Here's a complete post on how to take a picture with computer cameras in a WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) application using C#. The post walks through tools, code examples, and steps for creating a functional camera capture feature.
Taking a Picture with a Computer Camera in WPF Using C#
Getting Started
Using a webcam in a WPF application can be extremely useful for apps involving identity verification, video conferencing, or simple photo capture.
In this guide, we'll walk through how to take a pic with webcam or a computer camera in a WPF app using C# and Dynamsoft library.
Downlod Webcam libraries: Click the link to download
Setup Your WPF Project
Create a new WPF Application in Visual Studio:- Open Visual Studio.
- Create a new WPF App (.NET Framework) or WPF App (.NET Core).
- Name it
CapturePhotos. - Take reference of the Webcame libraries
- Download the libraries from the link given above.
- Right Click on your project name and navigate to Add >Referance.
- On the Referenace Manager Window: Go to Browser tab then click on the Browser button./li>
- The File Dioloagbox will be opended: Go to path of the downloaded libraries (Webcam) and select the files to reference.
- Click Add
- Click OK
Take a Picture with Computer Camera
Here I have shared the logice to take a picture with a computer camera or a Webcame written in both XAML and code behing C#. In the code example, I used the following three WPF controls:
- 2 Image Controls: For showing live streaming and captured photo
- 2 Comobobox Controls: For Listdown attached cameras and camera resolutions.
- Button Conntrol: Capture photos on click.
XAML Code
<Window x:Class="CapturePhotos.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="Photo Capture" Height="500" Width="400" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen">
<Border CornerRadius="5" BorderThickness="2" BorderBrush="Gray" Margin="5">
<Grid Margin="5">
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
<ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="200"/>
<RowDefinition Height="20"/>
<RowDefinition Height="30"/>
<RowDefinition Height="5"/>
<RowDefinition Height="150"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<GroupBox Margin="5,10" Header="Live Image" Name="gblive">
<Image Name="DSViewer" Stretch="Fill"/>
</GroupBox>
<GroupBox Grid.Column="1" Grid.RowSpan="1" Margin="5,10" Header="Captured Image" Name="gvcapture">
<Image x:Name="image1" Stretch="Fill" ></Image>
</GroupBox>
<TextBlock Text="Select Camera" Grid.Row="1"/>
<TextBlock Text="Select Resolution" Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1"/>
<ComboBox Name="cbxSources" Grid.Row="2" SelectionChanged="cbxSources_SelectionChanged"/>
<ComboBox Name="cbxResolution" Grid.Row="2" Grid.Column="1" SelectionChanged="cbxResolution_SelectionChanged"/>
<Button Name="btnCapture" IsEnabled="False" Margin="5,2" Width="200" Grid.Row="4" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" Content="Capture" Click="btnCapture_Click"></Button>
</Grid>
</Border>
</Window>
C#
using Dynamsoft.Common;
using Dynamsoft.Core;
using Dynamsoft.UVC;
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
namespace CapturePhotos
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
private string m_StrProductKey = "t0078oQAAALS176sNWXF5Io4vXp2khlj+SCbN1ElJvDJhZo7HC0N3UdopMK+K7l9TSzE8mE9arzyR+jVrx7+VblMIP6jGm7nGJsamBgAfnCAB";
private ImageCore m_ImageCore = null;
private CameraManager m_CameraManager = null;
private Camera m_Camera = null;
private Window m_ControlWindow;
private delegate void RefreshDelegate(System.Windows.Media.Imaging.BitmapImage temp);
private RefreshDelegate m_Refresh;
public MainWindow()
{
//InitializeComponent();
try
{
InitializeComponent();
m_CameraManager = new CameraManager(m_StrProductKey);
cbxSources.Items.Clear();//Clear all cameras
if (m_CameraManager.GetCameraNames() != null)
{
foreach (string temp in m_CameraManager.GetCameraNames())
{
this.cbxSources.Items.Add(temp);
}
cbxSources.SelectedIndex = 0;
}
m_Refresh += new RefreshDelegate(RefreshImage);
