Mobius support thread and Tech Guide (post all problems/help requests here) Read posts #1-8 first

[reverend]

Might as well post my latest Mobius timelapse in here - if you look really carefully you can just see the eclipse in there

 

[map]

Their main focus/market will be mainly RC related. I think the reason they switch to plastic/fibre is to keep the weight down ( bigger battery/ possibly heavier lens C). And heat is not a RC issue.

That is a valid point, and even more of a reason to keep clear records of problems that the dashcam community are having with the Mobius.

I should be able to get a reasonable test done tomorrow, if so I will be able to see how well my C lens handles some longer run times.

 

[Isoprop]

@Isoprop is it possible to do metering modes such as average, center and spot?

I can't give you an answer on that because I don't know. However, the question has been posted a number of times over the past 2 or 3 years (including #16 posts) so I'm sure it's been noted by the developer.
The RC folks would prefer a 'bottom' metering, but others want a left corner, right corner, top or center metering! I don't know how practical these settings would be for a camera without a display, but I can imagine the developer may have tried different metering modes, if they are supported by the DSP, and abandoned them because they didn't work to his satisfaction. This is purely an assumption on my part.

 

[Signhere]

how to solve overexposure and glare like this on the picture

 

[jokiin]

I can't give you an answer on that because I don't know. However, the question has been posted a number of times over the past 2 or 3 years (including #16 posts) so I'm sure it's been noted by the developer.
The RC folks would prefer a 'bottom' metering, but others want a left corner, right corner, top or center metering! I don't know how practical these settings would be for a camera without a display, but I can imagine the developer may have tried different metering modes, if they are supported by the DSP, and abandoned them because they didn't work to his satisfaction. This is purely an assumption on my part.

I think these settings, and more importantly the improvement they might offer, is very subjective

 

[country_hick]

I think these settings, and more importantly the improvement they might offer, is very subjective

Do you mean the firmware itself is far more important than any user settings you can change?

 

[jokiin]

Do you mean the firmware itself is far more important than any user settings you can change?

no I mean changing the metering settings is subjective, they are not used in a static environment, if you were taking a photo you might find more benefit in changing these settings but for video in ever changing circumstances it's swings and roundabouts, you gain something somewhere, you lose it somewhere else, it's only about trying to find balance, if the devs did offer the option to adjust this then it starts to get difficult for them to find a workable middle ground

the firmware is very important though, don't want to imply otherwise

 

[horaceCJ]

Regarding the focus problem I will properly test it this weekend by this scenario:
- park the car in shopping center with close and far scenery
- turn on the AC towards windscreen
- record for few minutes
- turn on the heat towards windscreen
- record for few minutes

The results I think should prove if there are any problems.

Here are 3 PNG screenshots from VLC, exported with MS Picture Manager as JPG with quality setting set to 100. Original screenshots were to big to upload here.
17:11 camera was running for about 3 minutes, outside temperature 12 degrees Celsius, but the car was parked inside, not in the sun. At this moment I turned AC on with the airflow directed to the windshield (and camera)

17:18 after 7 minutes with AC on, it was pretty cold in the car. At this moment I turned the heat on.

17:23 after 3 minute with heat on

Beside that I ran other static tests each day as my Mobius power is cut 30 minutes after locking the car. My personal conclusion at the moment is that there is no focus shifting caused by the heat and the new material used for the lens module. I know how focus shifting looks from my 808 #16.
BUT... the C lens problem I think it's the contrast, again it's my personal opinion. In areas with high contrast like buildings or trees in bright sunlight the objects look unfocused, while the rest of the picture looks good. You can notice this effect also in the images attached, on the side of the building. It gets worst while in motion.
I'll try this week to compare this against a Mobius B, because I didn't noticed this problem before switching to C lens.

