Surface Pro 3 camera quality

Anonymous

i posted this as a question so that the Microsoft techs can have some visibility of this issue

Frankly, I am lividand disappointed at the quality in this product. at first I assumed it was a firmware issue and/or a hardware issue but after performing all of the steps the tech support people have instructedand having been instructed to go the store and exchange for new hardware, I get the same issue.

so this leads me to believe it may just be the quality of the cameras microsoftshipped out on all of the devices

now these were releasednot too long ago and maybe there is a firmware fix out there but until then I am going to share the photos I am able to capture with everyone here

now I am a student and I bought the pro 3 to be able to take a picture of a document or whiteboard and be able to write on it in onenote. the picture above is of a small target, a barcode, but even taking pictures of a full sized paper with standard size text, it is still almost illegible!

to compare the photos with another device I brought out another moble device: my ipod. the quality of the camera on the device I use to listen to music should surely be about the same quality of camera in the $1600 ten times the size of an ipod device I just bought right? NOT EVEN CLOSE

the first super clear picture is not from the pro 3 but from my ipod WHICH ALSO has a 5 MP camera. as you can see you can easily define everything in t he picture not only to include the sticker underneath the barcode , but the number in that 2D barcode as well. very good job!

the next horrible picture is the BEST PICTURE I could get from the rear camera on the Surface Pro 3. as you can see this is horrible, you can see it’s a bar code, you cannot tell those are numbers underneath. you could guess but you wouldn’t be able to identify any single number

the last picture is the BEST PICTURE I could get from the front camera, which is strangely odd since it is markedly better than the rear camera, although still severely sub-par. you can at least identify some numbers and see that there is a sticker underneath the barcode.

So there you have it. this is the horrible picture quality we can expect from the surface pro 3's cameras and how it compares to equivalent-megapixel MP3 players

Microsoft, If you can address this with a firmware update to make the cameras auto-focus, I will be a happy customer;even half the quality of my ipod I can work with. but this? this is unacceptable.

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Anonymous

On Sun, 7 Dec 2014 21:06:04 +0000, OAKNOVA wrote:

>>I am quite disappointed with the camera on the Surface Pro 3 and its inability to focus and take sharp pictures of documents. These days even the most rudimentary and basic phone or camera can take sharp images that can be save, printed. I have to now take a photo with my Samsung phone and then email it to my account and download it as a saved image. Microsoft learn from Apple and create flawless products the first time around. I think I have wasted my money on the Surface Pro 3. Any fixes out there or should I just sell this product?

there is no software fix for this. the camera is fixed focus. here's what I did

as a kludge

http://digitalmediaphile.com/index.php/2014/09/23/get-glasses-for-surface-pro-3-for-clear-documents-take-2/

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Barb

Windows Entertainment and Connected Home MVP

My Blog - http://digitalmediaphile.com/

Please mark as answered if this answers your question

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Anonymous

There is no zoom. It is a fixed focus camera.

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276 additional answers

Anonymous

2014-12-27T04:58:04+00:00
I bought my SP3 in Sept, It's too late for me to find out this camera problem, and I couldn't return it. :(

I also travel a lot and have found some issues with SP3 and here are my work around:
1. No GPS: use my iphone app
2. Can not set up personal hotspot: when the hotel allows only one device to connect, I really need this function. I bought an extra USB network card and a USB hub. Another work around is to connect my iphone to the internet and set up personal hotspot on iphone, so my SP3 can share the interneat connection.
3. this camera issue:　again, my iphone saved my life so I can scan a document and send fax!
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Anonymous

2014-12-27T04:19:29+00:00

I'm done with Microsoft hardware when its time to replace my SP3. The camera is ****, the docking station doesn't work properly, and after about 6 months of use my battery life is horrible. This device costs too much to have these kind of issues. I can't even use the deposit feature on my BOA app because the camera won't focus on a check. For someone who travels for a living that's a necessity! A fixed focus camera on a $1300 device is just absurd. Every phone I've had for the last 5 years has been capable of better pictures than this. The explanation that it's optimized for landscape photography is just laughable. It's not an optimization, it's blatant cost cutting and in this case it's cost them a customer. I'm absolutely livid with the shortcomings at this point.
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Anonymous

2014-12-23T01:27:13+00:00

Hi All,

I appreciate your time and effort in sharing your concerns and suggestions for your various camera needs. I have shared your comments. I also have information on the camera. The front and back cameras are fixed focus. The front camera is optimized for conference calls and up close pictures (selfies, video conferences, etc...). The rear facing camera is optimized for taking scene based pictures and video captures.

Thank you,

Josh_F

Hi Josh,

Well, I understand what you say about the fixed focus cameras and I learned that by myself as I tried to work with my SP3. The thing you and the hole MS Corporation don't seem to understand is that it's a big big problem that my Galaxy S2 bought last year at 100$ can do better photos than my 1200$ tablet that Microsoft is so proud of. I mean©, you guys should be ashamed to use such crapy hardware with a high quality product and give us no way to upgrade/change that.

I just found out my SP3 could not take a clear picture of a piece of document. What a surprise! It is sad the MS just can't stop making bad business decisions. It is laughable that I'll need to get some reading glasses for SP3; it is sad that I'll have to use my iPhone to take a photo and import it to OneNote. Who in the right mind will fit a fix-focus len for this otherwise good combo computer?
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