Surface Pro 3 camera quality

Anonymous
2014-06-23T00:43:23+00:00

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.

Surface | Surface Pro | Sound and camera

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2014-12-08T09:51:06+00:00

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

Was this answer helpful?

10+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2014-11-02T17:11:37+00:00

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

Was this answer helpful?

4 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

276 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2015-05-24T15:58:25+00:00

    Good solution.

    Except I have an HTC One M8, and THAT camera is AWFUL too!

    Of course, we trade the phones every few years -- more often than with tablets -- so I'm likely to get a faster solution with  your idea.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-05-24T15:56:46+00:00

    This is my suggestion...

    All of us have a smart phone in our pocket with a very decent camera. I think is posible to develop a software update that allow to establish a permanent Bluetooth conection with the phone and use it as a third camera on the Surface and managed it just the same way as we do with the front and rear cameras. I think it would be a decent solution if the function is fast and easy, and the best point is that it would be posible to scan documents directly to de Surface without moving it from the desk.

    You can get exactly the same result by using the free Office Lens app from Microsoft on your smartphone to scan your documents. The results are saved to OneNote documents on your OneDrive, and these are automatically made available to your Surface Pro 3.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2015-05-24T15:40:18+00:00

    I loved my Surface Pro 3 until I tried to scan a document with the rear camera... What is happening? This is uncceptable in so expensive device that every users use for productivity... I can't imagine to use it for scene photos.

    I know is a hardware issue with no easy solution... sorry, I'm not going to put a pair of glasses on my device!, but I think there is a software solution, not the best but more than nothing. 

    Please Microsoft, LISTEN TO US AND GIVE US A SOLUTION!

    This is my suggestion...

    All of us have a smart phone in our pocket with a very decent camera. I think is posible to develop a software update that allow to establish a permanent Bluetooth conection with the phone and use it as a third camera on the Surface and managed it just the same way as we do with the front and rear cameras. I think it would be a decent solution if the function is fast and easy, and the best point is that it would be posible to scan documents directly to de Surface without moving it from the desk.

    What do you think about it? If you thin it is a good solution push the "me too" button.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments