Using cameraOverlayView with UIImagePickerController

Question

I know this has been asked a number of time but I can't find an answer.

I have an app that uses the UIImagePickerController to take a picture. The problem is that I only want the camera option to be available and I understand that I need to hide the standard controls:

cameraUI.showsCameraControls=NO;

and use a cameraOverlayView to provide my own controls. I have had a look at Apple's PhotoPicker project already and my initial problem is how do I get an Overlay object onto my storyboard? I can't find such an object in the library. Any help gratefully received.

Answer 1

Here is the code :

toolBar=[[UIToolbar alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, self.view.frame.size.height-54, self.view.frame.size.width, 55)];

toolBar.barStyle =  UIBarStyleBlackOpaque;
NSArray *items=[NSArray arrayWithObjects:
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemCancel  target:self action:@selector(cancelPicture)],
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFlexibleSpace  target:nil action:nil],
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemCamera  target:self action:@selector(shootPicture)],
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFlexibleSpace  target:nil action:nil],
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFlexibleSpace  target:nil action:nil],
                nil];
[toolBar setItems:items];

// create the overlay view
overlayView = [[OverlayView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, self.view.frame.size.width, self.view.frame.size.height-44)];

// important - it needs to be transparent so the camera preview shows through!
overlayView.opaque=NO;
overlayView.backgroundColor=[UIColor clearColor];

// parent view for our overlay
UIView *cameraView=[[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:self.view.bounds];
[cameraView addSubview:overlayView];
[cameraView addSubview:toolBar];

imagePickerController = [[UIImagePickerController alloc] init];

if ([UIImagePickerController isSourceTypeAvailable:UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera] == NO){
    NSLog(@"Camera not available");
    return;
}
imagePickerController.sourceType = UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera;
imagePickerController.delegate = self;

// hide the camera controls
imagePickerController.showsCameraControls=NO;
imagePickerController.wantsFullScreenLayout = YES;
[imagePickerController setCameraOverlayView:cameraView];

[self presentViewController:imagePickerController animated:YES completion:nil];

Declare this in your header file :

UIImagePickerController * imagePickerController;
UIToolbar *toolBar;
OverlayView *overlayView;

Add this OverlayView.h and .m Class from Apples PhotoPicker.

Actions for capturing photo using custom camera button:

-(void) shootPicture {
    [imagePickerController takePicture];
}

- (IBAction)cancelPicture {
    [self dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];
}

Output will come like this below attached screenshot (I have added a capture button and cancel button in custom overlay view):

Happy Coding :)

Answer 2

Here is my code. If you want the camera to appear as soon as the view controller opens, make sure you initialize the UIImagePickerController in viewDidAppear like I did (viewDidLoad does not work).

@interface CameraViewController ()
@property UIImagePickerController *PickerController;
@property CGFloat HeightOfButtons;
@end


- (UIView *)createCustomOverlayView
{

    // Main overlay view created
    UIView *main_overlay_view = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:self.view.bounds];

    // Clear view (live camera feed) created and added to main overlay view
    // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    UIView *clear_view = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, self.view.frame.size.width, self.view.frame.size.height - self.HeightOfButtons)];
    clear_view.opaque = NO;
    clear_view.backgroundColor = [UIColor clearColor];
    [main_overlay_view addSubview:clear_view];
    // ------------------------------------------------------------------------


    // Creates two red buttons on the bottom of the view (on top of the live camera feed)
    // Then adds the buttons to the main overlay view
    // You can, of course, customize these buttons however you want
    // ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    for(int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
        self.HeightOfButtons = 100;
        UIButton *button = [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom];
        // when a button is touched, UIImagePickerController snaps a picture
        [button addTarget:self action:@selector(testIfButtonResponds) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
        button.frame = CGRectMake( i * self.view.frame.size.width / 2, self.view.frame.size.height - self.HeightOfButtons, self.view.frame.size.width / 2, self.HeightOfButtons);
        [button setBackgroundColor:[UIColor redColor]];
        [main_overlay_view addSubview:button];
    }
    // ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    return main_overlay_view;
}

- (void)makeCustomCameraAppear
{
    self.PickerController = [[UIImagePickerController alloc] init];
    self.PickerController.sourceType = UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera;
    self.PickerController.showsCameraControls = NO;
    self.PickerController.delegate = self;

    UIView *overlay_view = [self createCustomOverlayView];
    [self.PickerController setCameraOverlayView:overlay_view];

    [self presentViewController:self.PickerController animated:YES completion:NULL];
}

- (void)viewDidAppear:(BOOL)animated
{
    [self makeCustomCameraAppear];
}

Answer 3

great information. To add a little to what Raghu did:

up top:

UIImagePicker *_imagePicker;

//inside your take a picture method
UIToolbar *toolBar=[[UIToolbar alloc]initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, self.view.frame.size.width, 100)];
toolBar.barStyle =  UIBarStyleBlackOpaque;
NSArray *items=[NSArray arrayWithObjects:
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemCancel  target:self action:@selector(cancelPicker)],
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFlexibleSpace  target:nil action:nil],
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemCamera  target:self action:@selector(shootPicture)],
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFlexibleSpace  target:nil action:nil],
                [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFlexibleSpace  target:nil action:nil],
                nil];
[toolBar setItems:items];
toolBar.backgroundColor=[UIColor blackColor];



UIImageView *tp=[[UIImageView alloc]initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, self.view.frame.size.height-100, self.view.frame.size.width, 100)];

tp.userInteractionEnabled=YES;
tp.backgroundColor=[UIColor blackColor];

[tp addSubview:toolBar]; //add the toolbar to the uiimageview

_imagePicker=[[UIImagePickerController alloc]init];
_imagePicker.sourceType=UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera;
_imagePicker.delegate = self;
_imagePicker.showsCameraControls=NO;  //we will make custom controls.
[_imagePicker.view addSubview:tp];



-(void)cancelPicker{
//get rid of the image picker
[self dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil]; //dismiss uiimagepicker
_imagePicker=nil;
}

//take the picture, it will then go directly to - (void)imagePickerController:(UIImagePickerController *)picker didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo:(NSDictionary *)info method
-(void)shootPicture{
[_imagePicker takePicture];
}