Open Camera / Blog: Recent posts

Version 1.37 is released!

Most improvements are geared towards improving the behaviour of the Camera2 API - especially for the OnePlus 3T, but hopefully this improves some things for other devices too. Flash auto mode also now shows a flash symbol to indicate when flash will fire (Camera2 mode only).

Also fixes a couple of crashes. And continuous focus is now the default focus mode for new installs.

Version 1.36.2 is released!

• Auto-alignment for HDR images.
• Now supporting Android 7's Quick settings tiles: tiles for photo, video and selfie mode.
• Pause/resume video recording now supported for Android 7 (yes, I know that some camera apps have pause video for older versions - basically Android 7 makes pausing video much easier to do).
• New option to mirror photos for front camera.
• New option to calibrate the level angle (accelerometer).
• New option to display on-screen pitch lines and compass direction lines.
• New option "Video subtitles". This creates a subtitle file (in .SRT format) displaying date and time; and also GPS location and direction if those options are enabled. Most video players should support SRT files, and use them to display the information as subtitles (for Android, MX Player will do this; note that Google Photos does not seem to support subtitles).
• When using Camera2 API, the popup menu now has "ISO M" option to switch straight to manual exposure mode, defaulting to the current ISO value.
• Focus mode is now remembered for video mode.
• Fixed "Loud noise" audio control which wasn't working.
• New option to disable showing the "take photo" button (if you'd rather use other methods - e.g., volume keys, or a hardware shutter button on your device).
• And various other fixes and improvements.... read more

Version 1.35 is released!

• Support for Android 7 (now targetting SDK 24; fix for seekbars not showing properly on Android 7).

• Improvements to HDR - the older version was a bit hit and miss with how colours came out, the new version does better.

• New "Enable fast HDR/expo burst" option under "Photo settings" - this is enabled by default, but if your device has problems taking photos in HDR or Exposure Bracketing photo modes, try disabling this. When my Nexus 6 was upgraded to Android 7, I experienced problems, such as exposures coming out in wrong order (and with wrong Exif shutter speed info), and sometimes the camera device dying. Disabling this option disables the use of Camera2's burst (captureBurst).... read more

Just in case anyone is using the Open Camera source for other projects - I've now made the switch to using Android Studio (Eclipse no longer works properly with Android 7 devices - logging and tests don't work - but it's a good thing to make the transition anyway, now that Eclipse is no longer supported by Google for Android development).

The Git tags pre_Android_Studio and post_Android_Studio mark the transition. I've also integrated the test project into the same repository now, rather than being separate.

Version 1.34 is released!

New features:

• Exposure bracketing (Camera2 only).
• Screen flash to simulate flash for front cameras without flash.
• HDR now supports flash.

For Camera2 API, I've added an "alternative flash method" (under Settings/Photo settings). Unfortunately it still seems to be the case that many manufacturers have poor support for Camera2, with flash being one of the most problematic. This option enables a workaround (instead of the usual precapture/flash routines, we use torch mode).... read more

Version 1.33 is released!

The main new feature is a HDR mode - this requires you to be in Camera2 mode (Settings/Use Camera2 API). You can switch between "Standard" and "HDR" photo modes from the popup (three dots) menu.

[N.B., images updated to show behaviour with later version of Open Camera.]... read more

Version 1.32.1 is released!

This adds support for RAW (DNG) files. This is only available in Camera2 mode, and if your device supports it - I've tested it on my Nexus 6. Note that most Gallery apps don't recognise DNG files - you won't even see them listed. Instead, use specialised RAW viewer or editing applications such as Google Snapseed and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. (Note that Snapseed will only show the JPEGs when you try to open a photo - but it will automatically instead load the corresponding DNG file if it exists; Lightroom shows both the JPEG and DNG files separately.) Or transfer to a PC to use DNG editing applications there.... read more

Version 1.31 is released!

