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Hi there,
I have the HTC Kaiser service manual, but I'm trying to determine if I really need to open the phone all the way up in order to do this.
My 3MP camera on the back has a piece of something that is on the lens from the inside. Every picture I take has a shadow of this speck of... well, I don't know what.
Anyhow, I need to open the camera lens cover that's next to the speaker, but I'd rather not have to go pull apart the entire phone. The frustrating part is they show how to remove the camera, but they don't flip the board back over so I can see if I can get inside the little box and clean it.
Has anyone tried this? I see some disassembly threads here, but no one has concentrated on specifically cleaning the camera so far.
Thanks,
TTFN
greggerca said:
Hi there,
I have the HTC Kaiser service manual, but I'm trying to determine if I really need to open the phone all the way up in order to do this.
My 3MP camera on the back has a piece of something that is on the lens from the inside. Every picture I take has a shadow of this speck of... well, I don't know what.
Anyhow, I need to open the camera lens cover that's next to the speaker, but I'd rather not have to go pull apart the entire phone. The frustrating part is they show how to remove the camera, but they don't flip the board back over so I can see if I can get inside the little box and clean it.
Has anyone tried this? I see some disassembly threads here, but no one has concentrated on specifically cleaning the camera so far.
Thanks,
TTFN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haven't had the need to disassemble my kaiser yet but you can hit up mikechannon and ask his help on this.
cant you just pop the battery cover off and clean it out?
Nah... it's under the cover that's under the battery cover. If I take a picture without the battery cover, the crud is still there. It's just a speck. I can see it, but it's on the wrong side of the glass.
TTFN
Did you ever get the dirt out from the wrong side of the lens? I have the same problem only I have quite a bit of dirt on the backside of the lens.
Thanks,
Frank K
No, I couldn't find any diagrams that showed the next level of disassembly of the actual camera part. Since this is my only phone right now, I didn't want to do too much exploratory surgery.
The gunk is still there of course. I just don't know how it got in there in the first place...
Sorry I couldn't help more.
TTFN
I find every picture I take with the diamond sub par and not even 3 megapixel standard. my resolution is def set to highest. even my missus's iphone produces sharper more defined pics. diamond pics are soft, cloudy and blotchy when zoomedl auto white balance is useless, always gets things wrong and I have to always fiddle around with manual settings. what are your experiences?
Original files are in zip.. When you hold the td perfectly still the photo's are ok.. when te conditions are worse, i.e. your walking/moving, in darker places, the quality runs back quickly.
I found the camera amazing (except for in the dark, while contra-light doesn't seem to matter that match). Good quality, high-res pictures if you allow it to focus correctly and hold still. Some good modes too.
Prety much the same. Only way to get a reasonable pic is to remove the back when I need as good a quality as possible, and when I do so they're passable. Find auto WB is ok outdoors, but rubbish indoors (badly washed out), and needs a bit of fiddling to get the best out of it.
Bit of a nause, but I'm not a prolific snapper, so it's not the end of the world for me.
camera is amazing on light.
but in the dark it is really ****.
studz said:
Prety much the same. Only way to get a reasonable pic is to remove the back when I need as good a quality as possible,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what has been said before, i completely agree and I did some tests on it to. Both my images showed that with the cover on, cloudy, misty pictures and with the cover off, good quality, reasonably sharp pictures.
intel286 said:
camera is amazing on light.
but in the dark it is really ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do also agree that indoors and in low light the quality isn't that great but outdoors especially in good light the pictures are pretty good. Would be great if there was some sort of software tweak or software upgrade that would improve the quality of the pictures produced.
But at the end of the day we all know it all goes down to the quality of the camera that the manufacturer has used in the device. Im reasonably happy with the 3.2 megapixel that was used but with things like the Samsung i900 Omnia coming out / recently out with a pretty good 5 mega pixel hopefully HTC will take note and upgrade the cameras in future devices.
Im happy with mine, taking the back cover off can be a pain, but it works for me! (For now, hehe!)
