New DR750x plus concerns

[AJVB]

Bought and hardwired DR590x to my car. Turns out it had horrible video quality. Then bought a DR750x plus and swapped it out. MUCH better video quality and more features!

Anyway, I have a couple of concerns. I noticed with the 750 there is a small purple spot that appears in video playback in the lower left hand corner. It doesn’t show all the time and I’ve only noticed it in parking mode while the car isn’t moving. I’ve attached a screenshot. Wondering if this is normal, i didn’t notice his with the 590.

Also I’ve notice in both the 590 and 750 the tremendous white noise in the audio when looking at videos from parking mode. The 590 noise was much worse. Is this is common thing for BlackVue cameras?

 

[kamkar]

I think that is a flare, if it is there in cloudy days or at night then i would be worried, but i think it is a light flare, that can come in all kind of colors and sizes too.

 

[AJVB]

I think that is a flare, if it is there in cloudy days or at night then i would be worried, but i think it is a light flare, that can come in all kind of colors and sizes too.

The screenshot was taken from a Timelapse parking clip and the purple spot popped up right as the clouds moved and exposed the sun at a certain angle.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah probably a lens flare.

Lens flare - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Dashmellow]

I don't know what that purple artifact is but it doesn't appear to be a lens flare. In decades of doing professional photography, lab imaging and handling all sorts of optics I've never seen a lens flare that looks anything like that.

It looks almost like some kind of three dimensional object with a purple shadow, as if it is sitting on the hood of the vehicle. It needs further observation and analysis to determine what it really is.

It is possibly a flaw in one of the lens elements that reveals itself under certain lighting conditions with the sun at a particular angle but that doesn't necessarily make it a lens flare.

One thing to look for is whether the artifact moves across the image frame according to the angle of the sunlight. If the purple object is always sitting in the exact same spot in the image, it is not a lens flare.

Here's a video that demonstrates how a lens flare will change position according to the angle the sunlight is coming from.

The video was from another thread about lens flares a couple of months ago that may be useful to have a look at:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...reen-reflections-like-this.46607/#post-570199

 

[Dashmellow]

Whatever that artifact is, it definitely looks like a three dimensional object with a shadow, although that's not to say that's what it is.

A lens flare wouldn't look like that.



Lens flares tend to look more like this.

 

[AJVB]

Upon further investigation, it does move. Took screenshots of a morning commute with me getting on the freeway. You can see the purple spot move across the hood as the sun’s position changed.

 

[Dashmellow]

OK, if it moves in real time with the angle of the sun and the artifact mostly looks like the one in your image that I've pointed to with an arrow, then yes, it is lens flare.

The other images don't particularly look like lens flare to me without the context of the rest of the footage where it is more pronounced.

In any event, this is completely normal and nothing to be concerned with. All lenses will exhibit lens flare to one degree or another under certain conditions and the little purple dot suggests that lens flare is well corrected for on your camera.

 

[kamkar]

I would maybe mention this to the seller or the brand, in regard to if something worse should happen down the line.
Or at least keep some documentation for later.
I was at some time thinking " are someone shining one of those blue lasers on the car" cuz yeah it is not like i generally understand lens flares to look, that would be as "DM" have outlined.

Maybe it could be a unfortunate / rare combination of the lens properties and windscreen. But as it move around i dont think it is a sensor issue.

 

[Lothar]

So this is completely natural and there is no way to eliminate this issue such as cleaning the outer lens? (I would imagine dismantling the unit to clean the inner portion would void warranty)
If not, I wonder if something like this would be covered under warranty/replacement since this seems to be a natural phenomenon and not necessarily a faulty product?

I remember my 1st Google Pixel phone in 2016 had lens flare when taking pictures. Google fixed it with "computational photography" (which might as well be called "software magic" to me) in a software update and it completely disappeared without ever compromising the image quality of subsequent pictures.
I wonder if this is something that BlackVue can do here if this might not be covered under warranty/replacement?

 

[kamkar]

The lenses are often secured in place with some glue in / on the fine m12 thread, so it is a pretty substantial undertaking, and would for sure void warranty..
But it might be something the factory would like to undertake, or on their behalf a trusted reseller.

If it is a general trait or a fault in your unit is hard to say, you can pretty much only test that by recording some with your camera, and then swap in another similar one to see if it do the same, it would probably not even work recording with 2 similar cameras on the windscreen as they can of course not be mounted in the exact same place, so to get apple 2 apple comparison you would need to swap cameras on the same mount.

Also wondering if it could be something in regard to a coating / property of your windscreen, for sure using a CPL filter on a piece of glass fitted with a film also having CPL like properties can become a absolute nightmare with rainbow artifacts.