The main new improvement is that photos are now processed in the background, meaning the preview restarts sooner (especially if options such as auto-stabilise of photo stamp is on).

Continuous focus mode now supports touching to autofocus (this also helps if flash is on, now touching to focus in continuous mode will turn the flash on if necessary, as with auto focus mode).

There's a new option for filenames to be based on UTC (Zulu) time (thanks to David Pletcher). The Russian translation is updated (thanks to Grigorii Chirkov). And various other fixes.

Version 1.30.1 is released!

This fixes a crash since 1.29 on some devices on startup (it seemed to be very rare, but apologies if it affected you).

Focus/metering regions and face detection now works properly with the Camera2 API when zoomed.

Otherwise, a few minor UI fixes/tweaks. Most notably, the "popup" button now uses the "three vertical dots" icon. This is a standard way on Android of indicating "more options", so hopefully it's better for new users.

Version 1.29 is now released. Improvements are:

• Proper support for continuous picture focus mode. Previously continuous focus mode was always using the video mode, which isn't optimised for taking photos. Also taking a photo now waits for any in-progress focusing to complete, and there's a graphical effect to indicate when focusing occurs.

• Fixes for Camera2 API - the flash now works much better (at least on my Nexus 6), sluggish zooming was also fixed. There are still known issues (sometimes flash auto results in pictures where the photo isn't lit even though flash fired for focus - I reproduced this sometimes happening in Google Camera too; and I realised that touch to focus regions and face detection doesn't work properly when zoomed in, that'll be fixed for the next version!), but it's good enough now on my Nexus 6 for me to be using as standard. Other devices may differ though - on Samsung devices for example, flash doesn't seem to work properly still (precapture never starts), and I've had reports that video recording doesn't work.... read more

Version 1.28 is now released[1]. Improvements include:

• Fixed a bug when using Storage Access Framework and SD cards, where images only showed up in the gallery etc after a reboot.

• Fixed a bug in 1.27 where pre-Android 6 devices had trouble getting a location fix[2].

• If Open Camera is running when the screen is locked, thumbnails of existing photos won't be shown. So if you're wondering why this changed, this isn't a bug, it's a security feature.... read more

Version 1.27 is now released. Mainly this fixes a crash with Android 6 when accessing the popup menu.

I fixed a problem with focusing on Camera2 API.

This adds German translation (thanks to Ronny Steiner and Sebastian Ahlborn) and improved selfie stick button support (thanks to Lau Keat Hwa), along with an improved app icon (thanks to Adam Lapinski).

Cai Lan Gong is the World's First Feature Film Shot with a Smartphone at 4K Resolution.

The team used Open Camera on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Note 5, and I'm pleased to have been able to play a small part in this. Check out some behind the scenes photos. Cai Lan Gong was released on 22 October. See the official world record award below:... read more

Version 1.26 is now released! The main new features are:

Android 5 users should now be able to save to SD cards, as this version adds support for the Storage Access Framework. To enable, go to Settings/More camera controls, and tick "Use Storage Access Framework".

There's support for "touch to capture" - under Settings/More camera controls, you can choose to take a photo by single or double tapping.... read more

One of the rewarding experiences for me is hearing about the various ways people are using Open Camera. Upcoming horror movie Cai Lan Gong by Rexinema is shot in 4K on Samsung Galaxy Note 4s, and they're using Open Camera. You can see the first trailer at:

http://youtu.be/6cBJZHm7Yss (ETA: That video seems to be private now, try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRjMGhEJK7U )

And behind the scenes: http://youtu.be/IUujDlIyA_0

Highlights in recent versions since I last posted include:

1.21: New option to stamp photos with date/time and GPS location. New widget to automatically launch Open Camera and take a photo straight away. New Material Design application icon.

1.22: Optional support for Android's immersive mode (requires Android 4.4).

1.23: Fixes for Nexus 5/6 in low light. Uses Material Design theme style on Android 5. Options to customise filenames, and more options for stamping.... read more

Version 1.20 is now released!