Compared to what I just came from (a terrible VGA cam in a Motorola V3), I think the camera is amazing. It's not up to proper camera levels, but if I was after a camera for more than the occasional picture, I'd buy a proper digital cam or one of these phone/camera hybrids.
It does require a steady hand though, and it very low light it's not good, but even in relatively poor light it still did better than I was expecting.
Its just 'OK' in the light and useless in dark.
okay. tried with the cover off and theres definately an improvement, although still not perfect. however, its going to be a major pain in the arse to take the back cover off everytime I want to take an improv picture.
darthbane2k said:
okay. tried with the cover off and theres definately an improvement, although still not perfect. however, its going to be a major pain in the arse to take the back cover off everytime I want to take an improv picture.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
push the lense cover out....worked for me
but then you have the problems or crap getting in the back of the phone
Pretty good during the day, but at night it turns to ****, my guess is that it tries to prolong the shutter speed instead of increase the gain / ISO sensitivity.
HTC need to learn 2 program.
liamhere said:
push the lense cover out....worked for me
but then you have the problems or crap getting in the back of the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what if we cover the hole with clear screen protector film?
it would warp the image, short of proper optics you cant just cover a hole an take a picture through it, what we need it some sort of shutter on the back panel, quite easy to manufacture if someone could be bothered
Tendou said:
Pretty good during the day, but at night it turns to ****, my guess is that it tries to prolong the shutter speed instead of increase the gain / ISO sensitivity.
HTC need to learn 2 program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you have any idea what does it take in terms of sensor circuitry to increase ISO sensitivity?
you have any idea how expensive a good camera sensor is (not the crap you see in consumer cameras, which are also **** in the dark)?
guys, I think you're just being unrealistic about what a phone camera should do.
I cleaned up my cover lens and I pushed it more that I wanted and ups it is out so now Im glad with clean photos and once a time I clean up hole back under cover...
...but about steady hand and good not blurry pictures...does anybody worked sports or burst mode with resolution higher than size "L"
kultus said:
I cleaned up my cover lens and I pushed it more that I wanted and ups it is out so now Im glad with clean photos and once a time I clean up hole back under cover...
...but about steady hand and good not blurry pictures...does anybody worked sports or burst mode with resolution higher than size "L"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can popping out the lens cover really damage the phone?
well
you'll get dust inside, this shall be most notably when wearing it in pocket...
i managed it by putting a plastic seal around it:
i took one of those cable holders which came with the diamond (e.g. holding the headset together) cut it in the middle (so it was half as high as before) and placed it around the lense
now its closed again (teste with very fine sand) and i got much better photos....
(sry for the bad english ;D - I hope you can get what i mean)
Im wearing it in my pocket and its not that horible than I expected so its your choice...no damage btw glue is still there so its the matter of 2 sec to stick it up...
If you don't want to remove the lens cover, then clean the cover. Have a look at your cover and you should see why the picture comes out the way it does.
I.ve been watching this forum for more on this issue. The camera is crap. I upgraded to the htc rom because it said it made camera improvements. Bull***t. It’s still the same. I take loads of photos and almost all with the diamond have some sort of blurriness. If you have some sort of movement when the photo is taken then it blurs’. Examples below. Because of what another member posted about the same problem. I will be contacting htc support.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=412397
My old 2.0 mp Artemis and 3.0 mp Tytn II never had this problem.
Photos with the diamond
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j.../IMAGE_041.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j.../IMAGE_022.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j.../IMAGE_014.jpg
i.ve tried without back cover and it makes no diference
I'd like to say Thank You to everyone in this forum and providing such a great site for us. I am very admire all yours talent that I wish I have, but I don't. I did I a little mod to my Tilt camera lens and it came out good and I'd like to share it with you all. This mod require no drilling to original lens and look oem.
