A119 Left right camera lens shake, is it a common fault?

[LateralNW]

Hi,

I purchased the A119 with gps recently and installed it without any problems.

After checking some of the footage found I had terrible video shake while driving on smooth roads.

I originally thought it was the camera moving up and down between the gps and dvr as it is a loose fitting but that wasn't causing this problem.

This video demonstrates the shake and what is causing it.

Is this a common fault with this Dash Cam?

Thanks

Note video quality reduced to create a smaller file size. My internet upload speeds suck.

 

[jokiin]

I wouldn't say it was common, this is only the second mention I've seen of it, might be easier to do a ghetto fix and just stick something in the lens surround area to hold it in place, dab of silicon, bit of blutack or similar

 

[Gibson99]

i have two and neither do that. definitely a loose fitting. you could maybe try wedging a small piece of paper between the outer housing and the lens assy just to tighten it up, or as jokiin says, a tiny piece of blu-tack. or if you're not afraid of taking it apart, a dab of dielectric (or similar plastic-friendly grease) on the pivot pins could help hold it in place.

 

[Nice1234guy]

I have 2 A119. Both of them need more force to move the lens side way. I would return it and get a new one if possible.

 

[LateralNW]

I wouldn't say it was common ~

I have 2 A119. ~need more force to move the lens side way. I would return it and get a new one if possible.

i have two and neither do that. definitely a loose fitting. ~

Hi all

thanks for your replies.
I decided to do a temporary fix similar to what jokiin suggested. I folded some insulation tape cut to the approx length and placed in on either side of the lens. The ebay seller is making good by sending me a polarising filter which may help stop the lens from moving about.

I had already returned a dvr to them which felt like it took forever to get a refund then I decided to purchase this unit with gps from them. They made good on the return and paid for the postage so the least I felt I could do is purchase from them again. Shame the unit had this hickup. I really didn't want to go through the return process again.

Next thing on the list is to reduce the up down shake.
Then firmware upgrade it to ver 2.x about to re-read AndrewL how to upgrade.

 

[wryliewhiley]

It could be an assembly fault.

There's a friction click arrangement inside ( your lens should click when moved up and down).

Open up the cam (just 4 tiny screws and no clips at all). The lens assembly should have a coil spring in the side above the Rec button. Then there's a colorless plastic disc thing with teeth and two protrusions that must locate in slots in the black spring housing. Then there's a colorless flat plastic piece which also has teeth that oppose the other teeth. Hold the last bit against the spring pressure of the other bit which is over the spring, and it slips in against the wall of the case in its place with guides.

 

[LateralNW]

It could be an assembly fault.

There's a friction click arrangement inside ( your lens should click when moved up and down).

~

Thanks for the heads up.
When the temperature drops and the house cools down I might have a look at the housing assembly.
Its 21° C and its almost midnight! (69.8F)

 

[jokiin]

Thanks for the heads up.
When the temperature drops and the house cools down I might have a look at the housing assembly.
Its 21° C and its almost midnight! (69.8F)

lucky you, it's still 28°c here

 

[Gibson99]

It's supposedly winter here right now and yesterday's high was 80f (26c) which was apparently a new record high.

Anyway, if you're curious what to expect inside, here's some photos: http://www.gibson99.com/reviews/dashcam/viofoa119b60dashcampre-productionbetaunitphotos

 

[wryliewhiley]

Thx Gibson99. Those photos of yours are very useful and LateralNW can see what I struggled to describe.

fyi, I believe the interior you show is from an earlier cam. Mine has a sheet of copper foil over the chips. I guess it acts as an heat-sink. Also the little battery appears to be cemented in place so will be tricky to replace. Also my "super capacitors" look smaller.
A minor thing but elsewhere I posted that my red led doesn't seem bright enough to show thru the REC button on bright days. I was going to paint the upper side of the led white to reflect more towards the button, but it is buried on the underside of the circuit board and I was not brave enough to access.

 

[Gibson99]

the interior you show is from an earlier cam.

Yes, those pics are from a pre-production unit, back in April, and several changes have been made since then. But the overall package is still the same. The foil you describe is more likely shielding to limit interference, and to possibly also help with gps reception.

 

[wryliewhiley]

Thanks for the heads up.
When the temperature drops and the house cools down I might have a look at the housing assembly.
Its 21° C and its almost midnight! (69.8F)

I c u r an Aussie too. 40 degree C days here lately I have rigged up an hood over my 'cam to shield it from the sun. Black felt on top, alfoil underneath. The lens just peeps out from the bottom for stealth. I did not think of a shielding effect versus the GPS but luckily it is fine.

 

[wryliewhiley]

Yes, those pics are from a pre-production unit, back in April, and several changes have been made since then. But the overall package is still the same. The foil you describe is more likely shielding to limit interference, and to possibly also help with gps reception.

OK and I might add that the GPS reception seems better than or at least as good the system that came with my car.

 

[vortigos]

I'm having an issue with my A119 that seems to match what everyone describes here. I'm not sure if it was like this when I got it a few months ago, but now the adjustable lens is completely loose if it's put in the centered (not left or right) position. If it's in the center, any movement makes the lens jiggle about 1cm to the left or right. If I move the lens a bit off center, it holds just fine on either side. Is this a design flaw in the adjustable lens or has the lens adjuster become defective in my unit? Basically, if the lens is in the center of the space, it wobbles loosely unless I push it a bit to hold either on the left or right side.

 

[beyondthesun]

yeah, i am having the same issue 2 after using camera for like, um, 4 months? lens up/down/left/right lock mechanism doesn't work correctly. i did make a complaint, sent the camera back, waitin'. any1 knows the reason this happens? edit: @vortigos: any luck finding the problem?

 

[vortigos]

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yeah, i am having the same issue 2 after using camera for like, um, 4 months? lens up/down/left/right lock mechanism doesn't work correctly. i did make a complaint, sent the camera back, waitin'. any1 knows the reason this happens? edit: @vortigos: any luck finding the problem?

It actually sounds like your problem is different from mine. My issues is just that the lens doesn't lock in the center position very well (it wiggles loosely from side to side left to right). The up down click-based movement was fine. I figured out it's just crappy design and manufacturing tolerances. The left right movement is friction based for the most part. When it's in the exact center position, there isn't a lot of friction holding it in place. While the cam sits in the sun the plastic deforms a bit and makes the lens even more loose. So I got a replacement that had the same problem but to a lesser extent. My solution was to just push the lens a bit more to the left/right of center so that it isn't perfectly centered but still captures my entire field of view. There's not fixing this without tape, but you might see an improvement with an exchange. Your problem sounds like an actual defect, however.

 

[skjoe]

I noticed mine had a little wiggle when i took it out to blow all the dust out.
I coloured a business card corner with black sharpie, wedged it between the lens and the frame and cut the rest of the card off.

 

[Paparazzo]

After almost a year of using a119, I noticed a little lens moving, left and right. Not so tight anymore. Not too much, but noticeable. Here is easy fix that helped me perfectly:

 

[DavidUK]

Holy thread resurrection! Maybe it's the 2017 version? Read on...

Just re-fitted my wife's A119 into her new car after 5yrs in her old one.

I noticed that the lens wobbled from side to side, as here:

I don't think that's normal or desirable. I had one of these apart 5yrs ago, can't remember why, so I could open it up to see what's going on OR perhaps one of you kind people could suggest what I should be looking for inside and how to rectify? Unless everything has already been said in the previous posts.
Is the 'bit of card' trick, as in the previous post video, still the best way?

Many thanks all.

NB. Similar issue here: https://www.rdforum.org/threads/77409/