EDIT: Unfortunately, after 1 hour in the heat, focus shifting become noticeable, details in this post

 

[Asharus]

regarding the mobius capacitor lens b unit i had that would not auto-start in the morning. i received a new mobius battery lens C unit and it works fine with identical f/w and settings. it auto-started in the cold morning with no issues.

but now i'm a little disappointed that i'm seeing issues reported with the lens C

 

[dashtalk]

Here are 3 PNG screenshots from VLC, exported with MS Picture Manager as JPG with quality setting set to 100. Original screenshots were to big to upload here.
17:11 camera was running for about 3 minutes, outside temperature 12 degrees Celsius, but the car was parked inside, not in the sun. At this moment I turned AC on with the airflow directed to the windshield (and camera)
View attachment 12037
17:18 after 7 minutes with AC on, it was pretty cold in the car. At this moment I turned the heat on.
View attachment 12038
17:23 after 3 minute with heat on
View attachment 12039
Beside that I ran other static tests each day as my Mobius power is cut 30 minutes after locking the car. My personal conclusion at the moment is that there is no focus shifting caused by the heat and the new material used for the lens module. I know how focus shifting looks from my 808 #16.
BUT... the C lens problem I think it's the contrast, again it's my personal opinion. In areas with high contrast like buildings or trees in bright sunlight the objects look unfocused, while the rest of the picture looks good. You can notice this effect also in the images attached, on the side of the building. It gets worst while in motion.
I'll try this week to compare this against a Mobius B, because I didn't noticed this problem before switching to C lens.

Seems that it does not deal very nicely with light/weather change.

 

[map]

I spent some more time trying to focus my C lens. I finally managed to get it marginally better.

As mentioned by someone else, the grub screw had been over tightened at the factory and deformed the lens barrel. I don't think I will get it any better without resorting to drilling out the damage or forcing it with pliers.

It's not the best picture, but with the grub screw completely removed you can just make out the damage to the lens barrel.

Also of interest is the lens ribbon. It has damage on the lower section from rubbing on the small plastic rib, and I'm not sure what is going on at the top, it could be poorly applied paint or damage from rubbing on the case.

The lens ribbon is a little worrying considering the camera has less than 10 hours of use. Hopefully with the rib modified the ribbon will fit properly.

 

[Johny]

My pics that were posted in a different thread have been posted after the camera was used in the morning then sat in a car a few hours and driven again at noon and afternoon. As temps/lighting conditions were changing thought the day so did the image quality.

 

[Signhere]

I spent some more time trying to focus my C lens. I finally managed to get it marginally better.

As mentioned by someone else, the grub screw had been over tightened at the factory and deformed the lens barrel. I don't think I will get it any better without resorting to drilling out the damage or forcing it with pliers.
...

Also of interest is the lens ribbon. It has damage on the lower section from rubbing on the small plastic rib, and I'm not sure what is going on at the top, it could be poorly applied paint or damage from rubbing on the case.

The lens ribbon is a little worrying considering the camera has less than 10 hours of use. Hopefully with the rib modified the ribbon will fit properly.

I would seek a lens (w/ holder) replacement from the seller. It is a defective feature if you can't adjust the Mobius' lens in a reasonable manner.

I wonder if the new anti-flare coating on the lens is sensitive to heat.

 

[horaceCJ]

As mentioned by someone else, the grub screw had been over tightened at the factory and deformed the lens barrel. I don't think I will get it any better without resorting to drilling out the damage or forcing it with pliers.

Did you removed the lens completely? I had the surprise to notice that the hole is not complete, so the screw doesn't tighten directly the thread on the lens barel (you can;t see it through the hole), but it's tightened on the exterior of the thread in which the lens is screwed. Even though I cleaned the hole and the threads I'm still not able to adjust the focus easily, which made me think that either the module is to tight for the lens, either the thread is not deep (long?) enough.
If it's not clear what I wrote, I'll try to open it again and make some pictures.

