VibeCoding/.agents/skills/camerax/references/modern-apis.md

Always prefer these various abstractions over legacy Camera2 or early CameraX implementations.

Compare APIs

Use case	Legacy or verbose way	Recommendation
QR or face scanning	ImageAnalysis.Analyzer and manual ByteBuffer math	MlKitAnalyzer, which automates coordinate mapping and multi-format support
Post-processing	Custom OpenGL shaders or SurfaceTexture	Media3Effect for composable, declarative effects
Dual camera	Manual binding of two UseCases	ConcurrentCamera, which provides built-in support in CameraX 1.3 and higher
High dynamic range	Manual bit-depth and profile config	DynamicRange , which uses DYNAMIC_RANGE_HLG10 or SDR
Zoom and focus	Camera2Interop for CameraX-to-Camera2 mapping	CameraControl.setZoomRatio or setLinearZoom

Hardware awareness

Modern APIs abstract away the complexity of hardware diversity.

• CameraSelector : Use DEFAULT_BACK_CAMERA or DEFAULT_FRONT_CAMERA instead of hardcoding camera IDs. Use filter if you need specific lens capabilities.
• Extensions : Before enabling advanced modes, such as night, bokeh, and face retouch, use ExtensionsManager to query whether the device supports them.
• Foldables : Observe Lifecycle and Viewport updates to handle posture changes, like a half-opened posture, on foldable devices.

Required dependencies

Add the following dependencies to your libs.versions.toml file:

# CameraX ML Kit

androidx-camera-mlkit-vision = { group = "androidx.camera", name =
"camera-mlkit-vision", version.ref = "camerax" }

# Media3 effects

androidx-media3-effect = { group = "androidx.media3", name = "media3-effect",
version.ref = "media3" }

# Camera extensions

androidx-camera-extensions = { group = "androidx.camera", name =
"camera-extensions", version.ref = "camerax" }

Refer to the official CameraX Release Notes for the stable versions.