1. A piece of Micro Slice Glass. 20 cents
(used for microscope, you can get it from science store)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914039158/
2. Knife sharpening stone, fine gain.
3. Glass cutting tool $6
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914039484/
4. Qtip
5. Double side tape
Instruction:Sorry I don't know how to attach pictures into my post. Have to link it to Flickr. Hope you don't mind.
-To remove the lens, use a Qtip & push the lens out from the back side of the cover, use your figure nail to lift the lens out from the chrome frame.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2913195413/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914041602/in/photostream/
-Use the lens to mark the size onto the Micro Slice Glass and cutting it with the glass cutting tools, you may need to try a few time to have a straight cut. http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914039158/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914039484/
-Now you have the piece cut out, here the fun part. use a sharpening stone and work near the sink cause you need to wet the stone during the sanding.
while sanding the new lens, use the original lens to check the shape. I made my a bit bigger then the original so it can be fit in tight without using any glue. Double side tape used just for insurance purposes.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914080332/
-Here the final product.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914250782/
-That's it folks, this is the best and the cheapest and the oem look camera lens mod ever. Here some shots I took before and after. Let me know what you think. Pictures are in order, original lens->Moded Lens->no cover.
1.http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914040902/
2.http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2913194597/
3.http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2914040044/
I will take some picture tomorrow for you to see. Time to sleep.
Those before and after pictures just show what a Mickey Mouse lens cover HTC has provided us with. How about a petition for a new back cover with a glass lens cover?
Top mod, gonna do this one.
BS...
Thanks for the heads up. Amazing how something so simple can improve the clarity of the camera so much.
What is a qtip?
Rob
rfarnell said:
Thanks for the heads up. Amazing how something so simple can improve the clarity of the camera so much.
What is a qtip?
Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The generic name would be a cotton swab.
Without cover is still better, and having done the mod many months ago, the dust problem is overblown.
Surur
Srart-up?
rfarnell said:
Thanks for the heads up. Amazing how something so simple can improve the clarity of the camera so much.
What is a qtip?
Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know how many kaisers are out in the market but a manufacturer in the far-east (due to cost) can make such back cover with integrated fixed lens in the cost of ~$0.10 (go for worst case 1$) each and I'm sure most of us are willing to pay... lets say $15 each ? so here is a win-win opportunity waiting for an entrepreneur.
I did a similar yet cheaper fix.
Pop out the stock lens.
Cut some plastic (used the package some RAM for my pc came in)
Use the double sided tape and place it there. It's not that noticable but the picture quality improves a great amount.
Great mod, just took my back cover off and the picture is much better. I'm going to try just removing the cover altogether.
Lol, this is so much nicer than my ghetto fix! I had just popped out the plastic lens cover (and succeeded in breaking the little chrome-painted piece in the process, of course) and put a little piece of extra screen protector over the actual lens to protect it from the dust and what not.
Gotta' try this!
my lil camera lens cracked so i removed it and it has been off for over a month. i dont really have issues with debris getting under the battery cover. besides, its not hard to remove the back and clean it with my shirt and put it back on
nice, I will have to try this
You really can notice the difference. I just quickly take the back cover off, take a photo and then put it back on. I really notice the difference now. Thanks heaps!!!!
Thanks for the info... from now on, when I want to take a picture, I'll remove the back cover
I was thinking of doing this mod but using glass designed for optics instead of standard glass. A quick web search found http://www.astraproducts.com/i_ptsheet.asp. Are there any photography experts out there who know if this type of glass work any better than standard glass?
Also, if someone (possibly myself) were to bulk purchase pieces of optical glass "pre-machined" to fit as a replacement to the tilt, would there be much interest in purchasing these? I suppose it would all depend on cost and I have no idea what the cost would be, but maybe worth looking into.
This is just my opinion, but I see no point in going through the trouble of modding a phone that was never really meant to be used primarily as a camera.
I think this makes even less sense when you take in to account the fact that it performs really bad in certain conditions.
mata_mosca said:
This is just my opinion, but I see no point in going through the trouble of modding a phone that was never really meant to be used primarily as a camera.
I think this makes even less sense when you take in to account the fact that it performs really bad in certain conditions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My reason for the mod is because the lense on my back cover is cracked right down the middle so the camera hardly works at all. Replacement covers run $50-$60 so I'm looking for a less expensive fix. I don't really want to remove the lense entirely because of allowing dust into the case and also the actual camera lense would be exposed and liable to scratch.
So I'm in the process of replacing the ear piece speaker. It has always acted up but finally completely went out when I dropped the phone today. Tore the phone apart and pulled the bad one out, and put it back together, so for the time being it's a phone with no speaker, but strangely now the rear camera doesn't work either.
So I'm curious, maybe I still don't have the ribbon cable from the camera seated correctly. But do you think maybe the camera and speaker are on the same circuit and without the speaker in there the camera won't work?
The ear piece not working can usually be fixed by bending the metal pins. I've managed to fix3 Droid's this way. that being said, I don't think the camera has anything to do with the ear piece.
Check if you've inserted the ribbon properly. The ribbon goes in pretty deep. It's easy to make a mistake when connecting the ribbon.
You wouldn't have some instructions for that procedure, do you? Or is there an iFixit video? Have the same problem with the speaker.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk now Free
Bumping this old thread in the event that someone in the future finds it useful. Obviously, replacing the speaker will VOID YOUR WARRANTY in every way possible, and if you're not careful will ruin your phone! But, if you're like me, your D4 is long out of warranty and it'll be a cold day in hell before you give up your keyboard.
That being said, I just replaced the speaker in my D4, after the stock speaker fizzled and died after almost 2 years. Every now and then it would "fuzz out" and I'd gently tap the phone against my head (which I'm sure looked quite comical) and it would stop. Finally the speaker gave up the ghost entirely and it was nearly impossible to hear. I used resources from this site to guide me in taking it apart.
You'll need a torx T5 and T3 driver - DO NOT try to use any substitute drivers if you don't have an official T5 or T3, like I did - you will strip the screws (they strip VERY easily) and you'll need to bust out the dremel to drill/grind away the screw, or buy a whole new LCD/digitizer assembly for $~70 (which, as of this posting, are getting harder to find). You might think that you can fudge it with an eyeglass repair flathead driver, but you can't. Trust me. T3 and T5 drivers are cheap online, do it right.
For the actual replacement speaker itself, I got a speaker for a Nokia Lumia 610 on ebay for about 4 bucks (free shipping!). It's almost identical to the stock D4 speaker, but it looks to be a little better quality and the actual place where noise comes out looks to be ever so slightly bigger. It "sits" in a little pocket in the outer housing/screen digitizer, held in place by the flex cable. You'll see once you get there.
Make sure both the dual snap connector that connects the mainboard to the screen/digitizer is securely fastened, and also make sure that the tiny snap connector that goes from the screen to the digitizer itself is securely fastened as well - this second snap connector is up by the notification LED. I scared myself when I re-assembled everything and my touchscreen didn't respond. Also, when you're working up by the notification LED, there's a small piece of white-ish rubber that sits between the actual LED itself and the little hole where light comes out on the front of the phone. It's crucial that you don't lose this - the LED is a few mm offset from the hole, and this piece of rubber glows and creates the notification light that you see on the front. Without it, no notification light.
Be careful with the mainboard, replacement units are very hard to find and will only get rarer as the D4 ages. It's basically the heart of your phone.
Tweezers and a "safe-open pry tool" (basically a piece of soft plastic to ease apart the pieces of your phone) make this process easier as well.
Another note: there are 2 hidden T5 screws behind the bezel that surrounds the rear camera and flash. When you go to peel this up, you'll probably ruin it - this is poor design IMO, and mostly inevitable. Good news though, replacement camera bezel parts are available online for a few bucks.
All in all, this process isn't difficult, but requires really good light (super bright lamp or headlamp) and will give you a greater appreciation for your phone and how it's both a magical little black box as well as just a collection of shiny bits.
Good luck!!
Khiraji said:
You'll need a torx T5 and T3 driver - DO NOT try to use any substitute drivers if you don't have an official T5 or T3, like I did - you will strip the screws (they strip VERY easily) and you'll need to bust out the dremel to drill/grind away the screw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Listen to him. I learned this the hard way and that is precisely what I had to do. Taking a dremel to my cell phone... I never want to sweat bullets like that again.
Hi all, I just want to share my experiences I made today.
I have bought a Wide/Macro Lens like used in the Video (from Amazon, they all seems to be pretty the same) and it is NOT working! The magnets from the lens are not attracting to the magnets in the phone, they are pushing away! Be aware, I don't thing there is a standardized way how the lens manufacturers build in the magnet since it is designed to hold to a metal ring and not to another magnet.
I tried to hold the lens just to take a test picture but the magnet interferes with the OIS, in some positions it caused hard vibrations within the N5's camera lens that was also visible in the camera app preview picture.
I would be careful with this lenses! I think the magnets in the N5 are designed for the OIS and not for some cheap 3rd party lenses. Gladly my OIS still seems to work flawless (This seems also to be why Google is not advertising such feature)
fireproofrev said:
(from Amazon, they all seems to be pretty the same)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's already known that some cheap ones on Amazon have more-or-less random magnetic polarity. The only ones confirmed for being consistent are the ones on Photojojo. As for messing with OIS, I don't have first-hand experience with these lenses, but it seems that that was also confirmed for not happening with the Photojojo lenses.
Unless you got the Photojojo ones through Amazon. Then you might want to post this in those other threads about this too, so people will see this result.
You could always take out the magnet and flip it around
Andypandiiee said:
You could always take out the magnet and flip it around
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to (with a little flat screwdriver), but it seems to be pressed in, it fits very tight. Maybe I try it tomorrow again (heat up a little??).
attached a picture of the lens
(at the amazon picture a silver one was shown but they delivered this black version)
All of this effort to turn a phone into a camera... Why not just buy an SLR and enjoy real photography? Hell, even a cheap point and shoot blows away any phone camera.
Stay Frosty said:
All of this effort to turn a phone into a camera... Why not just buy an SLR and enjoy real photography? Hell, even a cheap point and shoot blows away any phone camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uhm.. this is totally wrong, I don't want a great picture quality, I want a wide-lens to have a wider angle for party snapshots or being out with some friends. You can increase the visibility range alot and I like the effect, so why not? I definitely DONT want to carry a camera all the time (by the way I have also a canon eos d1000, yeah I know it is just a "cheap" DSLR but it is enough for me).
This is not a "camera has too bad quality" thread (IMO the N5 camera is great) so go away
By the way, the lens is working perfect with the metal ring on my GNex
I can also confirm this. I bought these from Amazon. Received these today and when tried to put them on ... the reverse polarity on the magnet on the lens and the one on the camera itself repel each other. I was only able to hold the lens in place with my hand to try out the macro lens (picture attached). However I didn't experience any vibration or OIS not working. OIS was working fine for me. I used HDR+ mode.
Anyways, lenses are going back. Only lens confirmed to work with N5 are from Photojojo and since those lenses are way overpriced I will not buy them.
zoomed out photo was taken at the closest distance where the on-screen camera focus ring turned green. YMMV.
Excuse the fingers in the macro shot as I was holding the lens with one hand while taking the photo.
enjoy
Here's my post from another thread about this:
Got the photojojo and ehh not impresive at all. Although this one didn't seem to affect the camera like the others. When put up to the camera it didn't flicker like the cheap Amazon ones. Also it required me to have the metal ring attached
You're better off going with a product called Easy Macro. It's a macro lens attached to a band that fits around your phone so no magnets
Overall for $25 it's not worth it IMO. I'm returnng it and sticking with my easy macro.
Here are some images
Here are the full resolution ones taken with my n5 and the fisheye lens. It was an act of god to get it to focus right lol
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
fullsize of the last 3 images taken with my dslr
picture 1
picture 2
picture 3
I ordered the Photojojo's from Amazon -- FROM Photojojo, and it's no-go jojo for my photo phono circo.
Anyway, the magnet doesn't work at all. Not quite reversed polarity that I can tell, but only one small area wants to attract. Not enough to keep the lens on.
Yea. The magnet on my phone barely holds up a paperclip. I seriously doubt it was designed for lenses. If it was, Google would be all over that with their advertising, especially since they have been flaunting their photo capabilities.
-Cupper- said:
Here's my post from another thread about this:
Got the photojojo and ehh not impresive at all. Although this one didn't seem to affect the camera like the others. When put up to the camera it didn't flicker like the cheap Amazon ones. Also it required me to have the metal ring attached
You're better off going with a product called Easy Macro. It's a macro lens attached to a band that fits around your phone so no magnets
Overall for $25 it's not worth it IMO. I'm returnng it and sticking with my easy macro.
Here are some images
Here are the full resolution ones taken with my n5 and the fisheye lens. It was an act of god to get it to focus right lol
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
fullsize of the last 3 images taken with my dslr
picture 1
picture 2
picture 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you enjoying them so far cause I would love to get my hands on some extra lenses for this phone if they work good and yes I have a dslr as well but not always on me
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
dakunclear said:
Are you enjoying them so far cause I would love to get my hands on some extra lenses for this phone if they work good and yes I have a dslr as well but not always on me
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fisheye lenses that I got were REALLY subpar to me, so I returned it. Since I had to attach a metal ring to the camera lens so that the lens could stick to it, I couldn't really justify it. Like I said in my earlier post I really like the easy macro because it's on a band and I can easily remove it. If I found a fisheye that was on a band like that I might get it, but idk the image quality wasnt that great either and the metal ring was really a turnoff Use amazon, buy it and if you dont like it then return it
fireproofrev said:
I tried to hold the lens just to take a test picture but the magnet interferes with the OIS, in some positions it caused hard vibrations within the N5's camera lens that was also visible in the camera app preview picture.
I would be careful with this lenses! I think the magnets in the N5 are designed for the OIS and not for some cheap 3rd party lenses. Gladly my OIS still seems to work flawless (This seems also to be why Google is not advertising such feature)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh boy!!! I can now confirm this. After a long time I couldn't control myself and bought another set of lenses from Amazon and decided to stick the provided ring to the phone lens. Macro lens seemed to work fine however as soon as I mounted the wide angle lens ... OIS started freaking out so bad I can't even begin to describe. You can feel the vibrations and see it on the screen as well. I immediately removed the lens and put it away. OP was right about this little thing ... I won't be using wide angle lens to avoid any permanent damage to OIS in the phone .
Any kind of strong magnet will also disorient the directional sensor while using google maps. I was wondering why the turn by turn navi would randomly tell me to make a U-turn.
Test for yourself. Pop open google maps and locate your position. Then put a magnet near the top half of the phone, you'll see your directional pointer spin away.
Stay Frosty said:
All of this effort to turn a phone into a camera... Why not just buy an SLR and enjoy real photography? Hell, even a cheap point and shoot blows away any phone camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah good luck. A dedicated camera like an SLR or a point and shoot won't be there when that spur of the moment photo presents itself to you.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Stay Frosty said:
All of this effort to turn a phone into a camera... Why not just buy an SLR and enjoy real photography? Hell, even a cheap point and shoot blows away any phone camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So much NO in this post. "real Photography"? Please. The fact that a photo is taken with a phone vs a DSLR vs medium format vs etc etc is irrelevant. You don't need a (relatively) expensive camera to take good photos. You need creativity and opportunity, that's it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I was almost tempted to buy one to play with my N5 camera.. but reading this thread made me worried..
Now I used that little money and bought a wireless charger... should be coming to me tomorrow..
Good to know -- thanks for the warning, you just saved me some time/money no doubt!