camera autofocus still not working

[jdrockweller]

I've been searching the forum for a thread on this with a post date after the 2.0.1 patch was released (12/10ish), and wasn't able to find one, so please link if I missed it.

I am running v2.0.1, made sure the lens is super clean, made sure autofocus is enabled in the camera app, and yet the camera auto focus is still not working right... nor with any other camera app I tried (default os camera, Camera Magic, FxCamera, or even Google Goggles). Incidentally, the Barcode Scanner app seems to continuously autofocus relatively well... it has a little trouble, but eventually finds the focus point.

I thought the autofocus bug was fixed in 2.0.1! Can anyone offer me some insight on this? Is it possible I have defective hardware (my 2nd Droid already)?

 

[MissEvoIXMR]

I too have the same issue my auto focus is off for some reason all my pics are blurry. I have reserved use of my cam because of that reason. I have the update, auto focus on, even flash if needed and I hold my phone as still as possible with no luck... I might just take it in but I have so much apps and I don't want to lose my settings

 

[JayMonster]

The autofocus issue and "blurry" are NOT one in the same. Are the bars turning green and the focus locking? That is the bug that was fixed, and the reason you no longer see posts on this... it was actually fixed by "time" well before the 12/10 date, but would have been reintroduced on the 12th, which is why they rushed when they did.

Blurry often happens mostly because of camera shake. Many people have found it easier to use the on screen button rather than the actual dedicated button on the side of the phone, because they tend to shake the camera too much when trying to depress the button causing blurry pictures.

 

[jdrockweller]

Jay- thanks for that info. What I'm experiencing is definitely an auto focus issue. In fact, I can physically move the camera to a point where the image on the screen is in focus, and then the autofocus will actually defocus the image before it snaps the photo. It's infuriating. Using the physical button vs the soft button makes no difference. In fact, using the physical button is great because you can depress it half-way and activate the auto-focus before actually taking the photo.

As a sad, sad workaround I've found that I can use the aforementioned halfway-button-press to activate the autofocus, then with the button still halfway depressed, I can move the camera closer to the subject until the image is *actually* in focus, and then finally depress the button all the way to snap the photo without the autofocus changing and screwing it all up. Woe is me.

 

[JayMonster]

So, when you do a half-press, the frame actually goes OUT of focus? And locks there? Then there is almost certainly a physical calibration issue. (or at least it would seem so to me). In other words, I think you are having a hardware issue.

 

[jdrockweller]

That is correct. On a half-press, the autofocus will adjust incorrectly to an out-of-focus position, lock there, give me the "happy" green bars, and cause me to go pour another glass of straight vodka.

 

[Beagle_Slave]

On my first droid, the camera was awful..out of focus and dark. Took it back, they replaced it and the cam works beautifully on this one. The tech said about 10% of the motorolas have this problem and have been coming back.

 

[macarunni]

The camera is not one of the better features of the Droid, 5MP or not. Expect another fix in the next update.

 

[Rycon]

Hey please excuse me for bringing back a dead post, but I feel this information could be useful for those still having the issue.

I was still having the auto focus issue even though the fix has been out for quite some time, no matter what I did the red bars kept happening. So I was reading these posts and managed to fix it myself.

After cleaning the lens very good (theres more grease there than you can see) nothing worked, I got frustrated and gave the lense a good flick (Yep.. im serious) and then I got a few green bars and a few red bars, but the most noticeable thing was that it was actually TRYING to auto focus (You see the image zooming in and out slightly) but would still land on red bars and out of focus. So I cleaned it again but noticed that when I cleaned it with the camera app on, it made the picture do weird things and get all grainy. So I restarted the camera app and it did a strange flash (im guessing re calibrated the white balance?) and now its working!

I know this means my droid is kinda messed up but im stuck with it.

So if yours is doing the same thing, give that lens and good flick and use a Q-TIP to clean it! If the image isnt zooming in and out slightly when holding the button your auto focus isn't working at all.

Hope this helps!

 

[phatkat66]

The weird flash, if your battery is at a low % the flash will be sorta half done. Hard to explain but i think anything lower then 20% is half the flash power. And I get green bars ALOT while im in dark environments, but maybe cuz the cam cant really see what its trying to seperate.... but tricking the focus then including a flash gives me a great pic in darker settings.

Now if i can only get it to work in normal settings ugh...