Main new feature is a new popup menu (the "dot" icon) that allows quick access to flash, focus, ISO, white balance, scene mode, color effect, camera resolution, timer.

So this means you can switch to any flash or focus mode in two clicks rather than having to cycle through. Also there's the benefit of not having to inadvertently turn on the torch when cycling flash, or having to go past "continuous video" focus, which is slow to change to. (A theoretical downside is that cycling to the next flash or focus now requires two clicks instead of one, but overall I think it's a lot better.)... read more

Version 1.19 is now released. Improvements since I last posted (version 1.17) include:

• Improvement to the icons - they now have a more consistent look, so I hope they look better now!
• New option for "crop guides" (guides that show an overlayed rectangle with a different aspect ratio - useful if you plan on cropping the photo/video to a different aspect ratio).
• New option to rotate the preview by 180 degrees (someone requested this - useful if using adapters that invert the image).
• Spanish translation (thanks to Mario Sanoguera).
• Fixed some crashes and other bugs.

Version 1.17 is now released, which fixes a bug in the Save location chooser (gave error if the folder didn't exist), and a bug on some devices where the photo was being taken out of focus.

New options are added for volume keys: focus, and switch auto-stabilise on/off. Changing flash mode is now supported while recording video (so torch can be switched on/off).

Some minor improvements to the UI look: removed the square from the photo/video icon, and using some more natural red/green/blue colours.

I'm pleased to see that at the time of writing, Open Camera is the number one "hot today" photography app on AppBrain, and listed in 9th place out of all hot apps. This is no doubt related to recent coverage on XDA developers, as well as some coverage in various Spanish Android news sites.... read more

Version 1.16 is now available. Improvements include:

• Fixed video problems on some devices, including Galaxy S2 and some S3 variants -problems including the video failing to record, being corrupt, corrupting the preview, or even the entire device freezing.
• A new GUI for choosing the file dialog, so you no longer have to manually enter a path.
• Various bug fixes and UI improvements.
• New Russian translation (thanks to maksnogin). If you are willing to translate Open Camera to another language, please contact me!... read more

Version 1.14 is now available. Improvements include:

• A new "manual" focus mode - have complete control over when to focus, in this mode focusing only takes place when you touch to focus.

• Significantly improved speed for opening and closing settings (the settings is now done as a Fragment rather than a separate Activity - this means we don't have to close and reopen the camera).

• Open Camera now remains active rather than being blocked by a "screen lock" (face/PIN unlock still required to go to Gallery or Settings). If you prefer, this behaviour can be switched off by going to Settings/More Camera Controls/Show camera when locked.... read more

Open Camera has no adverts, but I've come across at least two apps on Google Play which are modified versions of Open Camera with ads inserted[*]. If you're using Open Camera and have found it displaying ads, please check that you've installed one from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera , or from one of the download links listed at http://opencamera.sourceforge.net/ .... read more

If you're on Android 4.4.3 or higher, you may notice aspect ratio bugs, both in the preview for photos, and for video in the preview and recorded video. This is likely related to this Android bug: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=70830

The next version of Open Camera will feature a workaround for this bug for video. (The same workaround that the stock Google Nexus camera already curiously applies, which is why that isn't affected - to call Parameters.setPictureSize with a size that matches the aspect ratio of the video resolution - although it's unclear why that should have any effect on video recording.)... read more

I'm pleased to see Open Camera is now at over 60,000 downloads. This includes over 21,000 downloads on Google Play - and curiously, over 29,000 on F-Droid. Whilst Google Play has a far bigger audience, it's also much harder for new apps due to so much more competition - if you write Open Source Android apps, I'd certainly recommend F-Droid as a way to reach users (and I'd recommend F-Droid as a user too, it's a great way to find Open Source apps, and free apps that aren't spammed full of ads).... read more