Taking a picture using the Camera2 (the new) API

Now that we've looked at the old Camera API, it's time to learn about the new Camera2 API. Unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated due to the asynchronous nature of the APIs. Fortunately, the overall concept is the same as the previous Camera API.

Getting ready

Create a new project in Android Studio and call it Camera2API. On the Target Android Devices dialog, select the Phone & Tablet option and chose API 21 (or higher) for the Minimum SDK. Select Empty Activity when prompted for Activity Type.

How to do it...

As you'll see, there's a lot of code for this recipe. Start by opening the Android Manifest and following these steps:

1. Add the following two permissions:

   <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
   <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

2. Now open activity_main.xml and replace the existing TextView with the following views...