Focus lock not working on video recording

[CamaroPete]

iPhone 5S, latest everything. Even when I use the focus lock feature after bringing up the video track timer, the camera shifts from near to far focus every second, causing awful video. Have tried everything I can think of. Has anyone else hit this problem and found a solution? Does it happen for you?

Here is a sample video:

http://youtu.be/AIYeRi0ly4Q

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[bulls23]

If you ask me, the awful video is due to massive vibrations from your mount and not from the auto focus.

[CamaroPete]

I hear you. The vibration is a little more pronounced because I was aiming at the hood in case that helped (it didn't). I get the same problem if it is pointing straight forward. I use the same mounting system that I used in the past with my iPhone 4, and never had any such problems. In fact, the old video was amazing, using the iPhone 4. So, the mounting system works, and Laptimer works, but it seems that it doesn't work well on the iPhone 5S.

I guess I could go back to the old iPhone but was wondering whether anyone else using an iPhone 5S had experienced the same problems.

I am uploading another video to show that it really is a focus issue vs. a vibration issue. I could show screen shots where the trees and cars are crisp one second and blurry the next...

http://youtu.be/2lZ6jB3eX1w

[CamaroPete]

In fact, here are two screen shots from almost exactly the same point on a single video, to show one blurry and one crisp

[jeff.halvorson]

I have an iPhone 5c and am having the exact same problem. The focus on the camera keeps hunting from near to far. I've tried the focus lock feature, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. I've tried turning off the video stabilizer. It happens even when the windshield is crystal clean. Nothing that I can think of has made any difference. It's a shame, because this problem makes the video almost unwatchable.

Any suggestions??

[Harry]

The lock focus feature handling seems to have been changed in iOS7 (so for all 5Cs and 5Ss by definition). Since then, these settings are considered a "hint" by iOS but are not executed necessarily. I ran several tests on this and found the lock focus *has* an effect because it reduced auto focus activities noticeable. But it does not completely mute them like they did in iOS6.

Despite setting the lock focus in LapTimer, the (partial) work around for the issue is to reduce any trigger for an iOS-initiated auto focus as much as possible, device vibration in particular. This means please use the recommended RAM mount with the arm oriented from top to bottom: to make it clear, add the suction cup to the top center of the windscreen, let the arm point down, and attach the iPhone "below" the suction cup. When using the arm in any horizontal orientation, you will get strong vertical vibrations, letting iOS go wild with stabilization and focus.

That's the best can do currently. Apple has announced "direct cam control" for iOS8, but I have not seen documentation on this feature yet. I will watch that and add whatever is possible.

- Harry

[MatthewS]

I'm experiencing this issue as well. I have an iPhone 5 and the recommended RAM mount. I have oriented the mount as Harry recommended. I have video stabilizer turned on in HLT. However, I haven't tried the Lock Focus option yet. I will try that along with moving the mount directly in line with the rear-view mirror (I've been mounting it slightly to the right of the mirror up to now.)

I'm hopeful that the new IOS 8 controls will improve the image quality. Harry, have you had a chance to look at the documentation yet? If not, this is the link Apple provided on their developer site

[gplracerx]

MatthewS,

What is the length of the arm on your mount? RAM has at least three arm lengths. Shorter is better as the fundamental vibration frequency goes up as the arm length goes down and a higher frequency should cause less problems. The exact orientation of the suction cup is also important. The long axis of the diamond holding the ball on the suction cup should be vertical, not horizontal. The mount flexes a lot more along the shorter axis of the diamond than along the longer axis. A vertical orientation should minimize back and forth vibration, which would likely have more effect on autofocus than side to side vibration. RAM makes a three suction cup mount that's really rigid, but takes up a lot of space on the windshield. Another poster has had good luck with the glue on ball mount.

Try driving over a bump in the road with the iPhone mounted and see if you can observe it vibrating.

[MatthewS]

Hey gplracerx, delayed response but thanks for the reply. I have the 3" version of the arm. Your advice about checking/adjusting the orientation of the diamond ball suction cup was helpful. Testing revealed that the phone still has "auto-focus hunting" issues though. Not ready for glue-on ball mount. I'm hoping that the changes in IOS 8 will help. (I seemingly didn't have the issue in IOS6, though I was racing a different (more soft) car at the time). If that fails, I'll wait till I can upgrade to the iPhone 6 (or perhaps 7) and see if the hardware image stabilization does the trick.

[gplracerx]

The glue on ball mount is actually less rigid than the suction cup. The most rigid single suction cup mount I've found is the RAP-B-104-224U, composite, ratchet/pivot, suction cup mount. It has only one ball rather than two and a short arm, so fewer degrees of freedom. If you can see the phone vibrate when you hit a bump, the mount isn't close to being rigid enough.