ImageCapture

Experimental: This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The ImageCapture interface of the MediaStream Image Capture API provides methods to enable the capture of images or photos from a camera or other photographic device. It provides an interface for capturing images from a photographic device referenced through a valid MediaStreamTrack.

Constructor

ImageCapture() Experimental: Creates a new ImageCapture object which can be used to capture still frames (photos) from a given MediaStreamTrack which represents a video stream.

Instance properties

ImageCapture.track Read only Experimental: Returns a reference to the MediaStreamTrack passed to the constructor.

Instance methods

The ImageCapture interface is based on EventTarget, so it includes the methods defined by that interface as well as the ones listed below.

ImageCapture.takePhoto() Experimental: Takes a single exposure using the video capture device sourcing a MediaStreamTrack and returns a Promise that resolves with a Blob containing the data.
ImageCapture.getPhotoCapabilities() Experimental: Returns a Promise that resolves with a PhotoCapabilities object containing the ranges of available configuration options.
ImageCapture.getPhotoSettings() Experimental: Returns a Promise that resolves with a PhotoSettings object containing the current photo configuration settings.
ImageCapture.grabFrame() Experimental: Takes a snapshot of the live video in a MediaStreamTrack, returning an ImageBitmap, if successful.

Example

The following code is taken from Chrome's Grab Frame - Take Photo Sample. Since ImageCapture requires some place to capture an image from, the example below starts with a device's media device (in other words a camera).

This example shows, roughly, a MediaStreamTrack extracted from a device's MediaStream. The track is then used to create an ImageCapture object so that takePhoto() and grabFrame() can be called. Finally, it shows how to apply the results of these calls to a canvas object.

let imageCapture;

function onGetUserMediaButtonClick() {
  navigator.mediaDevices
    .getUserMedia({ video: true })
    .then((mediaStream) => {
      document.querySelector("video").srcObject = mediaStream;

      const track = mediaStream.getVideoTracks()[0];
      imageCapture = new ImageCapture(track);
    })
    .catch((error) => console.error(error));
}

function onGrabFrameButtonClick() {
  imageCapture
    .grabFrame()
    .then((imageBitmap) => {
      const canvas = document.querySelector("#grabFrameCanvas");
      drawCanvas(canvas, imageBitmap);
    })
    .catch((error) => console.error(error));
}

function onTakePhotoButtonClick() {
  imageCapture
    .takePhoto()
    .then((blob) => createImageBitmap(blob))
    .then((imageBitmap) => {
      const canvas = document.querySelector("#takePhotoCanvas");
      drawCanvas(canvas, imageBitmap);
    })
    .catch((error) => console.error(error));
}

/* Utils */

function drawCanvas(canvas, img) {
  canvas.width = getComputedStyle(canvas).width.split("px")[0];
  canvas.height = getComputedStyle(canvas).height.split("px")[0];
  let ratio = Math.min(canvas.width / img.width, canvas.height / img.height);
  let x = (canvas.width - img.width * ratio) / 2;
  let y = (canvas.height - img.height * ratio) / 2;
  canvas.getContext("2d").clearRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
  canvas
    .getContext("2d")
    .drawImage(
      img,
      0,
      0,
      img.width,
      img.height,
      x,
      y,
      img.width * ratio,
      img.height * ratio
    );
}

document.querySelector("video").addEventListener("play", () => {
  document.querySelector("#grabFrameButton").disabled = false;
  document.querySelector("#takePhotoButton").disabled = false;
});

Specifications

Specification
MediaStream Image Capture # imagecaptureapi

Browser compatibility

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