Having trouble with Focus Lock

[fast_frank_d]

Hello Harry/All,

I am new to the forum, but have been a HLT user for a while now.

I recently switched from iPhone 4S to Android LG G2. Since switching, the LG G2 video is absolutely horrible. Shaky and focus all over the place, completely unusable. I am using the same windshield mount that I used with iPhone 4S. I selected Lock Focus, but I didn't really notice an improvement, and if I pause the video playback at several spots, I can see that the video is focusing on different things throughout the session (even though I had selected lock focus).

Is anyone else using an LG G2 that has had this terrible video problem?

Thanks!
Frank

[Harry]

I can't speak for the LG, but newer smartphones are actually delivering worst quality than the 4S. The problem is they use any settings as hints only and they have added video stabilization. The later doesn't work on track as they are optimized to focus moving objects - not the street ahead. Furthermore they are very sensible toward high frequency vibrations.

Please try turning video stabilization off. An even better mount can compensate part of the issue too. In case you have the recommended RAM mount already, make sure you let the arm point top down (suction cup above phone).

Harry

[fast_frank_d]

Harry,

Thanks for the quick reply. I do not see any option to turn video stabilization on or off on my phone. Would it be possible to add a feature in the next Android release that would lock focus to infinity? Perhaps this would resolve the issue for these newer phones. Right now though, the video and overlay are completely unusable which is the reason I have HLT.

Is anyone else using the LG G2 successfully? Maybe there is something else I can do that someone else has discovered.

Thanks,
Frank

[Harry]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1440182026.729058.jpg (144.97 KiB) Viewed 2486 times

Press the small wrench in the top of Video View and you should see these options.

Harry

[gplracerx]

Don't you want to turn Lock Autofocus on? Off would seem to mean that autofocus is enabled, which you don't want.

[Harry]

The problem with locking autofocus is you need to point the device to the far distance at the time you lock it. It would indeed be better to have either continuous autofocus or focus to the far distance set... I will check for one of the next updates...

[fast_frank_d]

My screen looks just like the one you posted, with the video stabilization option greyed out. I have tried lock autofocus, but I am not sure that it was actually locked even though I selected it. I will try again using your suggestion of deliberately pointing it at the far distance, then select Lock Autofocus, then mount it in the car, and see if that helps.

I know this would be work for you, but just brainstorming ideas if this is going to be an ongoing issue with android phones, maybe it would be possible for HLT to provide a short list of focus distances for lock focus, such as 1 meter, 10 meters, 50 meters, 200 meters?

Thanks,
Frank

[Harry]

I doubt this is necessary. Action cams e.g. come with a fixed focus set to far distance. Given aperture is small enough, this will give a sharp picture from maybe 20 meters to infinity.

Harry

[fast_frank_d]

Ok, no problem, I'll try the "lock focus far away before the session" solution and report back.

Frank

[fast_frank_d]

I switched from the windshield mount to the roll bar mount, and that definitely helped, but it's still not nearly as good as the old 4S videos (with windshield mount). Below is the best quality I could get. I'm not sure the focus lock is taking effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSWVNtHExCQ

Frank