Back Up Camera Not Very Good

[dlayman]

Does anyone else find the back up camera to be very washed out and grainy, limiting its usefulness. Have tried to adjust brightness and contrast on screen but not much change. Kinda looks like a bad, VERY over-exposed photograph. That and the too-dim trunk light and the stiff day/night switch on the mirror are really my only complaints with the car.

On the plus side, the ECO fuel economy is incredible. Driving to or from work (almost all highway), I've been topping 50 mpg each way (average speed 60, no AC use, but we've been in the low 40's when I leave for work at 5AM). The car's calculation was 0.1 MPG higher than I actually measured on my first fill up. Errands over lunch drop my overall mileage to just under 50. That's close to or in hybrid territory.

 

[DjAnnexAlpha]

Does anyone else find the back up camera to be very washed out and grainy, limiting its usefulness. Have tried to adjust brightness and contrast on screen but not much change. Kinda looks like a bad, VERY over-exposed photograph. That and the too-dim trunk light and the stiff day/night switch on the mirror are really my only complaints with the car.

On the plus side, the ECO fuel economy is incredible. Driving to or from work (almost all highway), I've been topping 50 mpg each way (average speed 60, no AC use, but we've been in the low 40's when I leave for work at 5AM). The car's calculation was 0.1 MPG higher than I actually measured on my first fill up. Errands over lunch drop my overall mileage to just under 50. That's close to or in hybrid territory.

The camera does suck...I do not understand why our $600+ phones can have 8, 12, 16 megapixel cameras and our $20,000 cars are stuck with a 1.2 megapixel 2006 camera.

 

[jolly]

I also find the MPG to be stellar in my Eco Base. 50+ on highway, 39 average after 11,000 K (a hybrid corolla for better city MPG would make this car a champion !).

Funny part is that Natural resources Canada is implanting a new test method for MPG, as they have been criticised for too optismistic numbers in the past. And my Eco manage to give me those "too optimistic" numbers. It also beats EPA. Toyota should really push this car more, at least for marketing.

I also find the BU camera a bit washed out, specially at night but I didn't expected UHD on this kind of unit (and at that price) and it is nonetheless very usefull for city parking. Can't compare with other models, though, as it is the first car I own with it. And don't forget to gently wipe it from time to time !

 

[jolly]

The camera does suck...I do not understand why our $600+ phones can have 8, 12, 16 megapixel cameras and our $20,000 cars are stuck with a 1.2 megapixel 2006 camera.

The 8-12-16 megapixels are in the picture you take, not on the screen you are using to look at it. Your more common computer screen (1920 X 1080) is at about 2 mp (5 mp on a Mac Pro). Not saying that it is a good thing, but that's about the max you'll "see", however high is the image quality. So this "overbidding" in camera resolution is more marketing than practical pupose (unless on some highly specialised machines).
So Toyota probably use a lower resolution screen for cost, and therefore could use a lower resolution camera. And angain, to me, it does the job !

 

[dlayman]

I would bet that the Corolla camera could be improved with a software upgrade. Its image is overexposed, and the brightness and contrast settings do almost nothing. Hopefully there might be an update coming that addresses the overexposed image, and provide some usefulness to the camera settings. It might never be real sharp, but you should at least be able to look at it and be confident of your surroundings. I've ridden in or driven a number of cars with back-up cameras and the Corolla is easily the poorest. Being its a safety issue, there might be an incentive for Toyota to improve this.

 

[mdmale]

its`s clear to me

 

[mdmale]

The camera does suck...I do not understand why our $600+ phones can have 8, 12, 16 megapixel cameras and our $20,000 cars are stuck with a 1.2 megapixel 2006 camera.

lmao@ 2006 camera:laughing:

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

You can get an LED trunk light for your car, and you can get an LED license plate light that will be bright enough to illuminate the area the camera points at. The washing out has absolutely nothing to do with the MP count, and everything to do with how it reacts to little to no light (and all but the most expensive cameras will film grain at night, the larger the diameter of the CMOS surface, the better quality images will have at low light levels).

My back-up camera, LED reverse only:

My back-up camera, LED reverse lights + LED license plate lights:

Notice how much of a difference the LED license plate lights made not only in improved image quality, but in more accurate color reproduction as well.

