Samsung Camera Experiments

patch_lib.py

A Python script that automatically patches the 32-bit and 64-bit camera libraries of Exynos devices to enable different features.
Requires Python 3.10 or higher. May not work with Python 3.12+ since the capstone module requires distutils which was deprecated on that version.

The libraries are located at /vendor/lib/libexynoscamera3.so and /vendor/lib64/libexynoscamera3.so.
If the script fails to patch yours, open an issue and attach them, specifying your device model and Android version.

Note

• The camera lib of old devices (those that launched with Android 8.1 or lower) seems to be very different so they may never be supported.

Features

The following camera features can be enabled/modified:

Warning

• Enabling a capability or feature doesn't mean it will work as expected. It's up to you to test them.

Capabilities

• These three are automatically enabled by the library if the Hardware Level is set to FULL:
  • MANUAL_SENSOR and READ_SENSOR_SETTINGS (2)
  • MANUAL_POST_PROCESSING (4)
  • BURST_CAPTURE (8)
• If this is disabled, GCam doesn't work and shows a black screen in photo mode. Enabling it is enough to make it work on some devices
  • RAW (16)
• Others
  • ZSL (Zero Shutter Lag) and Private Reprocessing (32)
    • This one causes issues on the A20, A20e and A30 since ZSL doesn't work in them. You can use this app to check if it works on your device.
  • YUV Reprocessing (64)
  • Depth Output (128)
  • Constrained High Speed Video (256)
  • Motion Tracking (512)
  • Logical Multi Camera (1024)
  • Secure Image Data (2048)

Hardware Level

• 0 (LIMITED)
• 1 (FULL)
• 2 (LEGACY)
• 3 (LEVEL_3)
  • The lib doesn't seem to expect this level, so it will probably behave like LIMITED
• 4 (EXTERNAL)

Usage

usage: patch_lib.py [-h] [-hw {0,1,2,3,4}]
                    [-cap {2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1024,2048} [{2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1024,2048} ...]]
                    [--skip-depth] [--model MODEL] [--android-version ANDROID_VERSION] [--version VERSION]
                    camera_lib camera_lib_64

positional arguments:
  camera_lib            Path of the 32-bit libexynoscamera3.so
  camera_lib_64         Path of the 64-bit libexynoscamera3.so

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit

Lib Modifications:
  -hw {0,1,2,3,4}       The hardware level that will be set
  -cap {2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1024,2048} [{2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1024,2048} ...]
                        The capabilities that will be enabled, separated by spaces
  --skip-depth          Skips modifications on cameras with the "Depth Output" capability. Recommended if your device
                        has a depth camera since the lib can crash if you enable RAW on them, for example.

Magisk Module:
  If all these settings are provided, a Magisk module with both patched libs will be created

  --model MODEL         The device model (e.g. Galaxy A20)
  --android-version ANDROID_VERSION
                        The Android version (e.g. 11)
  --version VERSION     The module version (e.g. 1)

Example

python3 ./patch_lib.py libexynoscamera3.so libexynoscamera3_64.so -cap 16 will enable the RAW capability. This should be enough to make GCam work.

python3 ./patch_lib.py libexynoscamera3.so libexynoscamera3_64.so -hw 1 -cap 16 will enable the RAW capability and set the hardware level to FULL.

Troubleshooting

If Android doesn't show show any cameras, this means the camera lib crashed:

• Can happen if your device has a depth camera, try patching with --skip-depth.
• Someone has reported that they had to move the lib to /vendor/lib64/hw/. Try it if you see something like dlopen failed: library "libexynoscamera3.so" not found in the logcat.

GCam tests after enabling the RAW capability

Note: If you test this on a device not listed here or you have any issue/weird behaviour, please let me know.

All tests were done using BSG's GCam 8.1, as it seems to be the most stable one on Exynos devices.

Device Name	SoC	GCam Works?	Details / Issues
Galaxy A12 Nacho (A12s)	Exynos 850	X	Android 11 Android 13 Freezes Lags/freezes. Back cam doesn't save pics and front cam sometimes does
Galaxy A20	Exynos 7884	✓	Android 10 Android 11 Freezes May freeze & reboot while using GCam
Galaxy A20e	Exynos 7884	✓	Android 10 Android 11 Freezes May freeze & reboot while using GCam
Galaxy A30	Exynos 7904	✓	Android 10 Android 11 Freezes May freeze & reboot while using GCam
Galaxy A30s	Exynos 7904	?	Android 10 Android 11 Freezes Untested
Galaxy A40	Exynos 7904	Partially	Android 11 Front cam pics unusable due to bad resolution. It's possible to fix, need to investigate how
Galaxy A50s	Exynos 9611	Partially	Android 11 Photos have pink tint. Changing black level doesn't help
Galaxy A51	Exynos 9611	Partially	Android 11 Photos have pink tint. Changing black level doesn't help
Galaxy F62	Exynos 9825	Partially	Android 11 Issues with the front camera
Galaxy M31	Exynos 9611	Partially	Android 11 Photos have pink tint. Changing black level doesn't help
Galaxy M31s	Exynos 9611	Partially	Android 12 Photos have pink tint. Changing black level doesn't help