Camera Kit Live - Setup/User Manual (Snap Filters)

This article is a Camera Kit Live setup and user guide. Click here to view this page in a web browser.

Camera Kit Live - Setup/User Manual

1. Overview
   1. Installing software
   2. Camera Kit Live setup
   3. Change Video input type - LensMount
   4. Changing Camera Source
   5. LensMount input/output monitoring
   6. Clean video output
   7. NDI input/output settings
   8. Reset Lens Group ID
2. Operating Camera Kit Live Instructions
3. Troubleshooting tips
   1. Video input is broken/glitching
   2. No Lenses are appearing in the Camera Kit Live app
   3. Secondary display is black or video is “glitching”

I. Overview

Camera Kit Live (CKL) exclusively runs on ARM Macs (Macs with M1,M2 chip). CKL requires both the Camera Kit Live and LensMount to be running simultaneously on the same Mac. 
LensMount: Application that handles the input/output of video/audio for Camera Kit Live 
Camera Kit Live: Receives video from LensMount for which Lenses can be applied to and returned to LensMount to output

i. Installing software

Setup instructions
Camera Kit Live requires 2 applications to be ran simultaneously on an ARM Mac (M1/M2) running the latest OS (Ventura) LensMount and CameraKitLive.ipa

    1. Download LensMount and CameraKitLive.ipa 

            a. Download Link provided by Snap

    2. Unzip (Double click on zipped file) LensMount and move it to Applications folder 

    3. Install Camera Kit Live by Double clicking on CameraKitLive.ipa

            a. When prompted if you would like to open select open 

    4. On first install you may need to allow the app to install in System Preferences - Security & Privacy

ii. Camera Kit Live setup

    1. Launch Camera Kit live - When prompted allow Camera Kit Live to access the Camera and Microphone 

    2. On first Launch you will be prompted to “Enter Lens Group ID” and “Enter API Token which loads the correct Lenses. Your Unique IDs are available in the Camera Kit Portal or will be provided to you by your Camera Kit Live contact. 

    3. After entering the Group ID and API Token select “Done” and then will be prompted to quit the application.     

    4. On first activation of a Lens you will be prompted to agree to the terms for using Lenses 

ii. Change Video input type - LensMount

        1. Launch LensMount 

    2. With LensMount active select LensMount in the Menu Bar and then select “Settings…” 

    3. Change Input to AJA SDI (Requires AJA Drivers), NDI or Native Camera (USB Camera/capture

    4. After input is changed you will be required to quit and relaunch LensMount for change to take effect

iv. Changing Camera Source

    1. With LensMount active select Camera in the Menu Bar and select the camera you would like to use

            a. Native Camera - includes all integrated and USB webcams/capture cards 

            b. NDI 

            c. AJA SDI - Does not have an option to change video source 

    2. If camera source was added after LensMount was launch you will be required to quit LensMount and relaunch LensMount to see new Camera sources

v. LensMount input/output monitoring

    1. If an active camera is selected you can monitor the input in the menu bar or drop down menu by clicking on it in the Menu Bar 

vi. Clean video output

    1. To display a clean output of the Lens applied video feed to a monitor you can select a connected display from the “Clean Output Screen” dropdown on the LensMount Menu Bar 

    2. This is the only clean output method when using Native Camera

vii. NDI input/output settings

    1. With LensMount active select LensMount in the Menu Bar and then select “Settings…” 

    2. Select NDI

    3. In this menu you can add NDI groups, Additional IPs if inputs are not visible as well as rename the NDI output 

viii. Reset Lens Group ID

    1. Quit Camera Kit Live application

    2. Open Keychain Access 

    3. Search for Camerakit.live 

    4. Delete the 2 items ending with “apiToken-service” and “lensgroup-service” 

    5. Launch Camera Kit Live application
    6. You will be prompted to “Enter Lens Group ID” and “Enter API Token 

    7. Camera Kit Live will prompt you to quit the application needs to quit

    8. Select Quit

    9. Reopen Camera Kit Live and the correct Lens group should be active

II. Operating Camera Kit Live Instructions

When launching the applications, best practice is to launch LensMount then wait 5 seconds before launching the Camera Kit Live application.

The Camera Kit Live application does not apply Lenses to output if the application is minimized or not on a visible screen.

Changing Lenses

Lenses: Augmented Reality effects that are built on Snapchats AR Development tool Lens Studio

• Select Lens from Lenses assigned to application
• Selecting an active Lens will turn the Lens off
• Keyboard shortcuts can also be used to activate Lenses in the active Lens group or for selecting a Lens
  • Key commands “1-9” turns on/off the first 9 Lenses in a group ○ “cmd + 1”, “cmd + 2”
  • “cmd + 3” activates the the corresponding group
    • “win + 1”, “win + 2”, “Win + 3” on non apple keyboards

Changing FOV (Field of View)

Adjust FOV slider to the value that tracks best for a given shot. Between 10° and 70° is the standard range for most cameras.

Not all Lenses or Lens elements are affected by the FOV value.

Quit LensMount and Camera Kit Live applications when there will be more than one day of no use 

III. Troubleshooting Tips

    1. Video input is broken/glitching If video input appears similar to the image below then try the troubleshooting tips listed below

• Quit and relaunch both LensMount and Camera Kit Live applications
• Use a recommended video resolution/frame rate
  • Recommended Video Formats
    • (UltraHD) 3840 x 2160p 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60
    • (HD) 1080p 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60
    • (HD) 1080i 50, 59.94, 60
    • (HD) 720p 50, 59.94, 60

If using the AJA you will need to relaunch LensMount whenever the the input resolution is changed 

No Lenses are appearing in the Camera Kit Live app

If no Lenses are showing up in the Camera Kit Live try the troubleshooting tips below:

• Check that you are connected to internet and then relaunch Camera Kit Live
• Reset the Lens Group ID
  • Group ID is case sensitive
  • Ensure there are no extra spaces at the beginning or end of the ID before you submit
• Reach out to your Snapchat contact for assistance

Secondary display is black or video is “glitching”

If you do not see any video on secondary display or the video is glitching:

• If you no longer want to video to be outputting to a monitor
  • With LensMount active select the clean output drop down and select “None” 

• If screen is black
  • Open Camera Kit Live application and make sure that it is not minimized or hidden
• If video is glitching
  • Quit both Camera Kit Live and LensMount applications for 5 seconds and then relaunch both applications