page_type	languages	products	urlFragment	extendedZipContent	description
sample	csharp	windows windows-uwp	CameraManualControls	path target SharedContent SharedContent path target LICENSE LICENSE	An end-to-end sample camera app using the Windows.Media.Capture API and orientation sensors.

Manual camera controls sample

Provides an end-to-end sample to show how to write a camera app using the Windows.Media.Capture API in conjunction with orientation sensors to cover some of the functions that advanced camera apps will require. This sample is based on the Basic camera app sample.

Note: This sample is part of a large collection of UWP feature samples. You can download this sample as a standalone ZIP file from docs.microsoft.com, or you can download the entire collection as a single ZIP file, but be sure to unzip everything to access shared dependencies. For more info on working with the ZIP file, the samples collection, and GitHub, see Get the UWP samples from GitHub. For more samples, see the Samples portal on the Windows Dev Center.

Specifically, this sample will cover how to:

1. Manage the MediaCapture object throughout the lifecycle of the app and through navigation events.
2. Acquire a camera located on a specific side of the device. In this case, the sample attempts to get the rear camera.
3. Start and stop the preview to a UI element, including mirroring for front-facing cameras.
4. Take a picture to a file (taking into account the orientation of the device), and disable the video capture button if the app is running on a device that doesn't support concurrent capturing of photos and video.
5. Record a video to a file, and disable the photo capture button if the app is running on a device that doesn't support concurrent capturing of photos and video.
6. Discover the capabilities of a device regarding the following advanced camera controls:
   • Flash and video light
   • Zoom, including Smooth Zoom if supported by the device
   • Focus: manual, continuous, and tap-to-focus
   • ISO Speed
   • Shutter Speed (Exposure)
   • Exposure Value
   • White Balance
7. Configure manual camera controls individually, allowing the user to see the effect the controls would have on the preview (where applicable).
8. Handle rotation events for both, the device moving in space and the page orientation changing on the screen. Also apply any necessary corrections to the preview stream rotation and user interactions with the CaptureElement.
9. Handle MediaCapture Failed event to clean up the MediaCapture instance when an error occurs.

This sample also implements a custom UI to better simulate the experience that a camera application would provide, so any messages intended for the developer are printed to the debug console.

To keep code complexity low, but offer easier navigation between the different controls, the sample uses partial classes to separate the code that handles specific controls into their own files. Each file is named according to the control they cover, in the format of: MainPage.Control.xaml.cs.

Related topics

Samples

CameraStarterKit
CameraResolution

Conceptual

Capture photos and video with MediaCapture
Media capture using capture device
Using Smooth Zoom

Reference

Windows.Media.Capture.MediaCapture namespace
Windows.Media.Capture.MediaCaptureInitializationSettings constructor
Windows.Media.Capture.MediaCaptureInitilizationSettings.VideoDeviceId property
Windows.Devices.Enumeration namespace
Windows.Devices.Enumeration.DeviceInformation class
Windows.Devices.Sensors.SimpleOrientationSensor class
Windows.Graphics.Display.DisplayInformation class
Windows.Phone.UI.Input.HardwareButtons.CameraPressed event
Windows.Graphics.Imaging.BitmapDecoder class
Windows.Graphics.Imaging.BitmapEncoder class

System requirements

Hardware: Camera

Client: Windows 10

Server: Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview

Phone: Windows 10

Build the sample

1. If you download the samples ZIP, be sure to unzip the entire archive, not just the folder with the sample you want to build.
2. Start Microsoft Visual Studio and select File > Open > Project/Solution.
3. Starting in the folder where you unzipped the samples, go to the Samples subfolder, then the subfolder for this specific sample, then the subfolder for your preferred language (C++, C#, or JavaScript). Double-click the Visual Studio Solution (.sln) file.
4. Press Ctrl+Shift+B, or select Build > Build Solution.

Run the sample

The next steps depend on whether you just want to deploy the sample or you want to both deploy and run it.

Deploying the sample:

1. Select Build > Deploy Solution.

Deploying and running the sample:

1. To debug the sample and then run it, press F5 or select Debug > Start Debugging. To run the sample without debugging, press Ctrl+F5 or select Debug > Start Without Debugging.