DROID...Do you have camera problems? NOW FIXED???

[occfan]

im going to get some accessories so i will try to get additional 5% of the 25% i already get ! sorry to post the big pics !! i will take some outdoor pics today and post them in the [pic of the day thread later !!its nice and sunny here so that should make for some nice pics !!

[Redflea]

Mine had green bars yesterday, still has them today, pics are still unimpressive, not sharply focused...43/09 build.

[mars_volta]

Could it be a bug in the autofocus code that uses time? I cant believe that they would do a silent update.

Set your date back to 11/11 and see what happens.

[Phynal]

So my camera also now works (another poll vote that should be changed), but I have a question.

I've been playing around to find the best settings for battery life. For the past few days, I've had all Sync and Update options off, including Background Data. Does this mean that OS updates happen regardless?

I'm very happy with this update, but being a computer geek of more than 20 years, I've seen too many updates that cause problems. I usually prefer to apply firmware updates after a few days, when I see that there are no major issues, in my own time.

[mars_volta]

Im not convinced it was an OTA update.

Change your date back to last week and see what happens.

[catchmyjetta]

Did you guys see this in the engadget responses to their article. Interesting...


AlexL @ Nov 17th 2009 9:13AM
Here's a crazy theory. What if there was no silent fix pushed out, but rather the autofocus code was broken because specific states of the clock was interfering with the operation of the autofocus code? So when a certain time/date passed, the issue no longer exists and the code became functional by itself. Sounds crazy I know, but not without precedent (something like this happened to first generation Zunes). Maybe someone can try setting the date to an earlier one and see if the autofocus magically breaks again.
Reply
Neutraltravisw @ Nov 17th 2009 11:15AM
Just changed the date back to 11/11 and got red boxes. Went back to 11/17 and got green boxes again. Could be something to it.
NeutralMatt Cutts @ Nov 17th 2009 11:24AM
AlexL, is there an easy way to set the time or date or the Droid? I don't have one myself.
NeutralDan Morrill @ Nov 17th 2009 11:26AM
Yes, this is exactly what is happening.

There's a rounding-error bug in the camera driver's autofocus routine (which uses a timestamp) that causes autofocus to behave poorly on a 24.5-day cycle. That is, it'll work for 24.5 days, then have poor performance for 24.5 days, then work again.

The 17th is the start of a new "works correctly" cycle, so the devices will be fine for a while. A permanent fix is in the works.

[catchmyjetta]

Saw this on the engadget comments to the article about a "stealth" update to fix the camera. Seems to be true.


Did you guys see this in the engadget responses to their article. Interesting...


AlexL @ Nov 17th 2009 9:13AM
Here's a crazy theory. What if there was no silent fix pushed out, but rather the autofocus code was broken because specific states of the clock was interfering with the operation of the autofocus code? So when a certain time/date passed, the issue no longer exists and the code became functional by itself. Sounds crazy I know, but not without precedent (something like this happened to first generation Zunes). Maybe someone can try setting the date to an earlier one and see if the autofocus magically breaks again.
Reply
Neutraltravisw @ Nov 17th 2009 11:15AM
Just changed the date back to 11/11 and got red boxes. Went back to 11/17 and got green boxes again. Could be something to it.
NeutralMatt Cutts @ Nov 17th 2009 11:24AM
AlexL, is there an easy way to set the time or date or the Droid? I don't have one myself.
NeutralDan Morrill @ Nov 17th 2009 11:26AM
Yes, this is exactly what is happening.

There's a rounding-error bug in the camera driver's autofocus routine (which uses a timestamp) that causes autofocus to behave poorly on a 24.5-day cycle. That is, it'll work for 24.5 days, then have poor performance for 24.5 days, then work again.

The 17th is the start of a new "works correctly" cycle, so the devices will be fine for a while. A permanent fix is in the works.

[destardi]

Weird...I no longer get the red boxes either by using the physical camera button.

[kryptonianjorel]

Being an engadget commenter myself, I wouldn't trust the comments on engadget without some actual proof.

[-XIV-]

That's odd about the whole "time stamp bug" . . . just hope I don't get this crazy stuff again for nothing in the future.

[islander90]

i dunno... i just changed my date and boom; back to red boxes... that's strange

[mars_volta]

[PsillyPyro]

If someone has any idea what portion of an autofocus algorithm could possible use time/date info, I would love to hear it. Sounds nuts to me but then again I have see (and written) some pretty crappy code

[mars_volta]

Timestamp on jpegs?

[catchmyjetta]

Looks like we found our answer. No seceret update, just bad code.