 

[jolly]

Wow ! Thats quite an impressive difference ! And not that hard to obtain. Thanks !

Again, as is, not the greatest definition but enough to serve its purpose which, to me, is mainly city parking.
It's not a screen you look at for hours nor your sole point of view when backing up.
It is probably average, but that's what the Corolla is : average (though great for the price nonetheless!).

More than resolution, I think guiding lines make the biggest difference.
The Cruze I tried when buying my Corolla had no guidelines and I found it was a bit disconcerting in the kind of "fish eye" view those cameras give.
And a Cruze with that equipment was already almost $2,000 more thant the Corolla...

 

[DTG9000]

I'm going to try that, Donabed.

That said, I think the camera is fine as-is. I'm not looking for HD, just to see if there's anything behind me. But this IS my first car that has one as good. Even my 2012 Sienna LE's camera is only credit card-sized and basically useless for someone who needs reading glasses. The Corolla LE's has spoiled me. I just look into the screen and left/right when backing up now. I get annoyed now on my other cars when I have to still twist around to look behind me. I'm still surprised that the LE model Corolla gives you such a big screen back-up camera at all.

 

[dlayman]

I actually find the low light performance of the camera to be acceptable, comparable to other vehicles. In sunshine, the image is washed out and requires a very close look to make sure things are clear. The guide lines are very good, better than many vehicles. I think Toyota lags a bit behind overall compared to Honda and some others on this technology.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Another thing is making sure it is clean. I spray it off with the same cleaner and lint-free cloth that I use on my glasses if the image starts to get blurry spots in it.

 

[dlayman]

I did clean it yesterday, it seemed clean enough already though. I'm getting used to it now. It does its job, but I definitely don't feel confident enough to back up without turning around and looking for myself, which us what you should do anyway.

 

[jolly]

I did clean it yesterday, it seemed clean enough already though. I'm getting used to it now. It does its job, but I definitely don't feel confident enough to back up without turning around and looking for myself, which us what you should do anyway.

Indeed, those cameras don't replace looking yourself. They just complement your field of vision, mainly for what is nearer the car. Even if the car had transversal trafic detection, like some, nothing replace human alertness.

 

[chuck3star]

Does anyone else find the back up camera to be very washed out and grainy, limiting its usefulness. Have tried to adjust brightness and contrast on screen but not much change. Kinda looks like a bad, VERY over-exposed photograph. That and the too-dim trunk light and the stiff day/night switch on the mirror are really my only complaints with the car.

On the plus side, the ECO fuel economy is incredible. Driving to or from work (almost all highway), I've been topping 50 mpg each way (average speed 60, no AC use, but we've been in the low 40's when I leave for work at 5AM). The car's calculation was 0.1 MPG higher than I actually measured on my first fill up. Errands over lunch drop my overall mileage to just under 50. That's close to or in hybrid territory.

I have a 2015 S model and the camera is the same as yours, completely washed out in daylight, almost unuseable! My brother has the identical car and his camera is great. My dealer says, nothing wrong. Toyota should fix this problem.

 

[chuck3star]

The backup camera on my 2015 Corolla S model is completely washed out in daylight, grainy as can be at night. The dealer says they adjusted it, but still the same. My brother has the identical car and his backup camera is perfect, just as it should be.
This should be a warranty fix, but they won't acknowledge problem.

 

[HanSolo]

I will say that this backup up camera is just absolutely horrendous. I have owned many cars with backup cameras and this is by far the worst. I do a lot of night driving, and it is unusable when backing out of a driveway onto a rural country road. The camera ends up blinding me and makes it impossible to see the mirrors. Is there a way to turn the camera off when backing up at night?

I also noticed this when backing out of a very busy Costco parking lot. This backup camera is atrocious at helping with your depth perception. It is much safer to use your eyes and just look.

 

[Thomas]

For what it's worth. This is the first back-up camera that I've ever had/used, and it's great. It does get a little grainy, but I can still easily see the image. It works well at night and day for me, and depth perception is not a problem. In fact, sometimes it gives me better angles than turning my head around and looking when pulling out of a parking spot when I'm surrounded by larger vehicles.

Maybe there is poor quality control on them and the ones you all got are inferior, but mine is pretty good.