Pcamera - C#

Pcamera is a versatile and easy-to-use C# library for capturing images from video devices such as webcams, USB cameras, and network cameras. The library is built using the .NET Framework and supports both Windows Forms and WPF applications.

Features

• Supports multiple video devices simultaneously
• Captures images in various formats including JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIF
• Provides a simple API for capturing images and configuring video devices
• Supports video streaming and real-time preview
• Offers event-driven programming model for asynchronous capture

Getting Started

To use Pcamera, you first need to install the library using NuGet. Open the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio and enter the following command:

Install-Package Pcamera

Once the library is installed, you can start using it in your C# project. Here's some example code to capture an image from a video device:

using Pcamera;

// Create a new Pcamera instance
var camera = new Pcamera();

// Start the video capture
camera.StartCapture();

// Capture an image and save it to a file
var image = camera.CaptureImage();
image.Save("image.jpg");

// Stop the video capture
camera.StopCapture();

Configuring Video Devices

Pcamera provides a number of methods for configuring video devices, such as setting the video format and resolution, adjusting the brightness and contrast, and so on. Here's an example code snippet to configure a video device:

using Pcamera;

// Create a new Pcamera instance
var camera = new Pcamera();

// Enumerate the available video devices
var devices = camera.EnumerateVideoDevices();

// Choose the first video device
var device = devices.FirstOrDefault();

// Configure the video device
if (device != null)
{
    device.SetFormat(PcameraFormat.Jpeg, PcameraResolution.Resolution640x480);
    device.SetBrightness(50);
    device.SetContrast(50);
}

Real-Time Video Streaming

Pcamera also supports real-time video streaming, allowing you to display the video feed from a video device in your application. Here's an example code snippet to stream video using a Windows Forms PictureBox control:

using Pcamera;

// Create a new Pcamera instance
var camera = new Pcamera();

// Start the video capture
camera.StartCapture();

// Create a new PictureBox control
var pictureBox = new PictureBox();

// Set the PictureBox size to match the video resolution
pictureBox.Size = camera.VideoResolution;

// Add the PictureBox to the form
this.Controls.Add(pictureBox);

// Set up the PictureBox to display the video stream
var timer = new Timer();
timer.Interval = 1000 / camera.FramesPerSecond;
timer.Tick += (sender, e) =>
{
    pictureBox.Image = camera.CaptureImage();
};
timer.Start();

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we introduced Pcamera, a powerful C# library for capturing images from video devices. We covered its features, how to install it, and provided some example code snippets to get you started. With Pcamera, you can easily add video capture and real-time streaming to your C# applications.