Download the external web camera application for Android. Remote camera for smartphone: review. Connecting using CameraFI
USB camera is an application that can work with external cameras connected to an Android device.
Connection
The program allows you to capture images from the most different types recording devices - USB and IP camera. To work with the former, OTG USB support and an appropriate adapter are required, and to work with the latter, a network connection is required. The program also works with endoscopes and other similar devices.
Recording Modes
The developers of the USB camera application have provided the ability to use several recording modes - manual and automatic. For example, recording can be carried out at the user’s request (you need to press a special key to start) and according to a pre-set schedule.
For compatible IP cameras, a mode that automatically starts recording when motion is detected or a smoke sensor is triggered is supported. A special protection mechanism will instantly notify the user of an unexpected situation, reporting the start of a fire in several ways: text message, call or email with attachments (photo or video).
You can download and use the program completely free of charge. It even supports relatively older versions of Android.
Key Features
- connecting an external camera using an OTG USB adapter;
- ability to work with remote IP cameras;
- receiving alerts about motion detection and smoke detector activation (call, message, email);
- manual and automatic switching on recording video from the camera;
- storing an archive of recordings in the device memory or in cloud storage Yandex Disk;
- selecting the image resolution and codec used for recording;
- simple and clear interface in Russian;
- compatible with current versions Android operating system.
is an interesting application in which you can get unique options for connecting the camera through various ports. This will allow you to create new opportunities and solutions that you can get for yourself and your friends. Although the program has not been translated into Russian, you can quickly figure it out because its settings are very simple.
This is why the application has become so popular. The application's unique capabilities and tools have allowed it to become the most successful in its field. As you can see in the screenshots below, simple and clear settings will help you adjust almost all tools. That is why the application turned out to be so useful for you.
Let’s also note that the application takes up very little space in RAM mobile device. This allows her to compete with more famous Internet browsers. Many users choose this application for everyday use and leaves positive reviews about him. Therefore, you should pay attention to it, maybe this particular program will be right for you.
In the end, it turned out that this is an incredible application in which you can get many useful options for connecting the camera to personal computer. That is why the program was able to be so interesting.
Nowadays it is difficult to imagine a person who does not have a telephone. The usual one with a small number of functions and capabilities has been replaced by a “smart” phone - a smartphone. Since it is in great demand, the number of devices created for it has increased. A smartphone is often compared to a control panel: with its help you can communicate with friends, listen to music, watch movies, take photographs, and also observe hard-to-reach parts of various mechanisms.
What is a smartphone?
The word itself is borrowed from English language and it means "smart savvy phone". A smartphone is different from regular phone the presence of an operating system, thanks to which you can use several applications simultaneously. Simply put, this is the same computer, only it is more convenient to work on it due to its compactness.
For several years, the following types of operating systems have been leading: Android, Apple iOs and Windows Phone. Regardless of their type, each smartphone can be slightly improved with third-party devices. Through USB output connect to the phone the following devices: mouse, keyboard, flashlight, speakers, flash drive, camera, etc. For example, remote cameras for smartphones are used to improve the quality of photos and videos. We will consider some of their varieties later in the article.
How does the camera work?
Over the past few years, the quality of photographs taken on digital devices has improved significantly. Remote cameras for smartphones allow you to shoot at night, underwater, and also independently adjust the shutter speed. There are also many other useful features.
What does the camera device consist of? Maybe from megapixels? In part, yes, but in reality everything is much more complicated. The seemingly ordinary plastic camera eye is a multi-component system that performs complex processes. The work is based on a lens and a matrix. In addition to them, there are all kinds of flashes, autofocus stabilizers, RGB sensors, and laser rangefinders.
A remote camera for a smartphone allows you to work in tandem with a control device. Nowadays, most phones are equipped with a camera, and the more expensive the device, the higher the quality of the resulting images. But even the most expensive smartphone is not capable of taking photographs like a digital camera. What is this connected with?
Remote chamber characteristics
Main parameters and characteristics of a remote camera for a smartphone:
Simply put, an external camera can be controlled from a distance and can perform various functions, for example: Bokeh - the ability to focus on an object in the foreground, while what is behind will look a little blurry.
Types of remote cameras for smartphones
Depending on the nature of the connection with the control device - a smartphone or tablet - the following types of cameras are distinguished:
- wired (attached via USB port or headphone hole);
- wireless (does not have a visible connection with the smartphone, but has a connection based on a special application that transmits data via Wi-Fi or mobile internet);
- The endoscope has a small eye and is considered a corded camera, but has a longer cord to make it easier to get into tight spaces.
Each type of mini camera has its own features and characteristics. After studying them, you can decide on your purchase choice.
Benefits of a remote camera
A remote camera for a smartphone is needed not only for taking high-quality pictures. An important advantage is that some external cameras may not connect to the device via cable, be it a smartphone or tablet. This makes it possible to position the camera at a distance from the photographer at a convenient angle and at the desired height.
This device is used for covert or remote shooting, for example, video recording to protect an object or photographing timid animals. The photos turn out flawless thanks to additional settings, which can be applied depending on the expected effect.
Motorcyclists and cyclists are incredibly happy that a wireless remote camera for a smartphone has appeared on the market. With its help, the driver can monitor the situation behind. The control device can be mounted on the steering wheel, and the camera can be placed on the seat.
Wired camera for smartphone
Sony presented the first external mini-camera. Subsequently they gained wide popularity. Although they are all different in appearance, their design has something in common - external similarity to a lens from a digital camera and the ability to connect to a smartphone. Such a device can be attached to the smartphone itself over the factory one or as a standard webcam for a computer.
A remote wired camera for a smartphone serves as a lens. Inside it there is a photosensitive matrix that works in tandem with the processor. The wired camera also has a rechargeable battery and a memory card slot.
Such cameras include those that are attached magnetically to a smartphone, and there is absolutely no need for wires; the device already works great. But this leads to the main disadvantage of such mini-cameras - the long transfer of images to a smartphone. But after transferring photos, you can perform various actions with them (edit, publish, etc.).
Features of a wired camera
The developers identify 4 main positive properties of wired cameras:
- The external camera has an optical zoom, unlike a smartphone camera, which has a digital zoom.
- Optical zoom prevents blurred images.
- High quality pictures.
- Wide viewing angle.
Wireless camera
A remote wireless camera for a smartphone is also called a standalone Wi-Fi camera. Uploading of pictures is carried out via a video signal, with a maximum transmission distance of up to 80 meters. The camera is most often used in surveillance mode.
Appearance wireless camera similar to a hockey puck, only larger. There are no holes, antennas or lenses on its surface. Inside the so-called puck there is an ultra-sensitive microphone, the camera itself and a Wi-Fi transmitter. It is worth noting that the transmission range of such cameras depends on the presence of obstacles in the path of the video signal. Therefore indoors similar device It is recommended to use only taking into account the number of obstacles, their thickness and absorption capacity.
What device can receive video material from an external camera? For smartphones on Android and operating system iOS it won't be difficult. Due to the wide functional capabilities of a wireless camera, the scope of its application is practically unlimited.
The most common purposes for using a mini camera are:
- to control subordinates (employees in the office, workers on a construction site, salespeople in a store, etc.);
- to monitor the situation near the front door of an apartment or house;
- as a “video baby monitor” to keep an eye on a child who is in another room.
A remote wireless camera is suitable not only for entertainment, but also as a serious household assistant.
Features of the wireless camera
Features of external and internal parameters of the wireless mini camera:
- nice and stylish appearance;
- compact size;
- support for everyone Wi-Fi networks;
- remote viewing function;
- work from battery;
- convenient opening and closing of the lens;
- application at a distance of 30-80 meters, depending on the presence of obstacles.
When purchasing a wireless camera, it is worth considering that not all models have a memory card.
If you need to look into hard-to-reach places, such as a motor or sink drain, help will come flexible endoscope camera for smartphone. USB - universal connection port various devices, including cameras with the device.
This is a device that allows you to see what is happening in a place that is difficult for the naked eye to see. She was highly appreciated:
- dentists;
- radio amateurs;
- auto mechanics;
- plumbers;
- housewives.
Using a flexible camera only to facilitate the work process is boring. Therefore, many people use it for other useful or enjoyable purposes. For example, for entertainment, as well as to obtain unusual and interesting shots.
