Left side is out of focus

[scoobyskub]

Hello,
I bought Viofo A119 and left side of the video is blurred. You can clearly see it on this screenshot (click to enlarge):

How to repair this? I wrote to Viofo (here on this forum), but they didn't reply.
Cheers

 

[Gibson99]

is lens clean? windshield in front of the camera (and several cm on either side) clean as well?

if you take the camera out of the car and plug it in (usb power bank or home smartphone charger), is it also blurry when out of the car?

possible that the lens base is not tight on the imager board, but fixing that would require taking the camera apart. @viofo might have other ideas or suggestions.

 

[Curtis54]

I have noticed also the same problem on my viofo A119, the left side of the image doesn't have the same level of sharpness than the rest of the image,

as Gibson99 said there are 3 possibilities :

- the left side of the windshield can have a weak zone, which can act as lens and create blurry zone, to check this theory you have to test the dashcam outside the car

- a dirty lens, check if the lens of your dashcam is clean

- a problem inside the dashcam : bad lens mounting/assembling, you can try to disassemble your dashcam in order to reseat the lens, it's not easy and this action will avoid your warranty :
http://www.gibson99.com/reviews/dashcam/viofoa119b60dashcampre-productionbetaunitphotos

 

[scoobyskub]

Lens is clean. Windshield is not clean as always.

if you take the camera out of the car and plug it in (usb power bank or home smartphone charger), is it also blurry when out of the car?

Wow, it's not blurry when out of the car. Video quality is not good, because of low light conditions (2x 10W LEDs).

- the left side of the windshield can have a weak zone, which can act as lens and create blurry zone, to check this theory you have to test the dashcam outside the car

What should I do with this? Change camera position on windshield (where to?)? How to remove GPS mount with 3M tape safely?

BTW: There're white points in dark areas...

 

[OCD Tronic]

Make sure you clean windows inside and out with a non-ammonia based cleaner or else it can leave an invisible film that will refract light.

Here is a good focus chart you can print out on 8 1/2 x 11 paper:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9wxwkb0jbto8fpl/focus_pattern.pdf?dl=1

 

[scoobyskub]

Actually it's a little bit out of focus on the left:

 

[scoobyskub]

Well, let's refocus the lens . That's the only way to repair this dash cam.

 

[scoobyskub]

It's not possible to screw lens in more than it's originally. Weird. I will file lens (plastic) down or something to make it closer to sensor.

 

[scoobyskub]

Ok, I repaired it by myself. I used waterproof sandpaper to polish (just a little bit (to the gray metal)) bottom of the metal lens holder (flat glass -> wet sandpaper (500 or something) -> metal holder -> move it gently in circular motion). I think it's sharp all over the video, isn't it? There's a lot of reflections - angle is too wide (I think it should be like 130 degrees). The same place:

 

[neilmcl]

Haven't you got the camera positioned more to the left than you had earlier? This would account for the fact that it's more in focus now on that side.

 

[scoobyskub]

No, it was blurred on the left as you can see in this post: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/left-side-is-out-of-focus.26629/#post-313944 . I didn't change GPS-mount position. It's sharp after my repair.

 

[Curtis54]

I'm not sure to understand your repair, you just removed the glue by scratching, then you turned the plastic ring ?

which part in this image ? ( 1 or 2 ? )

 

[jokiin]

I'm not sure to understand your repair, you just removed the glue by scratching, then you turned the plastic ring ?

the base of the lens holder wasn't square with the PCB so he has sanded it to level the mating surface

 

[scoobyskub]

I'm not sure to understand your repair, you just removed the glue by scratching, then you turned the plastic ring ?

which part in this image ? ( 1 or 2 ? )

View attachment 28923

The lens is number 1 and 2 together. You can screw it out by holding the lens holder and lens, but you don't really have to do this (it will not sharpen left side, because base of the lens holder is not perfectly square).

So don't remove the glue, just unscrew 2 screws and do what I wrote before. Be careful not to smudge the sensor or lens inside (if there's dirt or something then use Isopropyl alcohol)! It worked for me, I don't know if it will work for you (it should).

You do this like this (go to 2:00), but not too much (just to gray metal/plastic, it's like 1 minute of work):