Use multiple camera streams simultaneously

Note: This page refers to the Camera2 package. Unless your app requires specific, low-level features from Camera2, we recommend using CameraX. Both CameraX and Camera2 support Android 5.0 (API level 21) and higher.

A camera application can use more than one stream of frames simultaneously. In some cases, different streams even require a different frame resolution or pixel format. Some typical use cases include:

Video recording: one stream for preview, another being encoded and saved into a file.
Barcode scanning: one stream for preview, another for barcode detection.
Computational photography: one stream for preview, another for face/scene detection.

There is a non-trivial performance cost when processing frames, and the cost is multiplied when doing parallel stream or pipeline processing.

Resources like CPU, GPU, and DSP might be able to take advantage of the framework’s reprocessing capabilities, but resources like memory will grow linearly.

Multiple targets per request

Multiple camera streams can be combined into a single CameraCaptureRequest. The following code snippet illustrates how to set up a camera session with one stream for camera preview and another stream for image processing:

Kotlin

val session: CameraCaptureSession = ...  // from CameraCaptureSession.StateCallback

// You will use the preview capture template for the combined streams
// because it is optimized for low latency; for high-quality images, use
// TEMPLATE_STILL_CAPTURE, and for a steady frame rate use TEMPLATE_RECORD
val requestTemplate = CameraDevice.TEMPLATE_PREVIEW
val combinedRequest = session.device.createCaptureRequest(requestTemplate)

// Link the Surface targets with the combined request
combinedRequest.addTarget(previewSurface)
combinedRequest.addTarget(imReaderSurface)

// In this simple case, the SurfaceView gets updated automatically. ImageReader
// has its own callback that you have to listen to in order to retrieve the
// frames so there is no need to set up a callback for the capture request
session.setRepeatingRequest(combinedRequest.build(), null, null)

Java

CameraCaptureSession session = …;  // from CameraCaptureSession.StateCallback

// You will use the preview capture template for the combined streams
// because it is optimized for low latency; for high-quality images, use
// TEMPLATE_STILL_CAPTURE, and for a steady frame rate use TEMPLATE_RECORD
        CaptureRequest.Builder combinedRequest = session.getDevice().createCaptureRequest(CameraDevice.TEMPLATE_PREVIEW);

// Link the Surface targets with the combined request
        combinedRequest.addTarget(previewSurface);
        combinedRequest.addTarget(imReaderSurface);

// In this simple case, the SurfaceView gets updated automatically. ImageReader
// has its own callback that you have to listen to in order to retrieve the
// frames so there is no need to set up a callback for the capture request
        session.setRepeatingRequest(combinedRequest.build(), null, null);

If you configure the target surfaces correctly, this code will produce only streams that meet the minimum FPS determined by StreamComfigurationMap.GetOutputMinFrameDuration(int, Size) and StreamComfigurationMap.GetOutputStallDuration(int, Size). Actual performance varies from device to device, though Android provides some guarantees for supporting specific combinations depending on three variables: output type, output size, and hardware level.

Using an unsupported combination of variables may work at a low frame rate; if it does not, it will trigger one of the failure callbacks. The documentation for createCaptureSession describes what is guaranteed to work.

Output type

Output type refers to the format in which the frames are encoded. The possible values are PRIV, YUV, JPEG and RAW. The documentation for createCaptureSession describes them.

When choosing your application’s output type, if the goal is to maximize compatibility, then use ImageFormat.YUV_420_888 for frame analysis and ImageFormat.JPEG for still images. For preview and recording scenarios, you will likely be using a SurfaceView, TextureView, MediaRecorder, MediaCodec, or RenderScript.Allocation. In those cases, do not specify an image format. For compatibility, it will count as ImageFormat.PRIVATE, regardless of the actual format used internally. To query the formats supported by a device given its CameraCharacteristics, use the following code:

Kotlin

val characteristics: CameraCharacteristics = ...
val supportedFormats = characteristics.get(
    CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP).outputFormats

Java

CameraCharacteristics characteristics = …;
        int[] supportedFormats = characteristics.get(
CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP).getOutputFormats();

Output size

All available output sizes are listed by StreamConfigurationMap.getOutputSizes(), but only two are related to compatibility: PREVIEW and MAXIMUM. The sizes act as upper bounds. If something of size PREVIEW works, then anything with a size smaller than PREVIEW will also work. The same is true for MAXIMUM. The documentation for CameraDevice explains these sizes.

