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

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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/

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Anonymous
2014-11-02T17:11:37+00:00

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

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-09-19T06:38:58+00:00

    Well, that "fix" maybe goofy, but it is a working solution that only costs a few bucks.  Personally, I lucked out and got a fairly good camera with a slight blur on the far right edge which is not really noticeable.

    I do agree that the camera situation on these tablets are a disaster.  They cannot be replaced with something better, however, why not get a GoPro camera and attach to it?  The quality is better than Apple's cameras, but, are a bit 'pricey'.  It would be cheaper than getting an iPad Air 2 or wait for the iPad Pro.  It maybe something extra to pack around but those puppies take probably the best pictures of any camera on the market.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-09-19T06:01:57+00:00

    This so called "fix" offered via-the link in Barb's post is THE most ridiculous suggestion I have ever encountered anywhere. How does Microsoft continually produce poor products and expect to compete with Apple. I am a Microsoft Man, but I am finding it difficult to remain loyal to a company that does not seem to appreciate my hard earned $$$.

    I don't want to switch to Apple but if they continue to produce products that are superior to Microsoft based products then I can no longer justify spending $ on Microsoft's inferior products. Instead I will be forced to buy from the company that products product that "Just Work".

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-09-19T02:31:07+00:00

    I agree with you whole heartedly. This no focus camera is the work of idiots. Did they think we would not care? Well I care enough to take mine back to bestbuy tomorrow. I tried to own a Surface pro 3 to be happy with it but I cant. This really sucks !

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