Camera

The camera object provides access to the device's default camera application.

Methods

• camera.getPicture
• camera.cleanup

Permissions

Android

app/res/xml/plugins.xml

<plugin name="Camera" value="org.apache.cordova.CameraLauncher" />

app/AndroidManifest

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

Bada

manifest.xml

<Privilege>
    <Name>CAMERA</Name>
</Privilege>
<Privilege>
    <Name>RECORDING</Name>
</Privilege>

BlackBerry WebWorks

www/plugins.xml

<plugin name="Camera" value="org.apache.cordova.camera.Camera" />

www/config.xml

<feature id="blackberry.media.camera" />

<rim:permissions>
    <rim:permit>use_camera</rim:permit>
</rim:permissions>

iOS

App/Supporting Files/Cordova.plist

<key>Plugins</key>
<dict>
    <key>Camera</key>
    <string>CDVCamera</string>
</dict>

webOS

No permissions are required.

Windows Phone

Properties/WPAppManifest.xml

<Capabilities>
    <Capability Name="ID_CAP_CAMERA" />
    <Capability Name="ID_CAP_ISV_CAMERA" />
    <Capability Name="ID_HW_FRONTCAMERA" />
</Capabilities>

Reference: Application Manifest for Windows Phone

---

camera.getPicture

Takes a photo using the camera or retrieves a photo from the device's album. The image is returned as a base64 encoded String or as the URI of an image file.

navigator.camera.getPicture( cameraSuccess, cameraError, [ cameraOptions ] );

Description

Function camera.getPicture opens the device's default camera application so that the user can take a picture (if Camera.sourceType = Camera.PictureSourceType.CAMERA, which is the default). Once the photo is taken, the camera application closes and your application is restored.

If Camera.sourceType = Camera.PictureSourceType.PHOTOLIBRARY or Camera.PictureSourceType.SAVEDPHOTOALBUM, then a photo chooser dialog is shown, from which a photo from the album can be selected.

The return value will be sent to the cameraSuccess function, in one of the following formats, depending on the cameraOptions you specify:

• A String containing the Base64 encoded photo image (default).
• A String representing the image file location on local storage.

You can do whatever you want with the encoded image or URI, for example:

• Render the image in an <img> tag (see example below)
• Save the data locally (LocalStorage, Lawnchair, etc)
• Post the data to a remote server

Note: The image quality of pictures taken using the camera on newer devices is quite good, and images from the Photo Album will not be downscaled to a lower quality, even if a quality parameter is specified. Encoding such images using Base64 has caused memory issues on some of these devices (iPhone 4, BlackBerry Torch 9800). Therefore, using FILE_URI as the 'Camera.destinationType' is highly recommended.

Supported Platforms

• Android
• Blackberry WebWorks (OS 5.0 and higher)
• iOS
• Windows Phone 7 ( Mango )
• Bada 1.2
• webOS

iOS Quirks

Including a JavaScript alert() in either of the callback functions can cause problems. Wrap the alert in a setTimeout() to allow the iOS image picker or popover to fully close before the alert is displayed: setTimeout("alert('message');", 0);

Windows Phone 7 Quirks

Invoking the native camera application while your device is connected via Zune will not work, and the error callback will be triggered.

Quick Example

Take photo and retrieve Base64-encoded image:

navigator.camera.getPicture(onSuccess, onFail, { quality: 50,
    destinationType: Camera.DestinationType.DATA_URL
 }); 

function onSuccess(imageData) {
    var image = document.getElementById('myImage');
    image.src = "data:image/jpeg;base64," + imageData;
}

function onFail(message) {
    alert('Failed because: ' + message);
}

Take photo and retrieve image file location:

navigator.camera.getPicture(onSuccess, onFail, { quality: 50, 
    destinationType: Camera.DestinationType.FILE_URI }); 

function onSuccess(imageURI) {
    var image = document.getElementById('myImage');
    image.src = imageURI;
}

function onFail(message) {
    alert('Failed because: ' + message);
}

Full Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Capture Photo</title>

    <script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="cordova-1.9.0.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">

    var pictureSource;   // picture source
    var destinationType; // sets the format of returned value 

    // Wait for Cordova to connect with the device
    //
    document.addEventListener("deviceready",onDeviceReady,false);

    // Cordova is ready to be used!
    //
    function onDeviceReady() {
        pictureSource=navigator.camera.PictureSourceType;
        destinationType=navigator.camera.DestinationType;
    }

