Unity Native Camera Plugin
Available on Asset Store: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/integration/native-camera-for-android-ios-117802
Forum Thread: https://forum.unity.com/threads/native-camera-for-android-ios-open-source.529560/
Discord: https://discord.gg/UJJt549AaV
This plugin helps you take pictures/record videos natively with your device's camera on Android and iOS. It has built-in support for runtime permissions, as well.
INSTALLATION
There are 5 ways to install this plugin:
- import NativeCamera.unitypackage via Assets-Import Package
- clone/download this repository and move the Plugins folder to your Unity project's Assets folder
- import it from Asset Store
- (via Package Manager) add the following line to Packages/manifest.json:
"com.yasirkula.nativecamera": "https://github.com/yasirkula/UnityNativeCamera.git",
- (via OpenUPM) after installing openupm-cli, run the following command:
openupm add com.yasirkula.nativecamera
Android Setup
NativeCamera no longer requires any manual setup on Android. For reference, the legacy manual setup documentation is available at: https://github.com/yasirkula/UnityNativeCamera/wiki/Manual-Setup-for-Android
iOS Setup
There are two ways to set up the plugin on iOS:
- a. Automated Setup: (optional) change the values of Camera Usage Description and Microphone Usage Description at Project Settings/yasirkula/Native Camera
- b. Manual Setup: see: https://github.com/yasirkula/UnityNativeCamera/wiki/Manual-Setup-for-iOS
FAQ
- Audio is muted on iOS after calling NativeCamera.RecordVideo
Please see: https://forum.unity.com/threads/native-camera-for-android-ios-open-source.529560/page-9#post-8207157
- Can't use the camera, it says "java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.yasirkula.unity.NativeCamera" in Logcat
If you are sure that your plugin is up-to-date, then enable Custom Proguard File option from Player Settings and add the following line to that file: -keep class com.yasirkula.unity.* { *; }
- NativeCamera functions return Permission.Denied even though I've granted the permission"
Declare WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
permission manually in your Plugins/Android/AndroidManifest.xml file with the tools:node="replace"
attribute as follows: <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" tools:node="replace"/>
(you'll need to add the xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
attribute to the <manifest ...>
element).
HOW TO
A. Accessing Camera
NativeCamera.TakePicture( CameraCallback callback, int maxSize = -1, PreferredCamera preferredCamera = PreferredCamera.Default )
: opens the camera and waits for user to take a picture.
- This operation is asynchronous! After user takes a picture or cancels the operation, the callback is called (on main thread). CameraCallback takes a string parameter which stores the path of the captured image, or null if the operation is canceled
- maxSize determines the maximum size of the returned image in pixels on iOS. A larger image will be down-scaled for better performance. If untouched, its value will be set to SystemInfo.maxTextureSize. Has no effect on Android
- saveAsJPEG determines whether the image is saved as JPEG or PNG. Has no effect on Android
- preferredCamera determines whether the rear camera or the front camera should be opened by default
NativeCamera.RecordVideo( CameraCallback callback, Quality quality = Quality.Default, int maxDuration = 0, long maxSizeBytes = 0L, PreferredCamera preferredCamera = PreferredCamera.Default )
: opens the camera and waits for user to record a video.
- quality determines the quality of the recorded video. Available values are: Default, Low, Medium, High
- maxDuration determines the maximum duration, in seconds, for the recorded video. If untouched, there will be no limit. Please note that the functionality of this parameter depends on whether the device vendor has added this capability to the camera or not. So, this parameter may not have any effect on some devices
- maxSizeBytes determines the maximum size, in bytes, for the recorded video. If untouched, there will be no limit. This parameter has no effect on iOS. Please note that the functionality of this parameter depends on whether the device vendor has added this capability to the camera or not. So, this parameter may not have any effect on some devices
NativeCamera.DeviceHasCamera()
: returns false if the device doesn't have a camera. In this case, TakePicture and RecordVideo functions will not execute.
NativeCamera.IsCameraBusy()
: returns true if the camera is currently open. In that case, another TakePicture or RecordVideo request will simply be ignored.
Note that TakePicture and RecordVideo functions return a NativeCamera.Permission value. More details available below.
B. Runtime Permissions
Beginning with 6.0 Marshmallow, Android apps must request runtime permissions before accessing certain services, similar to iOS. There are two functions to handle permissions with this plugin:
NativeCamera.Permission NativeCamera.CheckPermission( bool isPicturePermission )
: checks whether the app has access to camera or not.
- isPicturePermission determines whether we're checking permission to take a picture or record a video. Has no effect on iOS
NativeCamera.Permission is an enum that can take 3 values:
- Granted: we have the permission to access the camera
- ShouldAsk: we don't have permission yet, but we can ask the user for permission via RequestPermission function (see below). On Android, as long as the user doesn't select "Don't ask again" while denying the permission, ShouldAsk is returned
- Denied: we don't have permission and we can't ask the user for permission. In this case, user has to give the permission from Settings. This happens when user denies the permission on iOS (can't request permission again on iOS), when user selects "Don't ask again" while denying the permission on Android or when user is not allowed to give that permission (parental controls etc.)
NativeCamera.Permission NativeCamera.RequestPermission( bool isPicturePermission )
: requests permission to access the camera from the user and returns the result. It is recommended to show a brief explanation before asking the permission so that user understands why the permission is needed and doesn't click Deny or worse, "Don't ask again". Note that TakePicture and RecordVideo functions call RequestPermission internally and execute only if the permission is granted (the result of RequestPermission is then returned).