 

[map]

Did you removed the lens completely? I had the surprise to notice that the hole is not complete, so the screw doesn't tighten directly the thread on the lens barel (you can;t see it through the hole), but it's tightened on the exterior of the thread in which the lens is screwed. Even though I cleaned the hole and the threads I'm still not able to adjust the focus easily, which made me think that either the module is to tight for the lens, either the thread is not deep (long?) enough.
If it's not clear what I wrote, I'll try to open it again and make some pictures.

No, I haven't removed the lens, even when using extreme force it can only rotate <1mm in either direction from where it came set at. To get it to rotate anymore will require pliers.

I had thought that the grub screw had been over tightened and destroyed the threads on the lens barrel, but now that you've said that, I can see what you are saying.

 

[Dashmellow]

Their main focus/market will be mainly RC related. I think the reason they switch to plastic/fibre is to keep the weight down ( bigger battery/ possibly heavier lens C). And heat is not a RC issue.

It's true that the Mobius was originally developed for the RC market and your theory about keeping the weight down for this application makes sense but increasing numbers of people are using the Mobius as dash cams and general action cams. I see this mentioned everywhere around the internet, even sometimes on the RCGroups forum. Of course, action cams, like dash cams often need to perform in temperature extremes. It doesn't make sense that the developer would deliberately sabotage what must be a fairly sizable and growing portion of their market in favor of only one segment.

It would be interesting if we had some way to see a breakdown of the market segment numbers for the Mobius.

 

[horaceCJ]

My personal conclusion at the moment is that there is no focus shifting caused by the heat and the new material used for the lens module.

Can I change my mind?
Thanks to my wife I had the oportunity to wait in a parking lot for about one hour, outside temperature was 18 degrees Celsius and the sun shining brightly. Both cameras (B and C) were recording all the time, bellow you can see what happened in 1 hour:

And this is a full screenshot from Mobius C (I was stopped at the red light, so no motion involved):

I won't even bother making a comparison movie, for the moment I'll switch back to B for the front camera. Maybe I'll try to put the C lens in the metal module of the A lens, but not in the very near future, so at the moment no more C topics from my part

 

[Dashmellow]

I wonder if the new anti-flare coating on the lens is sensitive to heat.

The thin film anti-reflective multi-coatings on optics are applied with either a physical vapor deposition or a chemical vapor deposition process. There are numerous variations and methods used in these processes but they often involve high heat and pressures to deposit microcrystalline layers of a substance or several substances on the surface of lenses. Once the process is complete these coatings should be extremely inert and immune to temperature variations.

These thin film anti-reflective multi-coatings appear as different shifting colors on the lens surface (like in my avatar) and the particular substances used in the process would not affect the focus in any way unless they were to fog up for some reason, in which case the problem would then likely be permanent.

 

[Dashmellow]

Can I change my mind?
Thanks to my wife I had the oportunity to wait in a parking lot for about one hour, outside temperature was 18 degrees Celsius and the sun shining brightly. Both cameras (B and C) were recording all the time, bellow you can see what happened in 1 hour:
View attachment 12064
And this is a full screenshot from Mobius C (I was stopped at the red light, so no motion involved):
View attachment 12065
I won't even bother making a comparison movie, for the moment I'll switch back to B for the front camera. Maybe I'll try to put the C lens in the metal module of the A lens, but not in the very near future, so at the moment no more C topics from my part

My initial reaction to your previous post about this was that it might be hard to know after only a few minutes of high heat whether the problem would occur or whether it would require a prolonged period of sitting in the sun. I guess you've answered the question. ..........

This morning, I looked around at some of the usual Mobius vendor outlets and see that the A and B lenses, modules and cameras are now getting hard to find. One vendor has raised its prices on remaining A and B modules. The C lens cameras are now widely available. This is not a good sign.

 

[horaceCJ]

@jokiin also mentioned that the heat from the car system might not be enough, but during the weekend I didn't had time to wait too much and also outside temperature was pretty low. I'll edit that post to make it clear for future readers.