Database Users

[Q] Completely blurry pictures! Autofocus software bug or defect camera??

I really need your help on this one guys!
I unpacked my brand new Nexus 4 yesterday. Everything seemed fine until I fired up the camera app. Everything was really blurry and the autofocus didn't seem to work at all! We're not talking about some minor autofocusing problem here, but a huge deal breaking disaster...
I then also noticed that when I moved the camera really close to an object, the image got sharp! So, it's like it's in macro mode all the time or something. I've tried to restart the phone, factory reset etc. NOTHING works! The worst part is that I can't even go to google and replace it, because I live in Finland and got the phone brought home to me by a friend who visited USA... Is there anything I can do to make it work?
I also tried a third party camera app (camera zoom fx) in which there were several focusing modes, like macro, normal, auto and infinity mode. Didn't matter which mode I used, there was no differens..
Have any of you guys experienced the same problem? I know there's been a lot of talk about the Nexus 4 camera, but I could never have imagined that a brand new flagship phone would have these kind of problems right out of the box. Please help me.

This may sound a bit stupid, but you have tried simply cleaning the glass over the lens and checking it for scratches right? You seem to have tried a fair amount of things so it's likely to be a hardware issue of some sort.

Not trying to be a smart ass, but did you remove the plastic film off of the backside. I made that mistake before with a different phone. The film was barely noticeable because it was only over the camera lens from inside the cover, so I just thought the phone had a sorry camera. Otherwise, it sounds like you could have a defective camera.

Also when you take a picture, hold the button until the focus ring rotates and locks on the 12 o'clock position, then let go of the button.

fernandezhjr said:
Not trying to be a smart ass, but did you remove the plastic film off of the backside. I made that mistake before with a different phone. The film was barely noticeable because it was only over the camera lens from inside the cover, so I just thought the phone had a sorry camera. Otherwise, it sounds like you could have a defective camera.
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meangreenie said:
Also when you take a picture, hold the button until the focus ring rotates and locks on the 12 o'clock position, then let go of the button.
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Click to collapse
Thx for your answers! I'm afraid I've tested all that. Still no luck.

ballhannes said:
Thx for your answers! I'm afraid I've tested all that. Still no luck.
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Claasical case of yet another defected user.

[Q] What is covering my front camera lens?

Hi everyone. Today, I noticed that something is covering my front camera lens.
Do you know what is that piece covering the camera? Anyone encounter this situation?
I didn't drop my phone not even once and I tried to smack the top of the phone to see if it moves, but no luck.
P.S. The camera is able to take pictures normally.
I have a SM-N9005.
Thanks

Go exchange it... Looks like a faulty device. It could be a piece of electrical tape in the wrong position.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

bogdan2603 said:
Hi everyone. Today, I noticed that something is covering my front camera lens.
Do you know what is that piece covering the camera? Anyone encounter this situation?
I didn't drop my phone not even once and I tried to smack the top of the phone to see if it moves, but no luck.
P.S. The camera is able to take pictures normally.
I have a SM-N9005.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the exact same problem. Although mine is worse and i cant take pictures normally. Did you managed to solve this

bogdan2603 said:
Hi everyone. Today, I noticed that something is covering my front camera lens.
Do you know what is that piece covering the camera? Anyone encounter this situation?
I didn't drop my phone not even once and I tried to smack the top of the phone to see if it moves, but no luck.
P.S. The camera is able to take pictures normally.
I have a SM-N9005.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*boy*racer* said:
I have the exact same problem. Although mine is worse and i cant take pictures normally. Did you managed to solve this
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Click to collapse
Looks like some sort of cover for the camera.
Maybe this site can help understand: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+Note+3+Teardown/19209
But i think @nicholaschum 's solution will work best.

HanZie82 said:
Looks like some sort of cover for the camera.
Maybe this site can help understand: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+Note+3+Teardown/19209
But i think @nicholaschum 's solution will work best.
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Click to collapse
Hey you were right. Soon as i posted my issue, i thought i would watch a dismantle video and presto! It was a round rubber like washer that has slipped from around the camera.
All sorted now

Hi....Can you let me know how did you get this fixed as I am also having the same issue....

nelven said:
Hi....Can you let me know how did you get this fixed as I am also having the same issue....
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Click to collapse
Hi,
I didn't
Now, that rubber is covering a lot more and I'm unable to take pictures.

nicholaschum said:
Go exchange it... Looks like a faulty device. It could be a piece of electrical tape in the wrong position.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think its a faulty device or a piece of electrical tape too

3azmeo said:
i think its a faulty device or a piece of electrical tape too
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Click to collapse
I don't think they will consider to be a faulty device and change it, although I would like a new Note 3 :fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed:
To me, it seems to be a soft plastic that keeps the front-camera in position and not to touch directly the front-panel (display assembly).
So, probably they will change/remove the soft plastic

GO to your provider an request a NEW device
Do this : Contact 1st Samsung Service in your country and tell to them the problem becouse this a factory fault phone .
After you make some papers and a proove that you contacted already the samsung Service from your country , contact your seller and show him the problem
YOU MUST proove that : you did NOT DROPED your PHONE , DID NOT SHOCKED YOUR PHONE with some other things , like drop with speed in bed trow in the pillow etc etc , proove that you did not used any screwdriver , to have ORANGE WATER SENSOR in the back under the battery STILL ORANGE and NO ROOTED PHONE .
THEY WILL CHANGE YOUR DEVICE , BECOUSE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIX THAT IS A PART OF A PLASTIC THAT WAS SLIPPERED FROM HIS PLACE .

