Macro focusing is great, but longer-range focusing is horrible?

[cohenjor]

I've searched around and seen a couple of threads showing things like this, but not specifically this bad. I'm wondering if it's indicative of a defective unit, or if there's something I'm just not doing right?

Are there any 3rd-party apps that can calibrate auto-focus better, perhaps?


Close-range macro focusing is actually working great:

But check out how bad it is for normal focus when pulling back, or taking scenery images. I've tried both holding the camera button half-way to focus on the center of the image, and alternately tapping the screen to focus on the area I want to focus on. Neither works. All camera settings are at their default settings. I have Portico installed:

 

[Huime]

the button no longer work as it should like any other Nokia phone. My guess is WP does not natively support the button or somehow left incomplete in that part of development. Instead you have to do an on screen long tab on the desire focus point. Mind you that that focus point you choose is also the reference for white balance adjustment.

 

[cohenjor]

Holding the button halfway does attempt focusing it - and for a split second the focusing looks great - but then it ultimately settles on an out-of-focus mess.

Tapping the screen doesn't improve things at all. It attempts to focus on the area I tapped, but then the final focus result is what you see above.

 

[KAI3R]

Check and make sure your scene setting are on Auto... I'm getting great long range photos

 

[cohenjor]

Everything's definitely on Auto.

 

[barareklam]

Everything's definitely on Auto.

It is known problem, having very same issue myself. There is no solution so far, unfortunately.

 

[cohenjor]

I see others taking much better photos. So is it a known issue meaning it's a known hardware defect?

 

[lkwaijunior]

I think it's basically a hit-or-miss situation.

Unfortunately, I'm getting far more misses than I am hits.

 

[dht1986]

Holding the button halfway does attempt focusing it - and for a split second the focusing looks great - but then it ultimately settles on an out-of-focus mess.

Tapping the screen doesn't improve things at all. It attempts to focus on the area I tapped, but then the final focus result is what you see above.

I struggled with the same exact issue, and even purchased the CameraPro app, which allows for manual focus to get around this. I finally gave up, and demanded to get a replacement phone from AT&T. This turned out to be a good move since my new phone has no problems at all focusing.

Just call AT&T and explain this to them. They will have you go through debugging, along with a hard reset (deleting everything) before you can send. WHen I called they said they had never heard of this problem, which I figured was BS from reading some of the posts in this forum. As an unexpected side benefit, the vibration on my new phone is much tighter feeling, and the on/off switch is sturdier too! Clearly there were some QC issues with my old phone, and yours has the camera problem.

AT&T was very good about remedying the problem. The new phone was overnighted to me, and all you have to do is mail back the old one in the same box. Having to reinstall and reconfigure the phone is a pain no doubt, but once you do this, and the focusing works, you will be much happier!

 

[tonyluo2001]

It would be a sad thing that we will have to replace the phone because of this focusing issue. I rather hope this is a software issue. I recently installed Portico and it still loses focuses.

 

[Huime]

Holding the button halfway does attempt focusing it - and for a split second the focusing looks great - but then it ultimately settles on an out-of-focus mess.

Tapping the screen doesn't improve things at all. It attempts to focus on the area I tapped, but then the final focus result is what you see above.

long tap, not a short or quick one and steady hands is what I would suggest. And the right after snap is not really the actual quality. I wouldn't go so far to say you will get excellent shoots, but its not that hard to get a focus on 920

 

[dht1986]

It would be a sad thing that we will have to replace the phone because of this focusing issue. I rather hope this is a software issue. I recently installed Portico and it still loses focuses.

I felt the same way, and thought that it was a software issue, but it turned out my old phone definitely had a bug. The annoyance of an hour or two setting up a new phone is well worth having one that works IMHO.

 

[tonyluo2001]

I felt the same way, and thought that it was a software issue, but it turned out my old phone definitely had a bug. The annoyance of an hour or two setting up a new phone is well worth having one that works IMHO.

A lot of people are talking about ProShot here, saying that the app can improve a lot on this focus issue. I tried and found it allows you to manually set the focus. Maybe that could be a way out (also suggesting it's a software issue)?

 

[dht1986]

A lot of people are talking about ProShot here, saying that the app can improve a lot on this focus issue. I tried and found it allows you to manually set the focus. Maybe that could be a way out (also suggesting it's a software issue)?

Yes, being able to manually focus with an app is a workaround, but after doing this for a month I thought, why should I be using a workaround with a brand new phone (and expensive contract to boot). The new phone they sent me focuses quickly and accurately in the same situations where the original one was unable. Perhaps it is a software issue, but the Portico update, and a hard reset just didn't fix it for me.

 

[cohenjor]

I'd try to return this to AT&T, but I've had it for months now and only recently have I noticed this problem. I don't know if it's always been there or if it's something new, unfortunately. My wife's 920 doesn't have this problem at all.

Is there any chance a software reset could address this, before I go and try it and lose all my games progress?

 

[devize]

I have this problem too, sometimes I try to take a photo and everything is horribly blurry. Each time I half press the camera button it just turns in to a blurry mess. I've never experienced anything like it with any other phone camera. Sometimes it works perfectly fine. It is really annoying. The only thing I've had some success with is to just keep half pressing the camera button at different objects until it focuses properly, then moving the phone to the position that you want it in.

I hope it isn't a hardware issue as I've already had one replacement.

 

[Huime]

I'd try to return this to AT&T, but I've had it for months now and only recently have I noticed this problem. I don't know if it's always been there or if it's something new, unfortunately. My wife's 920 doesn't have this problem at all.

Is there any chance a software reset could address this, before I go and try it and lose all my games progress?

try to do a flash. For your case reset will not fix the problem, given it is a software fail.