At least what you got, striking up a conversation with the seller or the brand would not hurt, if it is a issue with the lens it could go bad later on.
As i see it now it is not a major deal, but then again i am just a dedicated dashcam user with a little experience, the factory itself should be able to advise further.

 

[Dashmellow]

So this is completely natural and there is no way to eliminate this issue such as cleaning the outer lens?

Yes, this is completely normal. Even the finest, most expensive lenses available can exhibit lens flare. Lens flare can be reduced or eliminated with the use of a lens hood, but very few dash cams have them. A few of us have experimented with making our own for use on dash cams.

M12 Dash cam lenses are very primitive by comparison and not of the finest quality. In particular, dash cam lenses have a fixed aperture, so there is little control over lens flare which is partly a function of lens aperture and would be more easy to control on say, a DSLR. It can also be more likely to occur in wide angle lenses such as we have in our dash cams. Lens flare occurs when intense bright sunlight enters your lens from an oblique angle and scatters around inside your lens barrel and off of each internal lens element before hitting the camera's sensor.

Understanding Camera Lens Flare

www.cambridgeincolour.com

The color of the lens flare is influenced by the kind of anti-reflective multi coatings on the lens surface. This is the coloration you will see if you carefully examine the front surface of your camera lens. It is a chemical treatment that is vapor deposited onto the glass lens surface in a vacuum during the manufacturing process. Multi-coatings are actually a method of reducing lens flare to some degree and increasing image contrast but they have a limited benefit.

A multi-coated lens

 

[Lothar]

Yes, this is completely normal. Even the finest, most expensive lenses available can exhibit lens flare. Lens flare can be reduced or eliminated with the use of a lens hood, but very few dash cams have them. A few of us have experimented with making our own for use on dash cams.

M12 Dash cam lenses are very primitive by comparison and not of the finest quality. In particular, dash cam lenses have a fixed aperture, so there is little control over lenses flare which is partly a function of lens aperture. It can also be more likely to occur in wide angle lenses such as we have in our dash cams. Lens flare occurs when intense bright sunlight enters your lens from an oblique angle and scatters around inside your lens barrel and off of each internal lens element before hitting the camera's sensor.

Understanding Camera Lens Flare

www.cambridgeincolour.com

The color of the lens flare is influenced by the kind of anti-reflective multi coatings on the lens surface. This is the coloration you will see if you carefully examine the front surface of your camera lens. It is a chemical treatment that is vapor deposited onto the glass lens surface in a vacuum during the manufacturing process. Multi-coatings are actually a method of reducing lens flare to some degree and increasing image contrast but they have a limited benefit.

I wonder what the possibility of being able to fix this via software like I mentioned earlier without any hardware modifications?

I remember my 1st Google Pixel phone in 2016 had lens flare when taking pictures. Google fixed it with "computational photography" (which might as well be called "software magic" to me) in a software update and it completely disappeared without ever compromising the image quality of subsequent pictures.
I wonder if this is something that BlackVue can do here if this might not be covered under warranty/replacement?

Google acknowledges lens flare issue on Pixel camera, promises software fix

Google Pixel users report a strong tendency of the device's camera to produce lens flare. Google is aware of the problem and has promised to implement a software fix for the camera's HDR+ mode. Read more

www.dpreview.com

'First, for some background -- flare is a property of ALL camera lenses. It comes in a ton of different shapes and sizes and can even be used for creative effect -- good and bad . The shape, color, amount, etc. of flare is related to dozens of different parameters of the lens structure and inclement light. However, we have seen reports about this "halo/arc flare". This is the specific kind of flare that appears as a bright/low-contrast arc in the corners of the frame.

You can expect a software update in the next few weeks that will improve the effects of this issue. We're working on some algorithms that recognize the halo/arc flare, characterize it mathematically, and then subtract it from the image. You will need to use HDR+ to see the benefits of this software.'

I see that Google also has a patent for their specific invention which does not require any hardware changes:

US10205896B2 - Automatic lens flare detection and correction for light-field images - Google Patents

According to various embodiments, the system and method disclosed herein process light-field image data so as to mitigate lens flare effects. A light-field image may be captured with a light-field image capture device with a microlens array and received in a data store. A plurality of...

patents.google.com

 

[Dashmellow]

I remember my 1st Google Pixel phone in 2016 had lens flare when taking pictures. Google fixed it with "computational photography" (which might as well be called "software magic" to me) in a software update and it completely disappeared without ever compromising the image quality of subsequent pictures.
I wonder if this is something that BlackVue can do here if this might not be covered under warranty/replacement?

