How do I use an external USB-C camera in an iPadOS app?

To use an external USB-C camera in an iPadOS app, you can follow a similar approach to the one described for accessing the main camera feed in visionOS. Here are the general steps you would need to take:

1. Set Up Camera Access: Ensure you have the necessary entitlements and permissions to access the camera. This includes requesting user authorization for camera access.

2. Create a Camera Frame Provider: Set up a camera frame provider with the supported formats. This will allow you to get the video feed from the external USB-C camera.

3. Configure the Capture Session: Create an AV capture session and configure it with the appropriate input and output settings. This involves:

   • Creating an AV capture device for the external USB-C camera.
   • Adding the input from the camera to the capture session.
   • Adding an output to the session to handle the video frames.

4. Start the Capture Session: Commit the configuration and start running the capture session to begin receiving video frames.

5. Handle Video Frames: Pull the video frames from the camera frame provider and store them in a variable for further processing or display in your app.

For more detailed guidance, you can refer to the session on building a great Lock Screen camera capture experience, which covers similar concepts for camera access and handling in iOS:

• Build a great Lock Screen camera capture experience (00:00:07)

If you need to dive deeper into the specifics of setting up and handling camera inputs and outputs, you might also find the session on building compelling spatial photo and video experiences useful:

• Build compelling spatial photo and video experiences (00:05:21)

These sessions provide a comprehensive overview of the necessary steps and best practices for working with camera inputs in your app.