Refactors camera API examples and documentation to use properties over get/set methods

cnadler86 · cnadler86 · commit 16b2bfb0dbd7 · 2025-12-18T09:39:49.000+01:00
Enhances typings for better autocompletion.
Fixed missing acamera module
Fixed missing sentinel in property setter
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -130,10 +130,14 @@ The following keyword arguments have default values:
 
 ### Initializing the camera
 
+The camera initializes when constructing the camera object per default. If you set init=False during construction, you need to call the init method manually:
+
 ```python
 cam.init()
 ```
 
+Note that most of the camera seeting can only be set or aquired after initialization.
+
 ### Capture image
 
 The general way of capturing an image is calling the `capture` method:
@@ -192,14 +196,14 @@ This gives you the possibility of creating an asynchronous application without u
 Here are just a few examples:
 
 ```python
-cam.set_quality(90)  # The quality goes from 0% to 100%, meaning 100% is the highest but has probably no compression
-camera.get_brightness()
-camera.set_vflip(True) #Enable vertical flip
+cam.quality = 90  # The quality goes from 0% to 100%, meaning 100% is the highest but has probably no compression
+print("cam.brightness =", cam.brightness)
+camera.vflip = True #Enable vertical flip
 ```
 
 See autocompletions in Thonny in order to see the list of methods.
 If you want more insights in the methods and what they actually do, you can find a very good documentation [here](https://docs.circuitpython.org/en/latest/shared-bindings/espcamera/index.html).
-Note that each method requires a "get_" or "set_" prefix, depending on the desired action.
+Note: "get_" and "set_" prefixed methods are deprecated.
 
 Take also a look in the examples folder.
 
@@ -233,7 +237,7 @@ print(f"I2C devices found: {devices}")
 i2c.writeto(0x42, b'\x00\x01')  # Write to another device
 