Camera stopped focusing

I havent seen a thread like this yet... when my phone arrived it was perfect. I took many pictures and they all looked great. A few days ago I was trying to take a picture of a receipt for work and had trouble getting the camera to focus. At the time I never thought much of it and figured it was the lighting or something. Then the next day I was attempting to take a pic of some family and noticed the camera just refused to focus. After some testing I found that my focus seemed to be stuck at a very close range (i.e things within 1-2 feet were in perfect focus) and everything farther away was a blurry mess. Video was even worse.
Eventually a friend of mine who also had a 6P suggested I download and try the app "A Better Camera" as you can use a slider to manually set focus. He demonstrated it for me and sure enough his focus would change as he moved the slider around. Tried it on mine and nothing... focus stayed in that same 1-2 foot range the entire time.
Naturally at this point I contacted Google and jumped through all of their hoops (which included factory resetting the phone... grrrr) and just finally got a replacement order in today.
Has anyone else had issues like this? I am 99% sure its hardware fault with the camera itself (if you google it the first thing that comes up is not me but is the only other person I've seen with the issue).
EDIT: No case or anything on my device

Did you inspect the laser focus on the back, perhaps there's something stuck in there?
It's the small hole in the center of the phone below the camera bezel.

celsian said:
Did you inspect the laser focus on the back, perhaps there's something stuck in there?
It's the small hole in the center of the phone below the camera bezel.
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Click to collapse
That would be the microphone.

celsian said:
Did you inspect the laser focus on the back, perhaps there's something stuck in there?
It's the small hole in the center of the phone below the camera bezel.
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Click to collapse
The laser is visible. That is also why we tried the app that allowed manually adjusting the focus. That way we could rule out a laser issue

WoodroweBones said:
The laser is visible. That is also why we tried the app that allowed manually adjusting the focus. That way we could rule out a laser issue
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Click to collapse
Reboot?

Oops. Well now I feel like an idiot. Sorry. Best of luck on your replacement.

celsian said:
Did you inspect the laser focus on the back, perhaps there's something stuck in there?
It's the small hole in the center of the phone below the camera bezel.
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Click to collapse
Loool.

I have the same focusing issue with the rear camera.
Can it be opened? may be a hardware fault...

ovu85 said:
I have the same focusing issue with the rear camera.
Can it be opened? may be a hardware fault...
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Click to collapse
Did you ever resolve this issue? I have the same problem now. Popping sound from camera module when I open camera app or whenever switching between front to rear camera. I ordered a replacement camera module and the tools needed to replace it. The video is on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FwJkL1EyJY
Thanks,
Joe

jhilario72 said:
Did you ever resolve this issue? I have the same problem now. Popping sound from camera module when I open camera app or whenever switching between front to rear camera. I ordered a replacement camera module and the tools needed to replace it. The video is on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FwJkL1EyJY
Thanks,
Joe
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Click to collapse
No, the problem wasn't solved!

Camera issue

My front camera just suddenly got bad. The photos, before the snap are usually perfect(no blur) but after, they get blurry and there's a kind of light that appears on camera, like rays from the sun.

Try updating Android or using a different camera app.

Maybe dust particle inside phone is causing this issue !!

Remove back plate and try to tight the uper screws it might help you

cLick1338 said:
Try updating Android or using a different camera app.
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Click to collapse
It's not a software prob. It's the camera itself. It happens with all camera apps when I try to use the front camera

TeChjEEpers... said:
Remove back plate and try to tight the uper screws it might help you
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Click to collapse
Will try opening up the phone.
never tried it since I got my phone a year ago.

Asapchow said:
Will try opening up the phone.
never tried it since I got my phone a year ago.
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Sometimes screws becomes lose making them tight might solve your problem...I also fixed my s4 with same problem by making screws tight so I think that it might fix your problem...I'm not saying to open the phone or etc

TeChjEEpers... said:
Sometimes screws becomes lose making them tight might solve your problem...I also fixed my s4 with same problem by making screws tight so I think that it might fix your problem...I'm not saying to open the phone or etc
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Oh, okay.. thanks [emoji109]

So.. tightening the screws didn't help [emoji17] [emoji17]
No selfies No me

Misplaced Rear Camera!

