axiom-camera-capture

Camera Capture with AVFoundation

Guides you through implementing camera capture: session setup, photo capture, video recording, responsive capture UX, rotation handling, and session lifecycle management.

When to Use This Skill

Use when you need to:

• ☑ Build a custom camera UI (not system picker)
• ☑ Capture photos with quality/speed tradeoffs
• ☑ Record video with audio
• ☑ Handle device rotation correctly (RotationCoordinator)
• ☑ Make capture feel responsive (zero-shutter-lag)
• ☑ Handle session interruptions (phone calls, multitasking)
• ☑ Switch between front/back cameras
• ☑ Configure capture quality and resolution

Example Prompts

"How do I set up a camera preview in SwiftUI?" "My camera freezes when I get a phone call" "The photo preview is rotated wrong on front camera" "How do I make photo capture feel instant?" "Should I use deferred processing?" "My camera takes too long to capture" "How do I switch between front and back cameras?" "How do I record video with audio?"

Red Flags

Signs you're making this harder than it needs to be:

• ❌ Calling startRunning() on main thread (blocks UI for seconds)
• ❌ Using deprecated videoOrientation instead of RotationCoordinator (iOS 17+)
• ❌ Not observing session interruptions (app freezes on phone call)
• ❌ Creating new AVCaptureSession for each capture (expensive)
• ❌ Using .photo preset for video (wrong format)
• ❌ Ignoring photoQualityPrioritization (slow captures)
• ❌ Not handling .notAuthorized permission state
• ❌ Modifying session without beginConfiguration()/commitConfiguration()
• ❌ Using UIImagePickerController for custom camera UI (limited control)

Mandatory First Steps

Before implementing any camera feature:

1. Choose Your Capture Mode

What do you need?

┌─ Just let user pick a photo?
│  └─ Don't use AVFoundation - use PHPicker or PhotosPicker
│     See: /skill axiom-photo-library
│
├─ Simple photo/video capture with system UI?
│  └─ UIImagePickerController (but limited customization)
│
├─ Custom camera UI with photo capture?
│  └─ AVCaptureSession + AVCapturePhotoOutput
│     → Continue with this skill
│
├─ Custom camera UI with video recording?
│  └─ AVCaptureSession + AVCaptureMovieFileOutput
│     → Continue with this skill
│
└─ Both photo and video in same session?
   └─ AVCaptureSession + both outputs
      → Continue with this skill