Front camera access problem in DirectShow?

Hello,

My Samsung pda phone has got two cameras.

Using the sample code 'CECamera and 'Camera Capture' from windows mobile sdk, I'm able to access only the rear camera.

When I listed the devices on the phone using FindFirstDevice and looping through FindNextDevice, I could find only one 'CAM1' listed. This CAM1 is the rear camera.



I have to use the front camera.



Is there any way to access the front camera, please help me out here.



Sungtae

minhdanh
Sat Jul 19 22:55:29 CDT 2008

This is a very common question in DirectShow Mobile.

For some reasons the OEM has decided not to expose all camera features via
DirectShow drivers. This includes not being able to access the front camera,
unable to change camera properties (flashlight, brightness, etc.) and unable
to use high quality camera resoluions. The only way (that I know of) is to
use a proprietary camera API (usually by calling some functions in the
camera DLL located in \Windows), and not by using Directshow. Some
commercial products such as CoolCamera are know to use this.

If you are really determined to access the front camera and have enough
time, I'd recommend reverse engineering CoolCamera.