    // Called when a photo is successfully retrieved
    //
    function onPhotoDataSuccess(imageData) {
      // Uncomment to view the base64 encoded image data
      // console.log(imageData);

      // Get image handle
      //
      var smallImage = document.getElementById('smallImage');

      // Unhide image elements
      //
      smallImage.style.display = 'block';

      // Show the captured photo
      // The inline CSS rules are used to resize the image
      //
      smallImage.src = "data:image/jpeg;base64," + imageData;
    }

    // Called when a photo is successfully retrieved
    //
    function onPhotoURISuccess(imageURI) {
      // Uncomment to view the image file URI 
      // console.log(imageURI);

      // Get image handle
      //
      var largeImage = document.getElementById('largeImage');

      // Unhide image elements
      //
      largeImage.style.display = 'block';

      // Show the captured photo
      // The inline CSS rules are used to resize the image
      //
      largeImage.src = imageURI;
    }

    // A button will call this function
    //
    function capturePhoto() {
      // Take picture using device camera and retrieve image as base64-encoded string
      navigator.camera.getPicture(onPhotoDataSuccess, onFail, { quality: 50,
        destinationType: destinationType.DATA_URL });
    }

    // A button will call this function
    //
    function capturePhotoEdit() {
      // Take picture using device camera, allow edit, and retrieve image as base64-encoded string  
      navigator.camera.getPicture(onPhotoDataSuccess, onFail, { quality: 20, allowEdit: true,
        destinationType: destinationType.DATA_URL });
    }

    // A button will call this function
    //
    function getPhoto(source) {
      // Retrieve image file location from specified source
      navigator.camera.getPicture(onPhotoURISuccess, onFail, { quality: 50, 
        destinationType: destinationType.FILE_URI,
        sourceType: source });
    }

    // Called if something bad happens.
    // 
    function onFail(message) {
      alert('Failed because: ' + message);
    }

    </script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <button onclick="capturePhoto();">Capture Photo</button> <br>
    <button onclick="capturePhotoEdit();">Capture Editable Photo</button> <br>
    <button onclick="getPhoto(pictureSource.PHOTOLIBRARY);">From Photo Library</button><br>
    <button onclick="getPhoto(pictureSource.SAVEDPHOTOALBUM);">From Photo Album</button><br>
    <img style="display:none;width:60px;height:60px;" id="smallImage" src="" />
    <img style="display:none;" id="largeImage" src="" />
  </body>
</html>

---

cameraSuccess

onSuccess callback function that provides the image data.

function(imageData) {
    // Do something with the image
}

Parameters

• imageData: Base64 encoding of the image data, OR the image file URI, depending on cameraOptions used. (String)

Example

// Show image
//
function cameraCallback(imageData) {
    var image = document.getElementById('myImage');
    image.src = "data:image/jpeg;base64," + imageData;
}

---

cameraError

onError callback function that provides an error message.

function(message) {
    // Show a helpful message
}

Parameters

• message: The message is provided by the device's native code. (String)

---

cameraOptions

Optional parameters to customize the camera settings.

{ quality : 75, 
  destinationType : Camera.DestinationType.DATA_URL, 
  sourceType : Camera.PictureSourceType.CAMERA, 
  allowEdit : true,
  encodingType: Camera.EncodingType.JPEG,
  targetWidth: 100,
  targetHeight: 100,
  popoverOptions: CameraPopoverOptions,
  saveToPhotoAlbum: false };

Options

• quality: Quality of saved image. Range is [0, 100]. (Number)

• destinationType: Choose the format of the return value. Defined in navigator.camera.DestinationType (Number)

      Camera.DestinationType = {
          DATA_URL : 0,                // Return image as base64 encoded string
          FILE_URI : 1                 // Return image file URI
      };
  

• sourceType: Set the source of the picture. Defined in nagivator.camera.PictureSourceType (Number)

  Camera.PictureSourceType = {
      PHOTOLIBRARY : 0,
      CAMERA : 1,
      SAVEDPHOTOALBUM : 2
  };
  

• allowEdit: Allow simple editing of image before selection. (Boolean)

• encodingType: Choose the encoding of the returned image file. Defined in navigator.camera.EncodingType (Number)