Computational Photography (basically a form of AI) can do some remarkable things. However, your Google Pixel is essentially a powerful miniature computer with a full operating system and sophisticated processor that costs many hundreds of dollars.

Even very expensive dash cams cannot compete with the computational capabilities of a modern smartphone processor.

 

[LateralNW]

Bought and hardwired DR590x to my car. Turns out it had horrible video quality. Then bought a DR750x plus and swapped it out. MUCH better video quality and more features!

Anyway, I have a couple of concerns. I noticed with the 750 there is a small purple spot that appears in video playback in the lower left hand corner. It doesn’t show all the time and I’ve only noticed it in parking mode while the car isn’t moving. I’ve attached a screenshot. Wondering if this is normal, i didn’t notice his with the 590.

Also I’ve notice in both the 590 and 750 the tremendous white noise in the audio when looking at videos from parking mode. The 590 noise was much worse. Is this is common thing for BlackVue cameras?

Is that image cropped?
I'd expect the sun or a reflection of the sun in the image.

If the image was cropped then what i wrote next may be the reason for the colour.

The problem is due to the light coming in at a specific angle and reflecting off the surface inside the camera, or the lens cover.

Reflection within the lens also causes such problems as image duplication, and the transmission of non-image light to the image: phenomena known as ghosts and flares, respectively. Ghosts are created when light reflected from the rear surface of a lens is reflected once again from the front surface, resulting in a faint second image slightly displaced from the primary image. Flares appear when light from the back of the lens barrel is reflected from the lens surface onto the image. Ghosts and flares caused by surface reflection reduce the quality of the image produced.

Lens coatings were developed to prevent surface reflection and boost light transmission. Coating lenses enables more light to pass through them.

Doesn't fix it but may make the dashcam manufacturers consider improving the coating on their lens.

 

[AJVB]

I ended up reaching out to BlackVue support. They wanted me to upload a video of the purple spot behavior. They then recommended I update the firmware through the computer. I realized I wasn’t on the latest firmware. So I assume they thought the purple spot wasn’t normal behavior.

Long story short, upgrading firmware via computer was a bust. I thought it bricked the dashcam (all lights flashing for about 45 minutes). Unplugged and reinserted a blank memory card. Camera boots up normally and it looked like the firmware applied. But now parking mode isn’t working correctly. When I turn off the car, it doesn’t go immediately into parking mode like it did before. It now only activates when the car is sitting for five minutes. All my other previous settings were still intact.

Did BlackVue remove the functionality of immediately going into parking mode with the newest firmware update?

 

[Dashmellow]

I ended up reaching out to BlackVue support. They wanted me to upload a video of the purple spot behavior. They then recommended I update the firmware through the computer. I realized I wasn’t on the latest firmware. So I assume they thought the purple spot wasn’t normal behavior.

As I've mentioned several times already:

In any event, this is completely normal and nothing to be concerned with. All lenses will exhibit lens flare to one degree or another under certain conditions and the little purple dot suggests that lens flare is well corrected for on your camera.

This is dash cam footage, it's not cinematography. There is no compelling reason for anyone to be overly concerned with a small incidence of common everyday lens flare. It will have no deleterious effect on the primary reasons one owns a dash cam other than perhaps being a minor annoyance.

As for the little purple artifact, whatever it may actually be, it is not something that would in any way be affected by firmware or would be corrected by updating firmware. Whether it is lens flare or some other defect, it is an optical phenomenon.

 

[StrayCam]

I ended up reaching out to BlackVue support. They wanted me to upload a video of the purple spot behavior. They then recommended I update the firmware through the computer. I realized I wasn’t on the latest firmware. So I assume they thought the purple spot wasn’t normal behavior.

Long story short, upgrading firmware via computer was a bust. I thought it bricked the dashcam (all lights flashing for about 45 minutes). Unplugged and reinserted a blank memory card. Camera boots up normally and it looked like the firmware applied. But now parking mode isn’t working correctly. When I turn off the car, it doesn’t go immediately into parking mode like it did before. It now only activates when the car is sitting for five minutes. All my other previous settings were still intact.

Did BlackVue remove the functionality of immediately going into parking mode with the newest firmware update?

Your parking mode should be working the same with the new firmware. If it's not, you might try downgrading to the prior firmware and see if your "normal parking mode" shut down resumes. You should coordinate with Blackvue tech support if the new firmware is causing problems with your parking mode.

And if I were you, I would coordinate with them (BV tech support) regarding your purple spot. They are the experts regarding your dashcam AND they are always very helpful.

Blackvue Phone Support
844-694-4469

 

[AJVB]

After the firmware debacle, Blackvue directed me to RMA the camera with the seller. I just ended up returning it and buying another one.