By connecting a flexible camera (endoscope) to the USB port of your smartphone, you can immediately display the image on the screen. A person who understands the trends in such technology may be surprised at the level of resolution of the device, which is 1280x720 (HD). Shooting with such a camera will allow you to see even the smallest details.
Typically, adapters for a computer are included with the device. With their help, you can upload video footage shot on a flexible camera. If the owner of the device works as a car mechanic, he can record a video showing the cause of the breakdown, and then show it to the car owner.
The package also includes a special mirror. With it, you can see what is on the sides of the device's eye. Thanks to the mirror, the viewing radius increases.
Some flexible smartphone cameras allow you to attach a magnet and a hook. With the help of this equipment, it becomes possible not only to look into the drain pipe, but also to eliminate the cause of the blockage. For example, if metal objects have fallen into the sink, a magnet will help you get them out, and if there is other debris, you can grab it and pull it out using a hook.
Flexible Camera Features
Among the advantages of the device are the following:
- Waterproof. Statistics say that the device is most often used to penetrate plumbing pipes, that is, where there is high humidity.
- The ability of the device to operate at different temperatures (from -18 to +80). The temperature range is quite large. Thanks to this, a person who does not have special equipment, but decides to repair the car himself, will be able to look at the engine up close and identify the cause of the breakdown. Even if the car is in working order and the parts are hot and in motion.
- Possibility of connection to a tablet or smartphone. Thanks to this important function, it becomes possible to view a particular space in real time. You can use a flexible camera not only for entertainment, but also to solve problems with a clogged pipe.
- Wide viewing angle (60-66 degrees). For a long time, the flexible camera had a maximum field of view of 50 degrees, which significantly worsened the experience of using it.
- Portable and compact. It is important to note that the small dimensions of the device do not affect the quality of shooting.
After reviewing remote cameras for smartphones and studying the above characteristics, you can accurately decide on the design that is right for you. The main thing is to know for what purpose you will use it, take into account your budget, and determine the possibility of connecting the camera to a smartphone. And you can safely purchase the device you like.
Driver is used to control UVC cameras.
With support for webcams, devices can be used in lightweight use cases such as video chatting and photo kiosks. This feature does not serve as a replacement for typical internal camera HALs on Android phones and is not designed to support performance-intensive, complex tasks involving high-resolution and high-speed streaming, AR, and manual ISP/sensor/lens control.
The new USB camera HAL process is part of the external camera provider that listens to USB device availability and enumerates external camera devices accordingly. The process has permissions and an SE policy similar to the built-in camera HAL process. Third party webcam applications that communicate directly with USB devices require the same camera permissions to access UVC devices as with any regular camera application.
Examples and sources
For more information on how to implement USB cameras, see an external camera provider reference implementation at . The external camera device and session implementations are included in and . The Java client API includes a new EXTERNAL hardware level.
Implementation
The implementation must support the android.hardware.usb.host system feature.
Kernel support for UVC devices must also be enabled. You can enable this by adding the following to the respective kernel deconfig files.
CONFIG_USB_VIDEO_CLASS=y +CONFIG_MEDIA_USB_SUPPORT=y Note:Make sure you also have this patch for uvcvideo.
To enable the external camera provider in the respective device build, which adds the necessary SELinux permissions, external camera configuration, and external camera provider dependency, complete the following steps:
Add external camera config file and external camera library to device.mk
PRODUCT_PACKAGES += [email protected]+PRODUCT_PACKAGES += [email protected]+PRODUCT_COPY_FILES += \ +device/manufacturerX/productY/external_camera_config.xml:$(TARGET_COPY_OUT_VENDOR)/etc/external_camera_config.xml
Add external camera provider name to device Treble HAL manifest
(Optional) If the device runs in Treble passthrough mode, update sepolicy so cameraserver can access UVC camera
+# for external camera +allow cameraserver device:dir r_dir_perms; +allow cameraserver video_device:dir r_dir_perms; +allow cameraserver video_device:chr_file rw_file_perms;
Here is an example of external_camera_config.xml (copyright lines omitted)
Customization
You can enhance the Android camera either through general customization options or device-specific optimizations.
General customizations
You can customize the external camera provider by modifying the external_camera_config.xml file. Specifically, clients can customize the following parameters:
- Excluding video nodes of internal camera(s)
- Supported image size and frame rate upper bound
- Number of inflight buffers (junk vs memory tradeoff)
In addition to these parameters, you can add your own parameters or develop your own configurations.
Device-specific optimizations
You can also improve performance by adding device-specific optimizations.
Buffer copy/scaling and JPEG decode/encode
Generic implementations use CPU (libyuv/libjpeg) but you can replace this with device-specific optimizations.
HAL output format
Generic implementations use the following output formats:
- YUV_420_888 for video IMPLEMENTATION_DEFINED buffers.
- YV12 for all other IMPLEMENTATION_DEFINED buffers.
To improve performance, you can replace output formats with device-specific efficient formats. You can also support additional formats in a customized implementation
Validation
Devices with external camera support must pass camera CTS. The external USB webcam must remain plugged in the specific device during the entire test run, otherwise some test cases will fail.
Note:media_profiles entries are not available for external USB webcams, so camcorder profiles are absent.The other day I bought this funny little thing. I really liked it, I’ll tell you my impressions now.
The story began with the wife losing a gold earring in the bathroom.. Fortunately, there is a grate installed at the outlet of the drain, as I already had a bitter experience. Climbing through pipes is unpleasant, so the thought came to mind - what if there is some kind of modern solution for such problems?
Regular stores offer many relevant products, but mostly these are expensive products from well-known brands. Minimum cost $60. That's why I wanted to find something simpler.
Where to buy?
I made an order on this site. Delivery was surprisingly fast. So let's see what we have. They sent me the youngest model. Of course, there are cooler ones. They even have a stated cable length of 10 meters. True, at first I thought that the company designated the pixels that way, but no.
There is a little background information written on the back of the box. You can find small instructions inside. In addition to the main devices, the kit included a simple CD with drivers and applications for Android.
Now let's move on to the review itself. The camera head is 35 millimeters long and 7.4 millimeters in diameter. It houses the camera itself and a backlight with six LEDs. The protection comes in the form of a glass cover. No brightening was noticed.
Cable with a diameter of 4.6 millimeters. It was made rigid to better control the camera. The cable sinks in water because it is quite heavy. At the end it has a Micro USB connector. The endoscope also has a small remote control with:
- shutter button;
- microphone hole;
- brightness control.
The accessories are:
- magnet and hook with holder;
- OTG cable;
- a cloth to wipe the protective glass of the camera;
- mirror.
How to connect to a computer
We connect the device to the PC, the driver is installed automatically. The endoscope is displayed as “PC USB Camera”.
If your smartphone is version Android 2.3, then remember – videos are recorded very well, but when saving them, Nexus 5 crashes. True, this problem does not bother me at all. After all, I use Android phones, and my camera is on a Windows 10 tablet.
The program, which is presented on the driver disk, raises no complaints. True, it has a very primitive interface, but it works without problems on the latest versions of Windows.
Endoscope's real technical parameters are as follows:
- 640x480 pixels – resolution on computer and phone;
- from 4 to 20 centimeters – focal length;
- excellent water resistance;
- 100 degrees – operating temperature;
- 16 frames per second – shooting speed.
Now, using standard accessories, we will try to pull different things out of the pipe. To do this, insert the nut ¼ into the quartz tube. We will pull it out using a hook and a magnet.
The magnet works without problems. However, it will be unusable if you decide to remove any iron object from the iron pipe. You'll have to use a crochet hook. But there's a catch - it's long. To keep everything in order, you need to slightly shorten the tip.
Using a mirror in practice is a very dubious task.. Yes, you can “peek” around a corner, but the camera cannot focus indefinitely. Therefore, in this mode you will not see far.
What benefits do we get?
I believe these include:
- cost – a similar Chinese endoscope for Android costs from $60. Why pay more when you have a tablet or smartphone?
- The device copes well with all the tasks assigned.
- I'm very pleased with the water resistance. The endoscope can easily withstand a day in water.
- The endoscope weighs only 20 grams.