 # Camera sensor communication works too
-cam.set_saturation(1)  # Uses the shared I2C bus
+cam.saturation = 1  # Uses the shared I2C bus
 ```
 
 #### Alternative: Camera Creates Its Own I2C (Default)
diff --git a/examples/CameraSettings.html b/examples/CameraSettings.html
@@ -3,52 +3,91 @@
 <head>
     <title>Micropython Camera Stream</title>
     <style>
+        * {
+            box-sizing: border-box;
+        }
         body {
             display: flex;
             flex-direction: column;
             justify-content: flex-start;
             align-items: center;
-            height: 100vh;
+            min-height: 100vh;
             margin: 0;
             background-color: #f0f0f0;
         }
         .container {
             display: flex;
             flex-direction: row;
-            height: 100%;
             width: 100%;
+            flex: 1;
         }
         .settings-container {
             display: flex;
             flex-direction: column;
-            padding: 20px;
+            padding: 15px;
             background-color: #ffffff;
             box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
-            margin-top: 20px;
             width: 300px;
+            overflow-y: auto;
         }
         .setting {
             margin-bottom: 10px;
         }
+        .setting label {
+            display: block;
+            font-size: 14px;
+            margin-bottom: 3px;
+        }
+        .setting input[type="range"],
+        .setting select {
+            width: 100%;
+        }
         .hidden {
             display: none;
         }
         .video-container {
             display: flex;
             justify-content: center;
             align-items: center;
-            width: 100%;
+            flex: 1;
             padding: 20px;
+            overflow: hidden;
         }
         img {
+            max-width: 100%;
+            max-height: 100%;
             width: auto;
-            height: 100%;
+            height: auto;
         }
         .title-container {
             width: 100%;
             text-align: center;
             background-color: #ffffff;
             box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
+            padding: 10px;
+        }
+        .title-container h1 {
+            margin: 0;
+            font-size: 1.5em;
+        }
+        @media (max-width: 768px) {
+            .container {
+                flex-direction: column;
+            }
+            .settings-container {
+                width: 100%;
+                max-height: 40vh;
+                order: 2;
+            }
+            .video-container {
+                width: 100%;
+                min-height: 50vh;
+                padding: 10px;
+                order: 1;
+            }
+            .title-container h1 {
+                font-size: 1.2em;
+            }
         }
     </style>
     <script>
diff --git a/examples/CameraSettings.py b/examples/CameraSettings.py
@@ -56,35 +56,39 @@ async def handle_client(reader, writer):
         elif 'GET /set_' in request:
             method_name = request.split('GET /set_')[1].split('?')[0]
             value = int(request.split('value=')[1].split(' ')[0])
-            set_method = getattr(cam, f'set_{method_name}', None)
-            if callable(set_method):
+            try:
+                # Use property assignment instead of method call
+                setattr(cam, method_name, value)
                 print(f"setting {method_name} to {value}")
-                set_method(value)
                 response = 'HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\n\r\n'
                 writer.write(response.encode())
                 await writer.drain()
-            else:
+            except (AttributeError, ValueError) as e:
+                # Fallback to reconfigure if property doesn't exist
                 try:
                     cam.reconfigure(**{method_name: value})
                     print(f"Camera reconfigured with {method_name}={value}")
                     print("This action restores all previous configuration!")
                     response = 'HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\n\r\n'
-                except Exception as e:
-                    print(f"Error with {method_name}: {e}")
+                    writer.write(response.encode())
+                    await writer.drain()
+                except Exception as e2:
+                    print(f"Error setting {method_name}: {e2}")
                     response = 'HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found\r\n\r\n'
-                writer.write(response.encode())
-                await writer.drain()
+                    writer.write(response.encode())
+                    await writer.drain()
 
         elif 'GET /get_' in request:
             method_name = request.split('GET /get_')[1].split(' ')[0]
-            get_method = getattr(cam, f'get_{method_name}', None)
-            if callable(get_method):
-                value = get_method()
+            try:
+                # Use property access instead of method call
+                value = getattr(cam, method_name)
                 print(f"{method_name} is {value}")
                 response = f'HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\n\r\n{value}'
                 writer.write(response.encode())
                 await writer.drain()
-            else:
+            except AttributeError as e:
+                print(f"Error getting {method_name}: {e}")
                 response = 'HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found\r\n\r\n'
                 writer.write(response.encode())
                 await writer.drain()
diff --git a/manifest.py b/manifest.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # Include the board's default manifest.
 include("$(PORT_DIR)/boards/manifest.py")
 # Add custom driver
-module("src/acamera.py")
+module("acamera.py", base_path="src")
diff --git a/micropython.cmake b/micropython.cmake
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ target_sources(usermod_mp_camera INTERFACE
 idf_component_get_property(camera_dir esp32-camera COMPONENT_DIR)
 target_include_directories(usermod_mp_camera INTERFACE
     ${camera_dir}/driver/include
-    ${camera_dir}/driver/private_include
-    ${camera_dir}/sensors/private_include
 )
 
 #     # Set MP_CAMERA_DRIVER_VERSION if available
diff --git a/src/modcamera_api.c b/src/modcamera_api.c
@@ -298,7 +298,10 @@ static MP_DEFINE_CONST_FUN_OBJ_VAR_BETWEEN(mp_camera___exit___obj, 4, 4, mp_came
 // Property handler
 static void camera_obj_property(mp_obj_t self_in, qstr attr, mp_obj_t *dest) {
     mp_camera_obj_t *self = MP_OBJ_TO_PTR(self_in);
-    
+    if (self->initialized == false) {
+        mp_raise_msg(&mp_type_OSError, MP_ERROR_TEXT("Camera not initialized"));
+    }
+
     if (dest[0] == MP_OBJ_NULL) {
         // Load (reading)
         switch (attr) {
@@ -501,6 +504,8 @@ static void camera_obj_property(mp_obj_t self_in, qstr attr, mp_obj_t *dest) {
                 mp_camera_hal_set_lenc(self, mp_obj_is_true(dest[1]));
                 break;
             default:
+                // Indicate that the attribute was not found
+                dest[1] = MP_OBJ_SENTINEL;
                 return;
         }
         dest[0] = MP_OBJ_NULL;
diff --git a/typings/acamera.pyi b/typings/acamera.pyi
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 from camera import Camera as _Camera
+from camera import FrameSize, PixelFormat, GainCeiling, GrabMode
 
 class Camera(_Camera):
     async def acapture(self) -> memoryview:
         """Asynchronously capture a frame and return it as a memoryview.
         
         Yields control back to the event loop while waiting for a frame to become available.
         """
-        ...
+        ...
+
+__all__ = ['Camera', 'FrameSize', 'PixelFormat', 'GainCeiling', 'GrabMode']

Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
`@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ target_sources(usermod_mp_camera INTERFACE`
`12`	`12`	`idf_component_get_property(camera_dir esp32-camera COMPONENT_DIR)`
`13`	`13`	`target_include_directories(usermod_mp_camera INTERFACE`
`14`	`14`	`${camera_dir}/driver/include`
`15`		`- ${camera_dir}/driver/private_include`
`16`		`- ${camera_dir}/sensors/private_include`
`17`	`15`	`)`
`18`	`16`
`19`	`17`	`# # Set MP_CAMERA_DRIVER_VERSION if available`