Intent does not set the camera parameters

Unfortunately, when using the camera with Intent, the only extra parameter you can set is

MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT

Eg

fileUri = getOutputMediaFileUri(MEDIA_TYPE_IMAGE); // create a file to save the image
intent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT, fileUri); // set the image file name

Which allows you to map where the Camera application will store the image.

Camera Facing intent extra can sometimes work:

action.putExtra("android.intent.extras.CAMERA_FACING", 1);

Looking in the android source files, there are some “test” methods that are in the Util class file but not officially documented:

(Util)

private static final String EXTRAS_CAMERA_FACING =
        "android.intent.extras.CAMERA_FACING";

// This is for test only. Allow the camera to launch the specific camera.
public static int getCameraFacingIntentExtras(Activity currentActivity) {
    int cameraId = -1;

    int intentCameraId =
            currentActivity.getIntent().getIntExtra(Util.EXTRAS_CAMERA_FACING, -1);

    if (isFrontCameraIntent(intentCameraId)) {
        // Check if the front camera exist
        int frontCameraId = CameraHolder.instance().getFrontCameraId();
        if (frontCameraId != -1) {
            cameraId = frontCameraId;
        }
    } else if (isBackCameraIntent(intentCameraId)) {
        // Check if the back camera exist
        int backCameraId = CameraHolder.instance().getBackCameraId();
        if (backCameraId != -1) {
            cameraId = backCameraId;
        }
    }
    return cameraId;
}

And in the photomodule, the following method is used:

(PhotoModule)

private int getPreferredCameraId(ComboPreferences preferences) {
    int intentCameraId = Util.getCameraFacingIntentExtras(mActivity);
    if (intentCameraId != -1) {
        // Testing purpose. Launch a specific camera through the intent
        // extras.
        return intentCameraId;
    } else {
        return CameraSettings.readPreferredCameraId(preferences);
    }
}

And when the camera app initialises the photo mode, it calls this method to check which camera to use:

mCameraId = getPreferredCameraId(mPreferences);