Whether you want to work on an engaging Python project or explore various facets of Python programming, building a camera application serves this purpose. It involves combining different aspects of Python programming, such as graphical user interface (GUI) development, image and video processing, and multi-threading.

Also, solving practical challenges like this one helps sharpen your problem-solving skills. These skills are valuable in any programming endeavor.

Setting Up Your Environment

Start bycreating a new virtual environment. This will isolate your project and ensure there is no conflict between different versions of the packages you install. Then, run this terminal command:

This command will install theOpenCVlibrary andPIL(Python Imaging Library) in your virtual environment. You will use OpenCV for computer vision functionality and PIL for image manipulation.

The full source code of this project is available in aGitHub repository.

Importing the Required Libraries

Once you’ve installed these libraries, you can import them along with other necessary modules from Python’s standard library:

You’llusetkinterto create a graphical user interfacefor your application and the os, threading, and time modules for their associated functionality. By separating some of your code into threads, you’llenable it to run concurrently.

Create a directory to store captured images and recorded videos. This step will ensure that the directory exists before proceeding to capture or record videos.

Then defineimage_thumbnailsandvideo_thumbnailsvariables. These will store thumbnails of images and videos in the gallery.

Theupdate_cameraflag will control camera feed updates.

Capturing Images From the Camera Feed

Define a function that will use OpenCV to capture an image from the camera feed. It should then retrieve a frame from the camera, save it in thegallerydirectory, and display it usingshow_image.

Starting and Stopping Video Recording

Before you display a video, you need a way to create it. To achieve this, create a function that initiates the video recording process when the user wants to capture a video. The function should also disable theRecordbutton (to prevent multiple recordings simultaneously) and enable theStop Recordingbutton. This indicates that recording is in progress.

Then, create a function that stops the video recording and releases the video writer.

This function also updates the UI enabling theRecordbutton and disabling theStop Recordingbutton. This indicates that recording has stopped.

Recording and Displaying Videos

Create a function that will continuously capture frames from the camera, process them, and display them on the GUI as the camera feed. It should do so unless theStop Recordingbutton is pressed.

The function also calculates the elapsed time since the recording started and displays it on the video frame.

Displaying Captured Images and Videos

Now that you have captured the images and recorded the videos, you need a way to display them.

To display the images, create a function that opens an image and displays it in the camera feed. This is achieved by opening the image using thePIL, then converting it to a format thattkintercan display, and finally updating the camera feed widget with the new image.

To display the captured videos, create a function that opens a video player window where the user can view recorded videos. It also pauses camera feed updates while the video is playing.

Pausing camera feed updates ensures a smooth viewing experience.

Create a function that will generate a thumbnail image for a given video. This will make it easier for users to identify the video of interest.

Next, create a function that plays a video when a user clicks the thumbnail of the video in the gallery window:

Then create a function that creates a new window where the user can view the captured images and videos.

Thumbnails are created for both images and videos. This means you can click on them to view the full-sized image or play the video.

Creating the Main User Interface for Your Application

Start by creating the maintkinterapplication window and then give it a title.

Then initialize the required variables.

Then create buttons for various actions.

Use grid layout manager to organize the buttons in the main window.

Create a widget to display the camera feed and initialize it.

Then, create a function that continuously updates the camera feed displayed in thetkinterwindow.

Finally, start the maintkinterevent loop.

This loop is responsible for handling user interactions.

Testing the App Features

This video demonstrates various features of the app:

Sharpening Your Python Skills With OpenCV

OpenCV dominates when it comes to computer vision. It works with a lot of different libraries enabling you to create many cool projects. You can use it with Python to practice and sharpen your programming skills.