The available output sizes depend on the choice of format. Given the CameraCharacteristics and a format, you can query for the available output sizes like this:

Kotlin

val characteristics: CameraCharacteristics = ...
val outputFormat: Int = ...  // such as ImageFormat.JPEG
val sizes = characteristics.get(
    CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP)
    .getOutputSizes(outputFormat)

Java

CameraCharacteristics characteristics = …;
        int outputFormat = …;  // such as ImageFormat.JPEG
Size[] sizes = characteristics.get(
                CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP)
                .getOutputSizes(outputFormat);

In the camera preview and recording use cases, use the target class to determine supported sizes. The format will be handled by the camera framework itself:

Kotlin

val characteristics: CameraCharacteristics = ...
val targetClass: Class <T> = ...  // such as SurfaceView::class.java
val sizes = characteristics.get(
    CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP)
    .getOutputSizes(targetClass)

Java

CameraCharacteristics characteristics = …;
   int outputFormat = …;  // such as ImageFormat.JPEG
   Size[] sizes = characteristics.get(
                CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP)
                .getOutputSizes(outputFormat);

To get the MAXIMUM size, sort the output sizes by area and return the largest one:

Kotlin

fun <T>getMaximumOutputSize(
    characteristics: CameraCharacteristics, targetClass: Class <T>, format: Int? = null):
    Size {
  val config = characteristics.get(
      CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP)

  // If image format is provided, use it to determine supported sizes; or else use target class
  val allSizes = if (format == null)
    config.getOutputSizes(targetClass) else config.getOutputSizes(format)
  return allSizes.maxBy { it.height * it.width }
}

Java

 @RequiresApi(api = Build.VERSION_CODES.N)
    <T> Size getMaximumOutputSize(CameraCharacteristics characteristics,
                                            Class <T> targetClass,
                                            Integer format) {
        StreamConfigurationMap config = characteristics.get(CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP);

        // If image format is provided, use it to determine supported sizes; else use target class
        Size[] allSizes;
        if (format == null) {
            allSizes = config.getOutputSizes(targetClass);
        } else {
            allSizes = config.getOutputSizes(format);
        }
        return Arrays.stream(allSizes).max(Comparator.comparing(s -> s.getHeight() * s.getWidth())).get();
    }

PREVIEW refers to the best size match to the device’s screen resolution or to 1080p (1920x1080), whichever is smaller. The aspect ratio may not match the screen’s aspect ratio exactly, so you may need to apply letter-boxing or cropping to the stream to display it in full screen mode. To get the right preview size, compare the available output sizes with the display size while taking into account that the display may be rotated.

The following code defines a helper class, SmartSize, that will make size comparisons a little easier:

Kotlin

/** Helper class used to pre-compute shortest and longest sides of a [Size] */
class SmartSize(width: Int, height: Int) {
    var size = Size(width, height)
    var long = max(size.width, size.height)
    var short = min(size.width, size.height)
    override fun toString() = "SmartSize(${long}x${short})"
}

/** Standard High Definition size for pictures and video */
val SIZE_1080P: SmartSize = SmartSize(1920, 1080)

/** Returns a [SmartSize] object for the given [Display] */
fun getDisplaySmartSize(display: Display): SmartSize {
    val outPoint = Point()
    display.getRealSize(outPoint)
    return SmartSize(outPoint.x, outPoint.y)
}

/**
 * Returns the largest available PREVIEW size. For more information, see:
 * https://d.android.com/reference/android/hardware/camera2/CameraDevice
 */
fun <T>getPreviewOutputSize(
        display: Display,
        characteristics: CameraCharacteristics,
        targetClass: Class <T>,
        format: Int? = null
): Size {

    // Find which is smaller: screen or 1080p
    val screenSize = getDisplaySmartSize(display)
    val hdScreen = screenSize.long >= SIZE_1080P.long || screenSize.short >= SIZE_1080P.short
    val maxSize = if (hdScreen) SIZE_1080P else screenSize

    // If image format is provided, use it to determine supported sizes; else use target class
    val config = characteristics.get(
            CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP)!!
    if (format == null)
        assert(StreamConfigurationMap.isOutputSupportedFor(targetClass))
    else
        assert(config.isOutputSupportedFor(format))
    val allSizes = if (format == null)
        config.getOutputSizes(targetClass) else config.getOutputSizes(format)

    // Get available sizes and sort them by area from largest to smallest
    val validSizes = allSizes
            .sortedWith(compareBy { it.height * it.width })
            .map { SmartSize(it.width, it.height) }.reversed()

    // Then, get the largest output size that is smaller or equal than our max size
    return validSizes.first { it.long <= maxSize.long && it.short <= maxSize.short }.size
}

Java

/** Helper class used to pre-compute shortest and longest sides of a [Size] */
    class SmartSize {
        Size size;
        double longSize;
        double shortSize;

        public SmartSize(Integer width, Integer height) {
            size = new Size(width, height);
            longSize = max(size.getWidth(), size.getHeight());
            shortSize = min(size.getWidth(), size.getHeight());
        }

        @Override
        public String toString() {
            return String.format("SmartSize(%sx%s)", longSize, shortSize);
        }
    }

    /** Standard High Definition size for pictures and video */
    SmartSize SIZE_1080P = new SmartSize(1920, 1080);

    /** Returns a [SmartSize] object for the given [Display] */
    SmartSize getDisplaySmartSize(Display display) {
        Point outPoint = new Point();
        display.getRealSize(outPoint);
        return new SmartSize(outPoint.x, outPoint.y);
    }

    /**
     * Returns the largest available PREVIEW size. For more information, see:
     * https://d.android.com/reference/android/hardware/camera2/CameraDevice
     */
    @RequiresApi(api = Build.VERSION_CODES.N)
    <T> Size getPreviewOutputSize(
            Display display,
            CameraCharacteristics characteristics,
            Class <T> targetClass,
            Integer format
    ){

        // Find which is smaller: screen or 1080p
        SmartSize screenSize = getDisplaySmartSize(display);
        boolean hdScreen = screenSize.longSize >= SIZE_1080P.longSize || screenSize.shortSize >= SIZE_1080P.shortSize;
        SmartSize maxSize;
        if (hdScreen) {
            maxSize = SIZE_1080P;
        } else {
            maxSize = screenSize;
        }

        // If image format is provided, use it to determine supported sizes; else use target class
        StreamConfigurationMap config = characteristics.get(
                CameraCharacteristics.SCALER_STREAM_CONFIGURATION_MAP);
        if (format == null)
            assert(StreamConfigurationMap.isOutputSupportedFor(targetClass));
        else
            assert(config.isOutputSupportedFor(format));
        Size[] allSizes;
        if (format == null) {
            allSizes = config.getOutputSizes(targetClass);
        } else {
            allSizes = config.getOutputSizes(format);
        }

        // Get available sizes and sort them by area from largest to smallest
        List <Size> sortedSizes = Arrays.asList(allSizes);
        List <SmartSize> validSizes =
                sortedSizes.stream()
                        .sorted(Comparator.comparing(s -> s.getHeight() * s.getWidth()))
                        .map(s -> new SmartSize(s.getWidth(), s.getHeight()))
                        .sorted(Collections.reverseOrder()).collect(Collectors.toList());

        // Then, get the largest output size that is smaller or equal than our max size
        return validSizes.stream()
                .filter(s -> s.longSize <= maxSize.longSize && s.shortSize <= maxSize.shortSize)
                .findFirst().get().size;
    }

Check the supported hardware level

To determine the available capabilities at runtime, check the supported hardware level using CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL.

With a CameraCharacteristics object, you can retrieve the hardware level with a single statement:

Kotlin

val characteristics: CameraCharacteristics = ...

// Hardware level will be one of:
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_LEGACY,
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_EXTERNAL,
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_LIMITED,
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_FULL,
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_3
val hardwareLevel = characteristics.get(
        CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL)

Java

CameraCharacteristics characteristics = ...;

// Hardware level will be one of:
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_LEGACY,
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_EXTERNAL,
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_LIMITED,
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_FULL,
// - CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL_3
Integer hardwareLevel = characteristics.get(
                CameraCharacteristics.INFO_SUPPORTED_HARDWARE_LEVEL);

Putting all the pieces together

With output type, output size, and hardware level, you can determine which combinations of streams are valid. The following chart is a snapshot of the configurations supported by a CameraDevice with LEGACY hardware level.

