Out of focus (blurry) C600 dashcam videos and pictures.

[FourEyes]

I haven't had the chance to use it because it died on me after a couple of days. When turned on manually LEDs were pretty good at distances around 10ft and that's about the only thing I could check.

Undo two screws on the back side of the sensor board and remove the holder, put it in a vise (don't tighten too hard) and use pliers through a piece of thick cloth on the lens top to break the bond. When putting the holder back double check that there are absolutely no dust specks on the sensor.

 

[Sunny]

I haven't had the chance to use it because it died on me after a couple of days. When turned on manually LEDs were pretty good at distances around 10ft and that's about the only thing I could check.

Undo two screws on the back side of the sensor board and remove the holder, put it in a vice (don't tighten too hard) and use pliers through a piece of thick cloth on the lens top to break the bond. When putting the holder back double check that there are absolutely no dust specks on the sensor.

I used a thin flat screw driver to scrape the glue all around and I was able to twist it.
Twisting on the left was worse so the focus was on the right.
I twisted 45 degrees and it was too much so I gradually twisted back and I think at 10 degrees to the right from initial, it has better focus.
I'm struggling with focus as it starts to pixelate due to small sensor.

I took some sample pictures outside and I could see more definition on the grass so hopefully, it'll take better videos.

This was when I got it. Not the same place but grass had no details.

This is today:



I'll take picture of the same initial place tonight.


I haven't glued the lens as it was pretty tough to twist anyways so it should stay put and I put a small scratch mark in the front to see if it moves by itself.
I'll know tomorrow morning when I come to work how much the videos improve.

I also took off the black paper cover of the mic as audio level is very low so that should help.

How do you turn the IR's manually?
I don't see that option in the menu.

 

[FourEyes]

Well done. IIRC LEDs are turned on by holding the Power button for a second or so. You should be able to see their effect on the cam's display. Of course the LEDs are infrared so you have to be in the dark to notice any change.

 

[Sunny]

Well done. IIRC LEDs are turned on by holding the Power button for a second or so. You should be able to see their effect on the cam's display. Of course the LEDs are infrared so you have to be in the dark to see any change.

Got it.
I was thinking the IR LED's will light up but they don't even when they are working.
I see a moon/star icon on the screen when IR's are on and the video has a purple haze that's normal with IR's.

So the LED's are not fake after all.
But useless in a dashcam as their range is limited to few feet.

 

[FourEyes]

They help some with surveillance when the car is parked.

Found a paper manual for this thing in Chinglish, here's the scan:

​

 

[Sunny]

Two things changed...
1. Better focus outside.
2. Better wide angle. Now it's sharper and things appear smaller in the videos than before.

I'm liking it better than before.
Here are screenshots from videos before and after. As you can see, the video is sharper/smoother but also looks little bit farther. Specially, check Before3 and After3.
Thanks

Before1:

After1:


Before2:

After2:


Before3:

After3:


Before4:

After4:

And here is the initial image in picture mode (not video):
Before:

After:

 

[cheeze]

Well done, Sunny. Now, I'm tempted to fix mine again.

 

[Sunny]

Well done, Sunny. Now, I'm tempted to fix mine again.

Yep, now it's pretty much like other youtube videos.
When I have more time, I'll do even more detailed focus test with a big monitor and a target license around 20 feet away to get more accurate focus.
But, this is so much better now. It's like a completely new dash cam.

 

[FourEyes]

x2 well done. In my limited experience refocusing should be done in 8 out of 10 dashcams, budget or not.

 

[Sunny]

Drove this morning and it is still slightly blurry outside.
I think it is the temperature or light issue.
Yesterday evening had great videos and hopefully, today evening will be great too.

Mornings are not too bright compared to the evenings so that could be the problem.
Still, it's better than what I posted here initially.

This was before in the morning: Really bad focus.

This is today in the morning: Still slightly blurry but way better than above and can make out things much better.

Looks like another focus session is due in near future.

Here is screenshot from the videos above for comparison.
Before:

After:

 

[FourEyes]

Try to get as good focus as possible in these areas

Overall well done.

 

[Sunny]

Try to get as good focus as possible in these areas
View attachment 5450
Overall well done.

Thanks.
So how should I test the focus at home?
I mean what distance/angle should I put the license plate from the dashcam?

I have a spare license plate somewhere or I can write something on a paper to test and adjust the lens.

 

[FourEyes]

50 ft away is more or less the farthest point where plates are still legible, this is for 1080p cams, probably a bit less for 720p. Put the plate like it's on a car in the lane next to yours, like in the pic above, and move it from close up to around 50ft and see if the focus is good all along. Focusing on a plate head on (=car in your lane right ahead) is secondary to these.

 

[Sunny]

50 ft away is more or less the farthest point where plates are still legible, this is for 1080p cams, probably a bit less for 720p. Put the plate like it's on a car in the lane next to yours, like in the pic above, and move it from close up to around 50ft and see if the focus is good all along. Focusing on a plate head on (=car in your lane right ahead) is secondary to these.

I tried but doesn't look like it will be much better than what already is.
This is from this morning. May be slightly better than above.


I'll update after evenings drive back home.

 

[FourEyes]

Already quite good, now take your time, accumulate some recording footage and look if you don't like some areas. If all is satisfactory within reason, just leave it as is. Despite being 720p or 1080p no cam (I saw) produces pixel to pixel clear picture, a pixel in an image is always more than one pixel picked up from sensor. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. Compression takes its toll removing or distorting small detail.

 

[cheeze]

I'm inspired by the success of Sunny and have just refocued my C600. It's really hard to refocus this thing
Before rotating the len, the left side was blurry.

After, it's the right side that is blurry.

 

[jokiin]

if one side is in focus and not the other that's a quality issue, there's always compromises made to get to a price point

 

[FourEyes]

Release two screws holding the lens housing and slide a narrow strip of paper under one side between the housing and the board, tighten the screws and check if both sides are sharp or blurry. If one side still is out of focus but not the other, move the paper strip to the opposite side of the holder.

 

[michaelb]

The IRs on my unit work when turned on manually. They do not Auto turn on. They allow items 2-3 feet to be seen. They are upper wavelength IR as you do not see pink when you look at them directly. The sensor maybe be tuned to them as I have a cheap ( low wavelength IR) illuminator and the camera can see it only when aimed directly at it. My cellphone can "see" the C600 IRs only when aimed directly at it. I am using this unit to do time lapse of cactus flowers opening at night.

 

[Kunal Chauhan]

I tried the same trick of rotating lens a bit on A118C x40 that I recently purchased from Gearbest.com. I was too facing the out of focus issue from day one, it got worse in last two days when outside temp here is around 44 degree. I Managed to open it successfully and got the focus back . Lets see for how much time it stays good. Before and after images enclosed below.

Thanks everyone at dashcamtalk for helping me solve my issue.

Before



After:



Some inside dashcam pics: