Another bad camera rant thread

[TBarney]

The backup cam on my '17 GT is way better than my wife's '16 BMW, or my kid's '16 Ford, so it hasn't occurred to me to be dissatisfied with it.

 

[HyFlyer]

... This is a very very dimly lit dark parking lot ...

That statement doesn't seem to me to be accurate based on the visible light posts and shadows in the picture ?? Light post and shadows don't equal "very very dimly lit" to me. But, I wasn't there, so you would know better being the reporter on scene ;-)

... I'm not expecting go-pro, but c'mon, how does my $30 amazon cam blow this away? If they're going to put one on why why say "hey, they can see the garbage dumpster, that's all they need". ...

My guess would be along the lines of legal issues and liability. Sure. Your "$30 Amazon cam" may have a better quality picture. But how long will it last? When/if it fails who is responsible for making it operable again? How long is it's warranty period? 90 days? A year? Likely some exclusion of "limits of liability are a replacement $30 cam". So if the amazon cam doesn't work right and you hit something (or somebody) they skate away with any trouble. Also, if an Amazon cam breaks 2,3,5 years from now, the buyer would be more likely to just shrug their shoulders and move on with something else. Conversely Mazda, I think, is more invested in the backup cam being highly reliable for those reasons above ... Liability.

I don't recall [m]any threads entitled "my backup cam quit working" or "Today I hit a ____ because my backup cam image suxs" (maybe seeker will start one lol).

Or maybe it's just money and Mazda is cheap, but I don't think so.

 

[Mazdiod2]

Let's see your pictures. Yes, a pic of the monitor will not truly represent the view, but it's a start. People have stated that changing the contrast/brightness helps, meh. They also said it's a cost thing. Really? Here's my $30 amazon cam hooked up to my Sony head in my Mazda. I'd love to see your CX-5 factory camera pics and pics of your own install.

View attachment 228645View attachment 228646View attachment 228647View attachment 228648

Did you use the factory wiring? A link to the camera on Amazon would be useful.
I wouldn't mind a picture like that, it's very clear.

 

[erhayes]

My 2014 CX5 camera is good enough that I don't whine about it. Sort of like 200 ataboys, and 1 O S..t . ed

 

[7eregrine]

Conversely Mazda, I think, is more invested in the backup cam being highly reliable for those reasons above ... Liability.

That's actually an excellent point I hadn't thought of. Something tells me the cam in my 16 will outlast the car.

 

[yrwei52]

Why would you need a different camera? I would think the rear camera in the Signature is the same in all other models. We get trajectory lines when in 360 mode, but not when in normal mode. It does seem odd that the technology is there, but not available in normal mode.

Anchorman’s gen-1 and gen-2 CX-5’s in UK are having trajectory backup guidelines in rearview camera and integrated front/rear parking sensors. So the feature has been there on CX-5 for many years, but just not for US market.

The parking sensors show up on the rear camera screen too but no headlight washers and no rear camera washer as you can see!

 

[hal2]

Did you use the factory wiring? A link to the camera on Amazon would be useful.
I wouldn't mind a picture like that, it's very clear.

That's actually on my Miata, so no, i wired it myself when I was installing a new radio. I was just giving an example of my $30 cam and confounded why the Factory cam on the CX-5 is so poor in comparison. But you raise a good question - if could just splice in to the existing camera and mount this one that would probably be an easy install, but is it as simple as that or are there other electronic considerations? And, is the poor OEM picture due to the camera, or other software and the monitor.But in any case, here it is
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

 

[cz5gt]

just a note,
oem cameras are with wiring for 6V.
so without voltage regulator or different power source aftermarkets that are usually 12V wont work on existing wiring/plug .

 

[hal2]

We're kind of getting on to the weeds here, but as long as the camera has a hot, negative, and a reverse wire I can't imagine it would be that difficult, but then there's still the question, is it the camera or some other aspect responsible for the relatively poor picture.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

 

[cz5gt]

Yes it wouldnt be difficult...Jjust not showing on the infotainment screen.

Very good point indeed on the cmu screen quality. The resolution on the pre-2021 CX5 Infotainment is 800x480 so probably that's one limitation in the image quality as well.

 

[Mazdiod2]

These are my night pics of my rear view camera. The first one is backing up in the dark. The second one is backing up in a lit parking lot.

View attachment 228857View attachment 228858

Do you have LED backup lights?

 

[hal2]

Do you have LED backup lights?

Not at all, this is on my 2011 Miata

 

[MyFirstMazda]

Do you have LED backup lights?

Yes I have led back up lights. The lit parking lot view is fine as you can see but not a completely dark driveway.

 

[Mazdiod2]

Yes I have led back up lights. The lit parking lot view is fine as you can see but not a completely dark driveway.

Some of those cameras on Amazon have illuminating LEDs. Most of them are pretty inexpensive yet have decent specs and resolution.