviderFuture.get();

            Preview preview = new Preview.Builder().build();
            preview.setSurfaceProvider(previewView.getSurfaceProvider());

            imageCapture = new ImageCapture.Builder().build();

            CameraSelector cameraSelector = new CameraSelector.Builder()
                    .requireLensFacing(CameraSelector.LENS_FACING_BACK)
                    .build();

            cameraProvider.unbindAll();
            cameraProvider.bindToLifecycle(this, cameraSelector, preview, imageCapture);

        } catch (Exception e) {
            Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Failed to start camera", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }
    }, ContextCompat.getMainExecutor(this));
}

private void captureImage() {
    if (imageCapture == null) return;

    String timestamp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMdd_HHmmss", Locale.US).format(new Date());
    ContentValues contentValues = new ContentValues();
    contentValues.put(MediaStore.MediaColumns.DISPLAY_NAME, "IMG_" + timestamp + ".jpg");
    contentValues.put(MediaStore.MediaColumns.MIME_TYPE, "image/jpeg");

    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.Q) {
        contentValues.put(MediaStore.MediaColumns.RELATIVE_PATH, "Pictures/CameraX-Images");
    }

    ImageCapture.OutputFileOptions outputFileOptions = new ImageCapture.OutputFileOptions.Builder(
            getContentResolver(),
            MediaStore.Images.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI,
            contentValues
    ).build();

    imageCapture.takePicture(outputFileOptions, ContextCompat.getMainExecutor(this),
            new ImageCapture.OnImageSavedCallback() {
                @Override
                public void onImageSaved(@NonNull ImageCapture.OutputFileResults outputFileResults) {
                    Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Image saved to gallery!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                }

                @Override
                public void onError(@NonNull ImageCaptureException exception) {
                    Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Failed to save image", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                }
            });
}

private boolean allPermissionsGranted() {
    for (String permission : REQUIRED_PERMISSIONS) {
        if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, permission) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
            return false;
        }
    }
    return true;
}

@Override
public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, @NonNull String[] permissions, @NonNull int[] grantResults) {
    super.onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults);
    if (requestCode == REQUEST_CODE_PERMISSIONS) {
        if (allPermissionsGranted()) {
            startCamera();
        } else {
            Toast.makeText(this, "Permissions not granted", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            finish();
        }
    }
}

@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
    super.onDestroy();
    cameraExecutor.shutdown();
}

private static final int REQUEST_CODE_PERMISSIONS = 10;
private static final String[] REQUIRED_PERMISSIONS = new String[]{
        Manifest.permission.CAMERA,
        Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
};

}

MainActivity.kt

package org.geeksforgeeks.demo

import android.Manifest import android.content.ContentValues import android.content.pm.PackageManager import android.os.Build import android.os.Bundle import android.provider.MediaStore import android.widget.Button import android.widget.Toast import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity import androidx.camera.core.* import androidx.camera.lifecycle.ProcessCameraProvider import androidx.core.app.ActivityCompat import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat import androidx.camera.view.PreviewView import java.text.SimpleDateFormat import java.util.*

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

// UI Components
private lateinit var previewView: PreviewView  // Displays the camera preview
private lateinit var captureButton: Button  // Button to capture image

// CameraX Image Capture Use Case
private var imageCapture: ImageCapture? = null

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)

    // Initialize UI elements
    previewView = findViewById(R.id.previewView)
    captureButton = findViewById(R.id.captureButton)

    // Check and request permissions before starting the camera
    if (allPermissionsGranted()) {
        startCamera()
    } else {
        ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this, REQUIRED_PERMISSIONS, REQUEST_CODE_PERMISSIONS)
    }

    // Capture image on button click
    captureButton.setOnClickListener {
        captureImage()
    }
}

// Initializes and starts the CameraX preview
private fun startCamera() {
    val cameraProviderFuture = ProcessCameraProvider.getInstance(this)

    cameraProviderFuture.addListener({
        val cameraProvider: ProcessCameraProvider = cameraProviderFuture.get()

        // CameraX Preview Use Case
        val preview = Preview.Builder()
            .build()
            .also { it.setSurfaceProvider(previewView.surfaceProvider) }

        // CameraX Image Capture Use Case
        imageCapture = ImageCapture.Builder().build()

        val cameraSelector = CameraSelector.DEFAULT_BACK_CAMERA  // Select back camera

        try {
            // Unbind previous use cases and bind new ones
            cameraProvider.unbindAll()
            cameraProvider.bindToLifecycle(this, cameraSelector, preview, imageCapture)
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            Toast.makeText(this, "Failed to start camera", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
        }
    }, ContextCompat.getMainExecutor(this))
}

// Captures an image and saves it to the gallery
private fun captureImage() {
    val imageCapture = imageCapture ?: return

    // Create a unique filename using timestamp
    val timestamp = SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMdd_HHmmss", Locale.US).format(Date())
    val contentValues = ContentValues().apply {
        put(MediaStore.MediaColumns.DISPLAY_NAME, "IMG_$timestamp.jpg")
        put(MediaStore.MediaColumns.MIME_TYPE, "image/jpeg")
        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.Q) {
            put(MediaStore.MediaColumns.RELATIVE_PATH, "Pictures/CameraX-Images")  // Save to gallery
        }
    }

    // Configure output file options
    val outputOptions = ImageCapture.OutputFileOptions.Builder(
        contentResolver,
        MediaStore.Images.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI,
        contentValues
    ).build()

    // Capture and save the image
    imageCapture.takePicture(
        outputOptions,
        ContextCompat.getMainExecutor(this),
        object : ImageCapture.OnImageSavedCallback {
            override fun onImageSaved(outputFileResults: ImageCapture.OutputFileResults) {
                Toast.makeText(this@MainActivity, "Image saved to gallery!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
            }

            override fun onError(exception: ImageCaptureException) {
                Toast.makeText(this@MainActivity, "Failed to save image", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
            }
        }
    )
}

// Checks if all required permissions are granted
private fun allPermissionsGranted() = REQUIRED_PERMISSIONS.all {
    ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(baseContext, it) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED
}

// Handles the result of permission requests
override fun onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode: Int, permissions: Array<String>, grantResults: IntArray) {
    super.onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults)
    if (requestCode == REQUEST_CODE_PERMISSIONS) {
        if (allPermissionsGranted()) {
            startCamera()
        } else {
            Toast.makeText(this, "Permissions not granted", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
            finish()
        }
    }
}

companion object {
    private const val REQUEST_CODE_PERMISSIONS = 10
    private val REQUIRED_PERMISSIONS = arrayOf(
        Manifest.permission.CAMERA, 
        Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE  // Required for saving images
    )
}

}

How to Create Custom Camera using CameraX in Android? (original) (raw)

Step by Step Implementation

Step 1: Create a new project

Step 2: Adding dependencies for Camera

Step 3: Add Camera permission and File provider

Step 4: Define file path in file_paths.xml

Step 5: Working with the activity_main.xml file

Step 6: Working with the MainActivity file

Output: