Model 3 Backup Camera Sucks

[DS 5/15]

I'd rather have the car now understanding that the camera issue is being worked on than wait for the car until it's fixed. They should have all the delivery specialists point this out so people don't get all upset when they see it. I admit I'm spoiled by the S's rear camera but I drove for decades without one and hardly ever backed into something

 

[Akikiki]

Don't be disappointed in the M3 rear camera. Maybe if you are lucky its the car's video processor or the main screen?

Sorry, it's a cheap shot. But it sounded so funny in my head. But now that I have your attention, maybe a Model S camera will replace it.
If you are willing to try, you can pickup a new on on Amazon for about $40.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Have you seen the Model S camera. Night and day. One is 2017 good and one is 1997 bad.

And this isn't a Model S.

Those images don't look too bad to me. Look better than the images from my 2013 Volt. (I still have the 1st gen camera. It was upgraded soon after).

 

[bonnie]

I'd rather have the car now understanding that the camera issue is being worked on than wait for the car until it's fixed. They should have all the delivery specialists point this out so people don't get all upset when they see it. I admit I'm spoiled by the S's rear camera but I drove for decades without one and hardly ever backed into something

I haven't heard that there is any camera issue that is being worked on. Where is that coming from?

 

[DS 5/15]

I haven't heard that there is any camera issue that is being worked on. Where is that coming from?

See my post a few more above, Delivery Specialist informed me during hand over.

 

[Canuck]

I don't get why the backup camera is circular so the corners of the screen are cut off from the view.

 

[Akikiki]

Have you seen the Model S camera. Night and day. One is 2017 good and one is 1997 bad.

Mr. White. What do you mean by one is 1997 bad?

For the last half of '12 and first few months of '13, Tesla had a standard 720 rear camera and a HD camera. The HD was used on the cars that had the tech package. Then about April, they started using the HD in all.
I think you can change the STD/720 to the HD with just a swap. The original cost of the HD was $340. But a revised version has been selling on Amazon for 6+ months for $40. Its worth trying the swap if you have the STD version. You can send it back if its not an improvement.

 

[DS 5/15]

I don't get why the backup camera is circular so the corners of the screen are cut off from the view.

I think it's the raw fish-eye lens output that the autopilot computer sees and hopefully a software update will be out soon fixing it for us mere humans.

 

[K-MTG]

I agree...coming from my Model X the backup camera is a lot worse on the 3. Not horrible like my Cadillac ELR but pretty bad compared to the X.

 

[run-the-joules]

I agree...coming from my Model X the backup camera is a lot worse on the 3. Not horrible like my Cadillac ELR but pretty bad compared to the X.

Oh, so you're the one who bought an ELR. I heard someone did but wasn't sure who he was… fancy running into you here

 

[Canuck]

I think it's the raw fish-eye lens output that the autopilot computer sees and hopefully a software update will be out soon fixing it for us mere humans.

I don't have AP on my S and the corners are cut off. From the images posted, it's not as bad as the 3 -- but when I first got my car 4 years ago and saw the backup camera I thought it was odd and I still can't make sense of it.

 

[AlanSqB]

Entrepreneurial aftermarket opportunity for someone. Stick-on corrective lens for Model 3 BUC.

 

[DS 5/15]

I don't have AP on my S and the corners are cut off. From the images posted, it's not as bad as the 3 -- but when I first got my car 4 years ago and saw the backup camera I thought it was odd and I still can't make sense of it.

You sir, are correct. I just took this picture, the curve is quite pronounced. My S is so old I need to demonstrate autopilot with my knee too, 2013 P85+.

A fish-eye lens lets you see a much wider field of vision but distorts it. It's like peripheral vision in your eyes. If it was just a normal lens you wouldn't see nearly as much of what's behind and beside you. Maybe they will flatten it out on the 3, if so maybe they could on S and X's.

 

[aaron0k]

I really hope that
1. They can improve the quality in software and
2. that simultaneous camera & nav becomes a thing in the 3. In the S I used the camera all the time because the visibility via the rearview mirror is pretty crappy, and really enjoyed the added info a lot.

Have you seen the Model S camera. Night and day. One is 2017 good and one is 1997 bad.

I think the 3 is marketed as a lower tier model. It must be assumed that Tesla had to make some sacrifices to hit a tier/cost goal. Maybe we should consider this when comparing it to S/X features?

If it's a sensor/optics quality issue and as AlanSqB mentioned; it could possibly an opportunity for an after-market upgrade kit for those who desire it.

 

[Mike K]

I think the 3 is marketed as a lower tier model. It must be assumed that Tesla had to make some sacrifices to hit a tier/cost goal. Maybe we should consider this when comparing it to S/X features?

Nah. Good cameras are so incredibly cheap that it's inexcusable for anyone to cut corners here. There are much lower end cars that don't make that kind if sacrifice and it's why people were (rightfully) up in arms when Tesla used to put the hokey low res camera in the older S's that didn't have the tech package.

 

[Runt8]

Entrepreneurial aftermarket opportunity for someone. Stick-on corrective lens for Model 3 BUC.

If the camera is used for autopilot then it doesn’t seem like a good idea to mess with it.

 

[Jopo43]

All of these nit picky things about the model 3 from people who already have the car!!! I would just like my car!
If your so disappointed let me know and I will come take it off your hands for you
Again I just want my model 3!

 

[Bet TSLA]

The cameras are part of how the car sees the world. They are designed for auto-pilot. What you're seeing now is what's best for the car.

There are so many bits of software that are unfinished, I suspect that sweetening the image for human consumption when it is being displayed is far down the list of needed improvements. Obviously it will happen because it would be stupid otherwise. Complaining that it's wrong now is useless; so many things are unpolished. It's pretty clear that the priority in getting the Model 3 out the door was getting the hardware right and the software good enough.

If they clean up this software inadequacy any time soon I'll be surprised. There are so many more important things.

 

[WileyTheMan]

I guess I'm glad I don't own a Model S/X then. The camera pictures I see here look fine to me and completely workable. "Awful" is relative.

 

[Canuck]

I guess I'm glad I don't own a Model S/X then. The camera pictures I see here look fine to me and completely workable. "Awful" is relative.

No - it's much better to have a Model S/X and also say it's not "awful". Things get exaggerated on forums but perhaps for good reason since some of those on the inside at Tesla do read and take into account concerns voiced here. If that happens so the backup camera is improved by the time I get my 3, then I'll more than excuse the exaggeration -- I'll thank him for it.

I thought the backup camera in my S was great until I got into a loaner recently, put it in reverse, and saw the new higher definition camera. There's a thread here about swapping mine out for the new one but I had no interest in doing that until I saw the new one. I'll reserve my opinion on the Model 3 until I can actually see it in person and agree it's certainly not awful by looking at the pics.

On an aside, I was looking at my ring doorbell and it can see left and right -- quite impressively -- and I now get the reason for the circle or fish eye view. I guess they could format it out to fit the screen but that would be dangerous when you need to know actual distance.