      Camera.EncodingType = {
          JPEG : 0,               // Return JPEG encoded image
          PNG : 1                 // Return PNG encoded image
      };
  

• targetWidth: Width in pixels to scale image. Must be used with targetHeight. Aspect ratio is maintained. (Number)

• targetHeight: Height in pixels to scale image. Must be used with targetWidth. Aspect ratio is maintained. (Number)

• mediaType: Set the type of media to select from. Only works when PictureSourceType is PHOTOLIBRARY or SAVEDPHOTOALBUM. Defined in nagivator.camera.MediaType (Number)

  Camera.MediaType = { 
      PICTURE: 0,             // allow selection of still pictures only. DEFAULT. Will return format specified via DestinationType
      VIDEO: 1,               // allow selection of video only, WILL ALWAYS RETURN FILE_URI
      ALLMEDIA : 2            // allow selection from all media types
  

  };

• correctOrientation: Rotate the image to correct for the orientation of the device during capture. (Boolean)

• saveToPhotoAlbum: Save the image to the photo album on the device after capture. (Boolean)
• popoverOptions: iOS only options to specify popover location in iPad. Defined in CameraPopoverOptions

Android Quirks

• Ignores the allowEdit parameter.
• Camera.PictureSourceType.PHOTOLIBRARY and Camera.PictureSourceType.SAVEDPHOTOALBUM both display the same photo album.
• Ignores the correctOrientation parameter.

BlackBerry Quirks

• Ignores the quality parameter.
• Ignores the sourceType parameter.
• Ignores the allowEdit parameter.
• Application must have key injection permissions to close native Camera application after photo is taken.
• Using Large image sizes may result in inability to encode image on later model devices with high resolution cameras (e.g. Torch 9800).
• Camera.MediaType is not supported.
• Ignores the correctOrientation parameter.
• Ignores the saveToPhotoAlbum parameter.

webOS Quirks

• Ignores the quality parameter.
• Ignores the sourceType parameter.
• Ignores the allowEdit parameter.
• Camera.MediaType is not supported.
• Ignores the correctOrientation parameter.
• Ignores the saveToPhotoAlbum parameter.

iOS Quirks

• Set quality below 50 to avoid memory error on some devices.
• When destinationType.FILE_URI is used, photos are saved in the application's temporary directory. Developers may delete the contents of this directory using the navigator.fileMgr APIs if storage space is a concern.

Windows Phone 7 Quirks

• Ignores the allowEdit parameter.
• Ignores the correctOrientation parameter.
• Ignores the saveToPhotoAlbum parameter.

Bada 1.2 Quirks

• options not supported
• always returns a FILE URI

---

CameraPopoverOptions

Parameters only used by iOS to specify the anchor element location and arrow direction of popover used on iPad when selecting images from the library or album.

{ x : 0, 
  y :  32,
  width : 320,
  height : 480,
  arrowDir : Camera.PopoverArrowDirection.ARROW_ANY
};

CameraPopoverOptions

• x: x pixel coordinate of element on the screen to anchor popover onto. (Number)

• y: y pixel coordinate of element on the screen to anchor popover onto. (Number)

• width: width, in pixels, of the element on the screen to anchor popover onto. (Number)

• height: height, in pixels, of the element on the screen to anchor popover onto. (Number)

• arrowDir: Direction the arrow on the popover should point. Defined in Camera.PopoverArrowDirection (Number)

      Camera.PopoverArrowDirection = {
          ARROW_UP : 1,        // matches iOS UIPopoverArrowDirection constants
          ARROW_DOWN : 2,
          ARROW_LEFT : 4,
          ARROW_RIGHT : 8,
          ARROW_ANY : 15
      };
  

Note that the size of the popover may change to adjust to the direction of the arrow and orientation of the screen. Make sure to account for orientation changes when specifying the anchor element location.

Quick Example

 var popover = new CameraPopoverOptions(300,300,100,100,Camera.PopoverArrowDirection.ARROW_ANY);
 var options = { quality: 50, destinationType: Camera.DestinationType.DATA_URL,sourceType: Camera.PictureSource.SAVEDPHOTOALBUM, popoverOptions : popover };

 navigator.camera.getPicture(onSuccess, onFail, options);

 function onSuccess(imageData) {
    var image = document.getElementById('myImage');
    image.src = "data:image/jpeg;base64," + imageData;
}

function onFail(message) {
    alert('Failed because: ' + message);
}