Switch cameras with avcapturesession

Question

Using this tutorial here: http://www.musicalgeometry.com/?p=1297 I have created a custom overlay and image capture with AVCaptureSession.

I am attempting to allow the user to switch between the front and back camera. Here is my code in CaptureSessionManager to switch cameras:

- (void)addVideoInputFrontCamera:(BOOL)front {
    NSArray *devices = [AVCaptureDevice devices];
    AVCaptureDevice *frontCamera;
    AVCaptureDevice *backCamera;

    for (AVCaptureDevice *device in devices) {

        //NSLog(@"Device name: %@", [device localizedName]);

        if ([device hasMediaType:AVMediaTypeVideo]) {

            if ([device position] == AVCaptureDevicePositionBack) {
                //NSLog(@"Device position : back");
                backCamera = device;
            }
            else {
                //NSLog(@"Device position : front");
                frontCamera = device;
            }
        }
    }

    NSError *error = nil;

    if (front) {
        AVCaptureDeviceInput *frontFacingCameraDeviceInput = [AVCaptureDeviceInput deviceInputWithDevice:frontCamera error:&error];
        if (!error) {
            if ([[self captureSession] canAddInput:frontFacingCameraDeviceInput]) {
                [[self captureSession] addInput:frontFacingCameraDeviceInput];
            } else {
                NSLog(@"Couldn't add front facing video input");
            }
        }
    } else {
        AVCaptureDeviceInput *backFacingCameraDeviceInput = [AVCaptureDeviceInput deviceInputWithDevice:backCamera error:&error];
        if (!error) {
            if ([[self captureSession] canAddInput:backFacingCameraDeviceInput]) {
                [[self captureSession] addInput:backFacingCameraDeviceInput];
            } else {
                NSLog(@"Couldn't add back facing video input");
            }
        }
    }
}

Now in my custom overlay controller I initialize everything like so in viewDidLoad:

[self setCaptureManager:[[CaptureSessionManager alloc] init]];

[[self captureManager] addVideoInputFrontCamera:NO]; // set to YES for Front Camera, No for Back camera

[[self captureManager] addStillImageOutput];

[[self captureManager] addVideoPreviewLayer];
CGRect layerRect = [[[self view] layer] bounds];
[[[self captureManager] previewLayer] setBounds:layerRect];
[[[self captureManager] previewLayer] setPosition:CGPointMake(CGRectGetMidX(layerRect),CGRectGetMidY(layerRect))];
[[[self view] layer] addSublayer:[[self captureManager] previewLayer]];

[[_captureManager captureSession] startRunning];

The switch camera button is connected to a method called switchCamera. I have tried this:

- (void)switchCameraView:(id)sender {

    [[self captureManager] addVideoInputFrontCamera:YES]; // set to YES for Front Camera, No for Back camera

}

When calling this, I get the error NSLog from the CaptureSessionManager and I cannot figure out why. In viewDidLoad, if I set the fontCamera to YES, it shows the front camera but cannot switch to back, and vice versa.

Any ideas on how to get it to switch properly?

Answer 1

You first need to remove the existing AVCameraInput from the AVCaptureSession and then add a new AVCameraInput to the AVCaptureSession. The following works for me (under ARC):

-(IBAction)switchCameraTapped:(id)sender
{
    //Change camera source
    if(_captureSession)
    {
        //Indicate that some changes will be made to the session
        [_captureSession beginConfiguration];

        //Remove existing input
        AVCaptureInput* currentCameraInput = [_captureSession.inputs objectAtIndex:0];
        [_captureSession removeInput:currentCameraInput];

        //Get new input
        AVCaptureDevice *newCamera = nil;
        if(((AVCaptureDeviceInput*)currentCameraInput).device.position == AVCaptureDevicePositionBack)
        {
            newCamera = [self cameraWithPosition:AVCaptureDevicePositionFront];
        }
        else
        {
            newCamera = [self cameraWithPosition:AVCaptureDevicePositionBack];
        }

        //Add input to session
        NSError *err = nil;
        AVCaptureDeviceInput *newVideoInput = [[AVCaptureDeviceInput alloc] initWithDevice:newCamera error:&err];
        if(!newVideoInput || err)
        {
            NSLog(@"Error creating capture device input: %@", err.localizedDescription);
        }
        else
        {
            [_captureSession addInput:newVideoInput];
        }

        //Commit all the configuration changes at once
        [_captureSession commitConfiguration];
    }
}

// Find a camera with the specified AVCaptureDevicePosition, returning nil if one is not found
- (AVCaptureDevice *) cameraWithPosition:(AVCaptureDevicePosition) position
{
    NSArray *devices = [AVCaptureDevice devicesWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeVideo];
    for (AVCaptureDevice *device in devices) 
    {
        if ([device position] == position) return device;
    }
    return nil;
}