Backup camera change default to NOT be super wide angle

[johnschlemmer]

Is there any way to change the default backup camera that comes up when you put the car in reverse to NOT be the crazy fisheye wide angle lens? It’s so dang hard to use. Every time I put it in reverse, I have to hit the icon in the lower left to turn on the the regular non-fisheye rear view. Is there a way to default this button to be turned on (blue) by default? Same with the parking sounds - I found out how to make the beeps a lower volume, but is there a way to have them default off? Backing up in this car is less than ideal.

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[Rob28]

great question! I have this weird view on the camera as well. It makes everything look a lot more narrow and i don't know how to even change it. Looking forward to seeming the responses!

 

[B61]

I gave up (on rear camera view), using 360view only.

 

[Hiflyin20]

It’s amazing the car was delivered with that back up camera. How can a company that makes such good cars screw up something so easy.

 

[outie]

Totally with you on this one. Very frustrating and no solution. I think if you use the other view the parking lines disappear.

 

[outie]

It’s amazing the car was delivered with that back up camera. How can a company that makes such good cars screw up something so easy.

I think they spent all the R&D on the drivetrain and mechanicals so they had to cut down the RD cost for the backup camera.

 

[npx]

I used to work on automotive camera systems full time (mostly backup cameras, of all things) - Taycan has an extremely normal, I would even say good backup camera. The reason the angle of view is disorienting is because the camera is mounted super low, lower than any other car I've seen, I assume to accommodate the physical design of the rear of the car, and then they use de-warp to to make a projection of the extreme fisheye onto a more conventional looking view that you see on the screen.

You should see some of the low cost dogshit, including literal analog connection 1mp cameras, that goes into some really cheap cars, like some of the low end Kia and Hyundai, and Chinese manufacturers. Trust me, there's nothing wrong with the camera itself.

 

[X88]

I used to work on automotive camera systems full time (mostly backup cameras, of all things) - Taycan has an extremely normal, I would even say good backup camera. The reason the angle of view is disorienting is because the camera is mounted super low, lower than any other car I've seen, I assume to accommodate the physical design of the rear of the car, and then they use de-warp to to make a projection of the extreme fisheye onto a more conventional looking view that you see on the screen.

You should see some of the low cost dogshit, including literal analog connection 1mp cameras, that goes into some really cheap cars, like some of the low end Kia and Hyundai, and Chinese manufacturers. Trust me, there's nothing wrong with the camera itself.

That's a very interesting insight ... thanks!

By any chance is the rear camera mounted higher for the European market, perhaps because the slimmer height of European plates vs US plates allows for this? This might account for the very different views on the quality of the image from members on either side of the big pond.

 

[npx]

That's a very interesting insight ... thanks!

By any chance is the rear camera mounted higher for the European market, perhaps because the slimmer height of European plates vs US plates allows for this? This might account for the very different views on the quality of the image from members on either side of the big pond.

No clue tbh - and I doubt the few inches would make much of a difference. most cars have the camera mounted directly under the rear deckled, more like 1-2 feet higher.

my friend from school who works in automotive commented on how weird the camera positioning and angle of view was. I don't think it's necessarily a faulty design, just a design vs absolutely optimal functionality compromise.

 

[outie]

I used to work on automotive camera systems full time (mostly backup cameras, of all things) - Taycan has an extremely normal, I would even say good backup camera. The reason the angle of view is disorienting is because the camera is mounted super low, lower than any other car I've seen, I assume to accommodate the physical design of the rear of the car, and then they use de-warp to to make a projection of the extreme fisheye onto a more conventional looking view that you see on the screen.

You should see some of the low cost dogshit, including literal analog connection 1mp cameras, that goes into some really cheap cars, like some of the low end Kia and Hyundai, and Chinese manufacturers. Trust me, there's nothing wrong with the camera itself.

I don’t doubt the camera itself is good, but in real life use the view is just horrible compared to what I am used to, namely Tesla.

My McLaren 600LT has the rear camera mounted on the diffuser in the center, which is only few inches off the ground. I had no problem using that one and it did not need any fisheye view, just that the camera view is displayed on the instrumental cluster which is a horrible execution.

 

[Jhenson29]

most cars have the camera mounted directly under the rear deckled, more like 1-2 feet higher.

My Macan is only 5” higher. 26” vs 21”.

I don’t doubt the camera itself is good, but in real life use the view is just horrible compared to what I am used to

Agree. It’s kind of irrelevant if the camera is good if the implementation is terrible.

 

[npx]

hah, sorry, I meant to type "less than 1-2 feet higher" - when you have a super wide angle lens, the proportions and angles can be more exaggerated with smaller changes due to how distorted the fisheye is to start with. you can kind of see that with the 0.5 cam on an iPhone vs the 1x

that's very interesting that the McLaren was similarly mounted and didn't seem objectionable, I profess to not having experience with any other cars that have low mounted cameras, surely the McLaren's cam is even closer to the floor given the ride height. very interesting

 

[buruburu]

Too easily understand what is going on, it's best to see side by side image. IIRC, the first image is the default angle. What you want to focus on is the top right quadrant of the images. What you need to understand how unbelievable zoomed that top right quadrant is. To be able to zoom that much in, either you do is focally with a different lens or you digital stretch the pixels. Stretching the info means interpolation. This basically explains the blurriness. How just how are we talking about? Image 3 will give you and idea. The section within the green basically need to get stretched and manipulate to give you image 1.

So now we have to think about what can be done so that the rear camera is closer to you natural vision. If we increase the focal length on the rear camera that it's more natural, then you'll need to decrease the focal length on the side to cover the new blind spot. So now if you do that, then does your system still work the way it needs to in all operating conditions? Answer is no cause if you're parked next to a wall or another car like my image below, then rather than seeing the crossing car that passing behind you, now you only see the wall or the car next to me. I vaguely remember that there was once I had the natural fisheye view on and when I was backing out of spot, seeing a crossing car in that view felt like the car was about to directly rear-end me. At that point, it's better to not even show the image, but instead have a blinking red arrow to warn of the direction of travel which is what happens.

I've mentioned it before in another post, but what the camera and software is doing really is amazing given it's hardware and cost limitations.

 

[Dee]

I think they spent all the R&D on the drivetrain and mechanicals so they had to cut down the RD cost for the backup camera.

Actually it's not a cheap camera.
Not many people know it moves with the wheels so you can literally see around corners.
Like said before, it's the low angle that troubles the natural POV...
But then again, nothing s/w can't rework into a more conventional view.

 

[W1NGE]

No

That's a very interesting insight ... thanks!

By any chance is the rear camera mounted higher for the European market, perhaps because the slimmer height of European plates vs US plates allows for this? This might account for the very different views on the quality of the image from members on either side of the big pond.

Same locations all round.

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