The 6T just arrived yesterday, it felt really good 'cause I was coming from the ages old OnePlus One.
And boom! I had this feeling that the camera on my phone is misplaced. Both rear cameras are not in the centre, they're a bit above the centre.
Could anyone please help here? I just got one friend out here who has a 6T and comparing the two I do see some difference.
Should I care about this misplacement? I'll get a replacement if I report it within 10 days so yeah, do tell me if anyone knows about this and if I should really care and report it or is it not a big deal and just fine. The phone is perfect - those cameras work perfectly, I tested them individually by the tests in *#808# and both work.
Attaching some images of my phone and also one that I found on the internet (which I feel has the same issue?).
I've marked the cam in yellow and the asymmetrical hollow space around it in green.
(It's the 256GB model by the way)

isnt that what OIS does?
the camera moves inside its aperture
i thought it was by design

Quick visual assessment of my device appears the bottom camera is up a tiny bit and top is down a little. If I get a chance I'll throw my phone on the metrology imaging device at work and verify if my eyes are playing tricks on me. Regardless I don't think it's anything to be concerned about.

Checked mine they are very close to centered as you can see in the picture. The dots in the center of the circle represent the center of each circle. Probably hard to see though.

virtyx said:
isnt that what OIS does?
the camera moves inside its aperture
i thought it was by design
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What are you talking about? That has nothing to do with this post
To op;
At first glance I thought you were probably seeing things but after looking at your pics it does seem pretty clear that the camera units are not 'properly' centered in the frame...
It's really up to you as to whether you want to RMA for a replacement. I had to replace mine for different reasons and am glad I did but if they are functioning properly, as you say they are, I might just not bother with replacement.... Definitely weird situation though.

Is it making a drastic difference in the image quality of the photo?
If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.

virtyx said:
isnt that what OIS does?
the camera moves inside its aperture
i thought it was by design
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, yes. I know that the 16MP camera above the flash does move 'cause of OIS but I've seen the top one exactly centred on other phones. Looking more precisely, I saw that the rest position of both the cameras is a bit above the centre (of course both, because they're mounted on one board).
bladestonez said:
Quick visual assessment of my device appears the bottom camera is up a tiny bit and top is down a little. If I get a chance I'll throw my phone on the metrology imaging device at work and verify if my eyes are playing tricks on me. Regardless I don't think it's anything to be concerned about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, thanks. Appreciate your help!
bladestonez said:
Checked mine they are very close to centered as you can see in the picture. The dots in the center of the circle represent the center of each circle. Probably hard to see though.
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Click to collapse
OMG you really did some work on this! Thank you so much. I can see the dots and that's the same problem as mine. The difference is that your error is very, very less as compared to mine. Any problems with the cam so far?
Swimguy14 said:
To op;
At first glance I thought you were probably seeing things but after looking at your pics it does seem pretty clear that the camera units are not 'properly' centered in the frame...
It's really up to you as to whether you want to RMA for a replacement. I had to replace mine for different reasons and am glad I did but if they are functioning properly, as you say they are, I might just not bother with replacement.... Definitely weird situation though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for looking into it. Would you recommend any sort of check for testing the secondary cam functionality? It's just day 2 for me so I'm sure I haven't digged in the phone as much as you have.
p51d007 said:
Is it making a drastic difference in the image quality of the photo?
If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.
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Click to collapse
There's absolutely no change in the image quality. The cameras are not broken or anything, just misplaced.
It's just that this being my most expensive smartphone yet, I was a bit concerned. Thanks!
I guess I forget about this now until someone really points some unknown fact about this. Before Valentine's day!

Paresh Kalinani said:
OMG you really did some work on this! Thank you so much. I can see the dots and that's the same problem as mine. The difference is that your error is very, very less as compared to mine. Any problems with the cam so far?
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It's a really fancy measuring device I have at work took about a minute to whip up so no big deal at all. And no I have not noticed any issues at all. I get great quality photos and video. If you aren't experiencing problems I would guess your fine but it's your device so your call

Paresh Kalinani said:
The 6T just arrived yesterday, it felt really good 'cause I was coming from the ages old OnePlus One.
And boom! I had this feeling that the camera on my phone is misplaced. Both rear cameras are not in the centre, they're a bit above the centre.
Could anyone please help here? I just got one friend out here who has a 6T and comparing the two I do see some difference.
Should I care about this misplacement? I'll get a replacement if I report it within 10 days so yeah, do tell me if anyone knows about this and if I should really care and report it or is it not a big deal and just fine. The phone is perfect - those cameras work perfectly, I tested them individually by the tests in *#808# and both work.
Attaching some images of my phone and also one that I found on the internet (which I feel has the same issue?).
I've marked the cam in yellow and the asymmetrical hollow space around it in green.
(It's the 256GB model by the way)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Paresh Kalinani please update this post with the solution you came up.
Thanks!

It's all good.
rsmarx said:
@Paresh Kalinani please update this post with the solution you came up.
Thanks!
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I showed it to multiple local repairers and all of them suggested to not go for replacement if I had to use the phone for important things, back then. I spent a lot of time testing both the cameras at the back thoroughly and they had no problem at all. I didn't do anything! I did not get it replaced. I can still see my cameras are misplaced but there's no issue at all. Top class photos and videos, used a lot.
So I can close this with : If you're concerned about your camera's positioning, go get your device replaced. If you're concerned about it's functioning, don't. They're 100% fine. :good: