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Google confirms RAW image support, burst mode for Android camera API

Google confirms RAW image support, burst mode for Android camera API

By Anupam Saxena | Updated: 26 November 2013 12:23 IST

Following a recent report that pointed to Google working on a new camera API (application programming interface) for Android that will to bring support for RAW image output, among other features, the Mountain View-based Internet giant went ahead and confined that it's indeed bringing a new developer API with the said features.

Google spokeswoman Gina Scigliano told CNET that support for RAW image formats and burst mode is now present in Android's hardware abstraction layer (HAL), 'the part of the operating system that handles communications with a mobile device's actual hardware.'

"Android's latest camera HAL (hardware abstraction layer) and framework supports raw and burst-mode photography," said Scigliano. "We will expose a developer API in a future release to expose more of the HAL functionality."

This implies that developers will be able to integrate these features in their apps.

RAW images are modestly compressed and processed when compared to a JPEG format, which is a default format for clicked images on Android smartphones. The RAW images would increase the amount of correction possible, and programs like Photoshop can do much more with a RAW file than a JPEG. It's worth pointing out that Nokia has already introduced the RAW image output support in the flagship Windows Phone 8 phablet, Lumia 1520.

The new camera API will also bring face-detection features, which would include bounding boxes around faces and centre coordinates. Notably, Android's OEM partners like Samsung, Sony and HTC have already introduced the face-detection, and burst mode feature in their top-end smartphones. Another expected addition is a revamped burst mode and a major overhaul to the image quality.

Google has said that it will be shipping the API "in a future release," as per the report. The phone's hardware will also play a role in determining if it will be able to leverage these features.

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