NativeCamera.OpenSettings()
: opens the settings for this app, from where the user can manually grant permission in case current permission state is Permission.Denied (Android requires Storage and, if declared in AndroidManifest, Camera permissions; iOS requires Camera permission).
bool NativeCamera.CanOpenSettings()
: on iOS versions prior to 8.0, opening settings from within the app is not possible and in this case, this function returns false. Otherwise, it returns true.
C. Utility Functions
NativeCamera.ImageProperties NativeCamera.GetImageProperties( string imagePath )
: returns an ImageProperties instance that holds the width, height, mime type and EXIF orientation information of an image file without creating a Texture2D object. Mime type will be null, if it can't be determined.
NativeCamera.VideoProperties NativeCamera.GetVideoProperties( string videoPath )
: returns a VideoProperties instance that holds the width, height, duration (in milliseconds) and rotation information of a video file. To play a video in correct orientation, you should rotate it by rotation degrees clockwise. For a 90-degree or 270-degree rotated video, values of width and height should be swapped to get the display size of the video.
Texture2D NativeCamera.LoadImageAtPath( string imagePath, int maxSize = -1, bool markTextureNonReadable = true, bool generateMipmaps = true, bool linearColorSpace = false )
: creates a Texture2D from the specified image file in correct orientation and returns it. Returns null, if something goes wrong.
- maxSize determines the maximum size of the returned Texture2D in pixels. Larger textures will be down-scaled. If untouched, its value will be set to SystemInfo.maxTextureSize. It is recommended to set a proper maxSize for better performance
- markTextureNonReadable marks the generated texture as non-readable for better memory usage. If you plan to modify the texture later (e.g. GetPixels/SetPixels), set its value to false
- generateMipmaps determines whether texture should have mipmaps or not
- linearColorSpace determines whether texture should be in linear color space or sRGB color space
async Task<Texture2D> NativeCamera.LoadImageAtPathAsync( string imagePath, int maxSize = -1, bool markTextureNonReadable = true, bool generateMipmaps = true, bool linearColorSpace = false )
: asynchronous variant of LoadImageAtPath (requires Unity 2018.4 or later). Works best when linearColorSpace is false. It's also slightly faster when generateMipmaps is false. Note that it isn't possible to load multiple images simultaneously using this function.
Texture2D NativeCamera.GetVideoThumbnail( string videoPath, int maxSize = -1, double captureTimeInSeconds = -1.0, bool markTextureNonReadable = true, bool generateMipmaps = true, bool linearColorSpace = false )
: creates a Texture2D thumbnail from a video file and returns it. Returns null, if something goes wrong.
- maxSize determines the maximum size of the returned Texture2D in pixels. Larger thumbnails will be down-scaled. If untouched, its value will be set to SystemInfo.maxTextureSize. It is recommended to set a proper maxSize for better performance
- captureTimeInSeconds determines the frame of the video that the thumbnail is captured from. If untouched, OS will decide this value
- markTextureNonReadable (see LoadImageAtPath)
async Task<Texture2D> NativeCamera.GetVideoThumbnailAsync( string videoPath, int maxSize = -1, double captureTimeInSeconds = -1.0, bool markTextureNonReadable = true, bool generateMipmaps = true, bool linearColorSpace = false )
: asynchronous variant of GetVideoThumbnail (requires Unity 2018.4 or later). Works best when linearColorSpace is false. It's also slightly faster when generateMipmaps is false. Note that it isn't possible to generate multiple video thumbnails simultaneously using this function.
EXAMPLE CODE
The following code has two functions:
- if you click left half of the screen, the camera is opened and after a picture is taken, it is displayed on a temporary quad that is placed in front of the camera
- if you click right half of the screen, the camera is opened and after a video is recorded, it is played using the Handheld.PlayFullScreenMovie function
void Update()
{
if( Input.GetMouseButtonDown( 0 ) )
{
// Don't attempt to use the camera if it is already open
if( NativeCamera.IsCameraBusy() )
return;
if( Input.mousePosition.x < Screen.width / 2 )
{
// Take a picture with the camera
// If the captured image's width and/or height is greater than 512px, down-scale it
TakePicture( 512 );
}
else
{
// Record a video with the camera
RecordVideo();
}
}
}
private void TakePicture( int maxSize )
{
NativeCamera.Permission permission = NativeCamera.TakePicture( ( path ) =>
{
Debug.Log( "Image path: " + path );
if( path != null )
{
// Create a Texture2D from the captured image
Texture2D texture = NativeCamera.LoadImageAtPath( path, maxSize );
if( texture == null )
{
Debug.Log( "Couldn't load texture from " + path );
return;
}
// Assign texture to a temporary quad and destroy it after 5 seconds
GameObject quad = GameObject.CreatePrimitive( PrimitiveType.Quad );
quad.transform.position = Camera.main.transform.position + Camera.main.transform.forward * 2.5f;
quad.transform.forward = Camera.main.transform.forward;
quad.transform.localScale = new Vector3( 1f, texture.height / (float) texture.width, 1f );
Material material = quad.GetComponent<Renderer>().material;
if( !material.shader.isSupported ) // happens when Standard shader is not included in the build
material.shader = Shader.Find( "Legacy Shaders/Diffuse" );
material.mainTexture = texture;
Destroy( quad, 5f );
// If a procedural texture is not destroyed manually,
// it will only be freed after a scene change
Destroy( texture, 5f );
}
}, maxSize );
Debug.Log( "Permission result: " + permission );
}
private void RecordVideo()
{
NativeCamera.Permission permission = NativeCamera.RecordVideo( ( path ) =>
{
Debug.Log( "Video path: " + path );
if( path != null )
{
// Play the recorded video
Handheld.PlayFullScreenMovie( "file://" + path );
}
} );
Debug.Log( "Permission result: " + permission );
}