Target 1		Target 2		Target 3		Sample use case(s)
Type	Max size	Type	Max size	Type	Max size	Sample use case(s)
`PRIV`	`MAXIMUM`					Simple preview, GPU video processing, or no-preview video recording.
`JPEG`	`MAXIMUM`					No-viewfinder still image capture.
`YUV`	`MAXIMUM`					In-application video/image processing.
`PRIV`	`PREVIEW`	`JPEG`	`MAXIMUM`			Standard still imaging.
`YUV`	`PREVIEW`	`JPEG`	`MAXIMUM`			In-app processing plus still capture.
`PRIV`	`PREVIEW`	`PRIV`	`PREVIEW`			Standard recording.
`PRIV`	`PREVIEW`	`YUV`	`PREVIEW`			Preview plus in-app processing.
`PRIV`	`PREVIEW`	`YUV`	`PREVIEW`			Preview plus in-app processing.
`PRIV`	`PREVIEW`	`YUV`	`PREVIEW`	`JPEG`	`MAXIMUM`	Still capture plus in-app processing.

LEGACY is the lowest possible hardware level. This table shows that every device that supports Camera2 (API level 21 and higher) can output up to three simultaneous streams using the right configuration and if there isn't too much overhead limiting performance, such as memory, CPU, or thermal constraints.

Your app also needs to configure targeting output buffers. For example, to target a device with LEGACY hardware level, you could set up two target output surfaces, one using ImageFormat.PRIVATE and another using ImageFormat.YUV_420_888. This is a supported combination while using the PREVIEW size. Using the function defined earlier in this topic, getting the required preview sizes for a camera ID requires the following code:

Kotlin

val characteristics: CameraCharacteristics = ...
val context = this as Context  // assuming you are inside of an activity

val surfaceViewSize = getPreviewOutputSize(
    context, characteristics, SurfaceView::class.java)
val imageReaderSize = getPreviewOutputSize(
    context, characteristics, ImageReader::class.java, format = ImageFormat.YUV_420_888)

Java

CameraCharacteristics characteristics = ...;
        Context context = this; // assuming you are inside of an activity

        Size surfaceViewSize = getPreviewOutputSize(
                context, characteristics, SurfaceView.class);
        Size imageReaderSize = getPreviewOutputSize(
                context, characteristics, ImageReader.class, format = ImageFormat.YUV_420_888);

It requires waiting until SurfaceView is ready using the provided callbacks:

Kotlin

val surfaceView = findViewById <SurfaceView>(...)
surfaceView.holder.addCallback(object : SurfaceHolder.Callback {
  override fun surfaceCreated(holder: SurfaceHolder) {
    // You do not need to specify image format, and it will be considered of type PRIV
    // Surface is now ready and you could use it as an output target for CameraSession
  }
  ...
})

Java

SurfaceView surfaceView = findViewById <SurfaceView>(...);

surfaceView.getHolder().addCallback(new SurfaceHolder.Callback() {
            @Override
            public void surfaceCreated(@NonNull SurfaceHolder surfaceHolder) {
                // You do not need to specify image format, and it will be considered of type PRIV
                // Surface is now ready and you could use it as an output target for CameraSession
            }
            ...
        });

You can force the SurfaceView to match the camera output size by calling SurfaceHolder.setFixedSize() or you can take an approach similar to AutoFitSurfaceView from the Common module of the camera samples on GitHub, which sets an absolute size, taking into consideration both the aspect ratio and the available space, while automatically adjusting when activity changes are triggered.

Setting up the other surface from ImageReader with the desired format is easier, since there are no callbacks to wait for:

Kotlin

val frameBufferCount = 3  // just an example, depends on your usage of ImageReader
val imageReader = ImageReader.newInstance(
    imageReaderSize.width, imageReaderSize.height, ImageFormat.YUV_420_888,
    frameBufferCount)

Java

int frameBufferCount = 3;  // just an example, depends on your usage of ImageReader
ImageReader imageReader = ImageReader.newInstance(
                imageReaderSize.width, imageReaderSize.height, ImageFormat.YUV_420_888,
                frameBufferCount);

When using a blocking target buffer like ImageReader, discard the frames after using them:

Kotlin

imageReader.setOnImageAvailableListener({
  val frame =  it.acquireNextImage()
  // Do something with "frame" here
  it.close()
}, null)

Java

imageReader.setOnImageAvailableListener(listener -> {
            Image frame = listener.acquireNextImage();
            // Do something with "frame" here
            listener.close();
        }, null);

LEGACY hardware level targets the lowest common denominator devices. You can add conditional branching and use RECORD size for one of the output target surfaces in devices with LIMITED hardware level, or even increase it to MAXIMUM size for devices with FULL hardware level.