Force the camera to take photos on an Android smartphone

[ChrisSka83]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently facing a problem that I just can't seem to solve.

I have an entity in my CRM where I need to take “before” and “after” photos.

The “before” photos are multiple attachments, while the “after” photo is a single image.

With a newer version of Android (Android 16), my phone only offers me the option to select photos—not the camera.
This wasn’t a problem with an older Android version (Android 10).

For the multiple attachments, I was able to solve this with the following:
“accept”: [
“image/*”,
“android/allowCamera”
],

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for single images.

I’ve also tried this:
“capture”: “environment”,

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can solve this?

[eymen-elkum]

Hello,

This is a known limitation with newer Android versions, and we’ve already fixed it in our Ebla Image Plus extension.

It adds direct camera capture support for image fields, so users can take photos directly from the camera even for single image fields—without being limited to gallery selection. This was specifically implemented to address the Android 16+ behavior you’re experiencing.

Beyond that, the extension significantly enhances image handling in EspoCRM, including:

EXIF & IPTC metadata extraction (camera, date, GPS, copyright, etc.)
Two-way metadata write-back & field mapping (sync EspoCRM fields with image metadata)
Human-readable EXIF labels (no technical keys)
Bulk metadata sync via mass actions
Download multiple attachments as ZIP
PDF image helper with custom size control (better document rendering)

It’s especially useful for workflows like inspections, field service, and before/after scenarios like yours.

You can check it here:

https://www.eblasoft.com.tr/espocrm-extension-page/espocrm-image-plus-exif

Direct camera capture feature:

https://docs.eblasoft.com.tr/espocrm-extensions/image-plus/#direct-camera-capture-for-image-fields

[ChrisSka83]

Thanks for the info.

But the module is too expensive for me just to have that one feature.

I don't need the other additional features at all.

I just need the feature that lets me select the camera on my smartphone when I want to add a photo.

[yuri]

If we add the attribute capture=”environment” into the input element , will it solve the problem?

[ChrisSka83]

Hello,

I've tried the following entry, but there's been no improvement.

"endbild": {
            "type": "image",
            "previewSize": "medium",
            "capture": "environment",
            "isCustom": true,
            "listPreviewSize": "small",
            "inlineEditDisabled": false
        },

This code doesn't work either:

"endbild": {
            "type": "image",
            "previewSize": "medium",
            "accept": [
                "image/*"
            ],
            "capture": "environment",
            "isCustom": true,
            "listPreviewSize": "small",
            "inlineEditDisabled": false
        },​

I tried this one as a test, but none of them work for me:

"endbild": {
            "type": "image",
            "previewSize": "medium",
            "accept": [
                "image/*",
                "android/allowCamera"
            ],
            "capture": "environment",
            "isCustom": true,
            "listPreviewSize": "small",
            "inlineEditDisabled": false
        },​