Street Guardian SG9665GC is very blurry

Thank you, but I don't think the camera is worth the price I paid for, even if it comes with the great customer service provided. I will just to use the camera as a backup. I do not blame you, you just distribute the product. With Aukey I have a 2 year warranty and since it was purchased through Amazon I have a 5 year warranty and I only paid $45 for it.
 
My V1 i did have to refocus, but after that was done in 2013 or so it have been great, and it saw action in my friends car up until 2018 where my friend got my V3 instead.
 
I shouldn't have to open a $200 camera to fix it.
 
Street Guardian USA said:
I have a few spare SG9665GC V1’s here I use as complementary replacements. But yes they are five years old though. Our factory has switched lens suppliers since that model and we have close to zero focus issues on all our latest products
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it shouldn't be like that, can you check one and send @athloni7 a replacement
 
No of course not, i also only did it as it was a test sample i was sent by SG, had i mentioned the problem out loud back then SG would probably have sent me another one too even if it was free, and even if i dont really make any efforts to sell or promote their products.
But i also have experience in such matters so a small challenge for me, it is not something regular folks should be asked to attempt by any brand.
I have also done the same on other brand cameras, either to convert the camera to a lesser FOV, or is some cases with early test samples the lens used change before production so might get sent a production lens to try out too.
 
Update -- With the new camera I think I know what the issue is. The camera was working great at first. Temperatures reach over 105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Inside the vehicle it is even hotter. Early in the morning the video is great. Later in the afternoon after 1pm the video is not so good. Removing the camera when parked for more than a few minutes has helped with the focus issue.
 
By parked I mean the vehicle is off and I unplug the power to the camera. I used to leave it inside but it gets too hot. I hate leaving electronics inside a vehicle in very hot days.
 
i found that my problem was not the camera focus having changed. it really seemed quite blurry and i had initially thought that the focus had changed. but the sealant on the threads from the factory was intact. what i found was the inside lens coating just above the camera sensor had started to deteriorate and a good cleaning removed the faulty coating leaving a clear view after reassembly. no changes to the focus.
 
The focus can still shift even if the lens glue are still in place, individual elements inside the lens can also some loose, though it is rare, and will require a new lens.

Refocus the lens you just have to turn it a few degrees, so its a good thing to mark the start off point in some way,
 
Street Guardian USA said:
Will do I’ll bench check a bunch on the focus chart and will ship another one. [emoji846]
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Old news but wondering how that went @Street Guardian USA?

Per my recent update, my v1 went soft focus after nearly 8 years, a few different cars, and spending all of it's long life baking in the Australian sun.
A quick (well apart from picking off the extensive lens locking glue) refocus and she's back to fine form.

I know @Dashmellow had some problems yet is experienced and competent with fault finding & determination so wondering if the same was experienced here. Would also have been keen to hear how @athloni7 went with the $45 Aukey massive warranty cam but that username seems to no longer exist!?
 
Sorry, incorrect, @athloni7 username popped up with the post so they are still here. Any update??
 
Anything we replaced for someone months or years ago has been good to go since. We've changed lens suppliers several times since 2013. Our latest products have the best track record to date, no focus shift. It was only a small percentage before that as well.
 
Street Guardian USA said:
Anything we replaced for someone months or years ago has been good to go since. We've changed lens suppliers several times since 2013. Our latest products have the best track record to date, no focus shift. It was only a small percentage before that as well.
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This post is a pitch perfect example of why I soured on Street Guardian products and to you personally for the kind of questionable ethics you engage in. This is the same BS we've heard from you for years and as you know it is something you and I and Rick have discussed privately regarding Street Guardian marketing ethics going back as much as 8 years ago. I usually just bite my tongue when I see discussions like this now but the fact that you are still at this really pisses me off.

I don't wish to disparage Jokiin who is no longer with us but the fact of the matter is that whenever there has been a significant issue with a Street Guardian camera the both of you, acting as kind of tag team have gone to enormous lengths convince the general pubic that it isn't really happening.

This applies to many of the different problems that have manifested with SG cams over the years but for the sake of this thread I will concentrate only on the long time, chronic focus problems that occurred with the SG9665GC and other SG models.

One of the techniques used when a problem manifests with Street Guardian cameras is to have the customer believe that the problem they are reporting is extremely rare, if not unprecedented. I remember when I first reported the out-of-focus issue with my V1 SG9665GC I was asked to provide example, after example, after example of the problem before Jokiin and Street Guardian USA would admit that it was actually a real issue. I made the mistake of contacting them privately about the issue out of courtesy but became more and more frustrated with the situation and eventually brought it up publicly when others started complaining about focus issues with another model, the SGZC12RC as well as the SG9665GC. And what was I told? - I was told that my focus issue was a "Rare One-Off Issue". Really?

Street Guardian has often been lauded for its excellent customer service and replacement policy, and mostly for good reason. But some of us long time members who have been paying careful attention have noticed something else at play. If you make the customer feel they are getting great service and a replacement and convince them that the problems they been having are extremely rare, you cover up the issue and avoid damaging sales.

Street Guardian USA said:
Anything we replaced for someone months or years ago has been good to go since.
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Not true! I was sent 5 different SG9665GC units until I got one that worked properly. The second one I received went out of focus worse that the first one! The second replacement was DOA. (nothing but static on the screen). They generously let me keep the original V1 which I eventually got around to refocusing but it died a horrible death and the ratchet spring on the lens failed. Both the V1 and the V2 developed the chronic boot looping issue. Both cams croaked completely long ago.

Street Guardian USA said:
Our latest products have the best track record to date, no focus shift. It was only a small percentage before that as well.
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I can't speak to the current crop of SG cams as I don't and won't own one, but the absolute falsehood that ," It was only a small percentage before that as well." was the catalyst for posting this thread. Think about the case I've made above about not being honest as you consider some of my "evidence" that reports from members about focus problems with Street Guardian cameras were far more common that Street Guardian USA would have you believe. In fact there have been so many threads and posts about focus problems that I could not find them all but they are out there. When you see this many reports of a problem it is not a "small percentage" or a minor issue. How many cameras on this forum have had this many threads and posts about a particular issue?

It would have been easy for Street Guardian to come clean after all these reports over time and say, "OK folks, we see the issue and we're working on it", but that's not the way they roll.


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​

 
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That’s a lot of old news and we don’t even use those suppliers any more. Again latest SG products are the best they have ever been. It’s been a long evolution improving things as needed along the way.
 
Nothing I've said here is the slightest bit untrue, nor have I called you any names or directly insulted you. I have merely made my case and provided copius evidence to refute your statements.

Interestingly, but not surpsirisgly you do not seem to have any answers whatsoever to the issues I've raised about your statements being untrue.
 
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Ouch, didn't realise I was picking the scab off a clearly major / contentious issue with this.

Back to the research for me!
 
@Film Guy is there a question we didn’t answer you still have? I only handle USA Sales & Support, but I can always forward any special parts requests to the Sydney office if ever needed.
 
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