AV Foundation camera preview layer gets zoomed in, how to zoom out?

Question

The application currently I am using has a main functionality to scan QR/Bar codes continuously using Zxing library (http://code.google.com/p/zxing/). For continuous frame capturing I used to initialize the AVCaptureSession and AVCaptureVideoOutput, AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer described in the apple Q&A http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/qa/qa2010/qa1702.html.

My problem is, when I used to run the camera preview, the image I can see through the Video device is much larger (1.5x) than the image we can see through the still camera of the iPhone. Our customer needs to hold the iPhone around 5cm distance from the bar code when he is scanning, but if you hold the iPhone to that parameter, the whole QR code won't be visible and the decoding fails. Why is Video camera in iPhone 4 enlarges the image (by seeing through the AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer) ?.

Answer 1

This is a function of the AVCaptureSession video preset, accessible by using the .sessionPreset property. For example, after configuring your captureSession, but before starting it, you would add

captureSession.sessionPreset = AVCaptureSessionPresetPhoto;

See the documentation here:

iOS Reference Document

The default preset for video is 1280x720 (I think) which is a lower resolution than the max supported by the camera. By using the "Photo" preset, you're getting the raw camera data.

Answer 2

You see the same behaviour with the built-in iPhone Camera app. Switch between still and video capture modes and you'll notice that the default zoom level changes. You see a wider view in still mode, whereas video mode zooms in a bit.

My guess is that continuous video capture needs to use a smaller area of the camera sensor to work optimally. If it used the whole sensor perhaps the system couldn't sustain 30 fps. Using a smaller area of the sensor gives the effect of "zooming in" to the scene.

Answer 3

I am answering my own question again. This was not answered even in Apple Dev forum, therefore I directly filed a technical support request from Apple and they have replied that this is a known issue and will be fixed and released with a future version. So there is nothing we can do more than waiting and see.