m_ControlWindow = Window.GetWindow(image1);
}
catch (Exception exp)
{
MessageBox.Show(exp.Message);
}
}
private void RefreshImage(System.Windows.Media.Imaging.BitmapImage temp)
{
try
{
DSViewer.Source = temp;
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
}
private void cbxSources_SelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (m_CameraManager.GetCameraNames() != null)
{
if (((ComboBox)sender).SelectedIndex >= 0 && ((ComboBox)sender).SelectedIndex < m_CameraManager.GetCameraNames().Count)
{
m_Camera = m_CameraManager.SelectCamera((short)cbxSources.SelectedIndex);
try
{
m_Camera.Open();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
m_Camera.Close();
m_Camera.Open();
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
m_Camera.OnFrameCaptrue += m_Camera_OnFrameCaptrue;
ResizePictureBox();
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();
}
if (m_Camera != null)
{
cbxResolution.Items.Clear();
foreach (CamResolution camR in m_Camera.SupportedResolutions)
{
cbxResolution.Items.Add(camR.ToString());
}
cbxResolution.SelectedIndex = 0;
ResizePictureBox();
this.cbxResolution.IsEnabled = true;
this.btnCapture.IsEnabled = true;
}
else
{
this.cbxResolution.IsEnabled = false;
this.btnCapture.IsEnabled = false;
}
}
}
private void m_Camera_OnFrameCaptrue(Bitmap bitmap)
{
System.Windows.Media.Imaging.BitmapImage m_Frame = new System.Windows.Media.Imaging.BitmapImage();
using (var stream = new System.IO.MemoryStream())
{
bitmap.Save(stream, ImageFormat.Bmp);
stream.Seek(0, System.IO.SeekOrigin.Begin);
m_Frame.BeginInit();
m_Frame.CacheOption = System.Windows.Media.Imaging.BitmapCacheOption.OnLoad;
m_Frame.StreamSource = stream;
m_Frame.EndInit();
stream.SetLength(0);
stream.Capacity = 0;
stream.Dispose();
}
m_Frame.Freeze();
if (m_ControlWindow != null)
m_ControlWindow.Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherPriority.SystemIdle, m_Refresh, m_Frame);
}
/// <summary>
//By KCB ON 31 AUG 2019 for resizeing picture box
/// </summary>
private void ResizePictureBox()
{
if (m_Camera != null)
{
CamResolution camResolution = m_Camera.CurrentResolution;
if (camResolution != null && camResolution.Width > 0 && camResolution.Height > 0)
{
{
double iVideoWidth = gvcapture.Width;
double iVideoHeight = gvcapture.Width * camResolution.Height / camResolution.Width;
if (iVideoHeight < gvcapture.Height)
{
image1.Margin = new Thickness(0, (gvcapture.Height - iVideoHeight) / 2, 0, 0);
image1.Width = iVideoWidth;
image1.Height = iVideoHeight;
}
else
{
image1.Margin = new Thickness(0, 0, 0, 0);
image1.Width = iVideoWidth;
image1.Height = iVideoHeight;
}
}
}
}
}
private void cbxResolution_SelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (cbxResolution.SelectedValue != null)
{
string[] strWXH = cbxResolution.SelectedValue.ToString().Split(new char[] { ' ' });
if (strWXH.Length == 3)
{
try
{
m_Camera.CurrentResolution = new CamResolution(int.Parse(strWXH[0]), int.Parse(strWXH[2]));
}
catch { }
}
m_Camera.RotateVideo(Dynamsoft.UVC.Enums.EnumVideoRotateType.Rotate_0);
ResizePictureBox();
}
}
private void btnCapture_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
try
{
Bitmap temp = m_Camera.GrabImage();
image1.Source = DSViewer.Source;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
}
private void Reset_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
try
{
this.image1.Source = null;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
}
}
}
- After the
MainWindowis initialized, it will list the attached cameras and their available resolutions in the corresponding combo boxes. - Then, it will start live streaming in the Image control located on the left side using the first camera in the list.
- When the user clicks the
Capture Button, a frame from the live stream will be extracted and displayed in the Image control located on the right side.
Summary
Capturing photos from a webcam or computer camera in a WPF app is surprisingly straightforward.This approach gives you a solid starting point. I hope this was helpful to you.
Thanks
Tags
wpf