Use all camera functions, especially wide angle

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Since Android 11, it seems to be extremely difficult to use all cameras and all functions with 3rd-party apps. Is this the case everywhere or does only Fairphone have such a big and almost insurmountable problem with this? They have been working on it since at least March and put it on hold around the end of September!!!
There is the topic “Camera & Camera2 API - missing features & bugs” in the Fairphone forum where the problems with the cameras are summarized:

summarized problems

The solution of the problems could be partly with the proprietary blobs. And a large part seems to be related to the SYSTEM_CAMERA issue. Because the wide angle camera and the TOF sensor are not system cameras, you can’t use them:

Also adding that Info here: Apps need SYSTEM_CAMERA permissions to access the full feature set. This is only possible for apps on the system partition with correct permissions. Therefore app like Camera2 API Probe cannot see all features.
https://source.android.com/devices/camera/system-cameras

Not sure why it was done that way. Most user friendly way would probably be to drop the SYSTEM_CAMERA requirement.

For custom Roms it should still be possible to grant that permission and access all features.

At the end of September Fairphone gave a feedback (with the conclusion that the difficult topic is on hold):

There’s no standard way in Android to work with those high resolutions, wide angle camera etc. Regular Android apps (installed via Play etc) can only access standard feature sets of Android (Android SDK etc). Anything that’s not covered by the SDK is just not accessible for regular apps. Preinstalled system apps (like our own camera app) can have access to everything we give them access to, including device-specific custom camera features.

Just to clarify: wide-angle support, high-resolution and other such features are not “exotic” or unique to Fairphone. But Android just doesn’t provide a standard way to implement them. There are ways to make some such features accessible to 3rd-party apps (AndroidX, camera extensions), but that’s not done on FP3 and FP4, and is not a trivial topic at all.

I really have no idea about these things. I would just like to know if this is really such a big and time-consuming problem for professional Android developers? If so, I really wonder what Google was thinking making such a bullshit. This is all extremely unsatisfying!

I know that these are all not problems that iodéOS has to deal with directly. I was just hoping to get a professional view from another direction.

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No chance until fairphone open their propritary code

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You mean the iodé team could solve the problem if Fairphone would publish the code? Would be nice of course, but I guess that iodé would not have time for that?

But my question remains: Is it also a very difficult and extremely time consuming task for all other manufacturers? Do the additional cameras and some camera functions of the smartphones of all other manufacturers also not work with 3rd-party apps? Or have they solved the problems long ago? :thinking:

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I think so

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Sad but true: The FP4 has been out for over a year and there is no solution in sight. :disappointed_relieved: I don’t think anything can be expected from Fairphone in the short or medium term. They are working hard on various other software issues and are completely busy with that. The question is rather if in the long run or if ever the camera problems will be solved by them.

@vince31fr Could perhaps the iodé team imagine to solve the camera issues from the FP4 if Fairphone would open the propritary code? Or at least make the TOF sensor and the wide-angle camera usable for 3rd-party apps? I don’t know if this is an appropriate question. This is pure desperation talking. :frowning_face:
Just some thoughts on this: Maybe this would also bring iodé to Fairphone’s attention and create an official partnership??? Which would give iodé a higher visibility…

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As long as FP is doing nothing, all questions are hypothetical, sorry.
I can imagine your frustration, but it doesnt help.
Was one of the reasons why i sold my fp4…

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I’m sorry to hear that. I know that Fairphone is not getting behind with the software problems and that their support is suboptimal. If iodé would agree to help with the cameras, it wouldn’t hurt to ask Fairphone for the code. They can only win with that, as it would soften the dissatisfaction of many a bit. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting others help you. Actually, it makes much more sense to get to the goal in a community, where perhaps even both sides get something out of it. I have the impression that the atmosphere among the fairphoners is tilting a bit in some cases. The intransparency and very difficult reachability makes people more and more dissatisfied. I would be willing to ask Fairphone for the code. But of course I would only do this if iodé could really help.

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Good news, wide-angle will work in next release for FP4. A beta build is available (go to beta · master · iode / ota · GitLab to join the program).

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@vince31fr This is really very good news! :tada: That is so great, thank you so much for that!!! :smiley: :+1:

How exactly did you do that? Is Open Camera a system app now? Did you change anything else? Or have you solved it some other way?

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OC is a system app
Solved with SYSTEM_CAMERA permissions

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FP4:

  • Make wide-angle camera available to third party apps (OpenCamera, Google Camera, amongst others)

:tada: CalyxOS has solved the problem of being able to use the wide-angle camera with all third party apps. The Camera2 API Probe report contains 4 Camera ID’s. From Camera ID 0 to 3. Maybe even the TOF sensor will work. :slightly_smiling_face:

@vince31fr Can this solution also be integrated in iodéOS?

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Topic solved: