Bimmerpost
3
/
4 Series
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Technical Topics iDrive, Nav, Phone, Audio, Video, Cameras, Electronics Cameras Dim at Night

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      03-19-2020, 12:39 AM   #1
bacampbe
Lieutenant
342
Rep
530
Posts

Drives: 2024 Z4 M40i PB
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Dallas, TX

iTrader: (0)

Cameras Dim at Night

I notice that the reverse and PDC cameras on our new m340i are really dark at night. When trying to reverse out of the garage with a car on the other side of the driveway, that car is completely invisible on the display. It's as if the reverse and side lights don't illuminate much at all.
Along those lines, when coming into the garage at night the headlights do not seem to illuminate the forward camera view much.

I've tried turning up the brightness, but it seems to have very little effect at night.

This was not at all the case on our old 328i or my current m240i vert. Is there some adjustment other than brightness and contrast that can make this better?
Appreciate 0
      03-19-2020, 02:59 AM   #2
DomiGijzen
Second Lieutenant
DomiGijzen's Avatar
Netherlands
70
Rep
223
Posts

Drives: BMW iX3 MSport High Exec (G08)
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Netherlands

iTrader: (0)

Are the camera lenses clean? In my case, I have a clearview at night. Also the backup lights help in a normal way.
__________________
Grz D.!
Appreciate 0
      03-19-2020, 03:37 PM   #3
bacampbe
Lieutenant
342
Rep
530
Posts

Drives: 2024 Z4 M40i PB
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Dallas, TX

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by DomiGijzen View Post
Are the camera lenses clean? In my case, I have a clearview at night. Also the backup lights help in a normal way.
I will check, but it doesn't have the foggy look of a dirty lens. It looks more like the exposure is turned down low.
Appreciate 0
      03-19-2020, 04:24 PM   #4
RedKloud
Major
RedKloud's Avatar
735
Rep
1,260
Posts

Drives: BMW i4 M50
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Portland, OR

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by bacampbe View Post
I notice that the reverse and PDC cameras on our new m340i are really dark at night. When trying to reverse out of the garage with a car on the other side of the driveway, that car is completely invisible on the display. It's as if the reverse and side lights don't illuminate much at all.
Along those lines, when coming into the garage at night the headlights do not seem to illuminate the forward camera view much.

I've tried turning up the brightness, but it seems to have very little effect at night.

This was not at all the case on our old 328i or my current m240i vert. Is there some adjustment other than brightness and contrast that can make this better?
+1. Way too dark, even in the parking garage at my workplace.
Appreciate 0
      03-21-2020, 07:28 AM   #5
RSnic
Major
RSnic's Avatar
United_States
658
Rep
1,478
Posts

Drives: 2020 M340Xi (G20)
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Virginia

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2020 BMW M340  [0.00]
+1
When ever I back up at night, it is always a challenge. Best I can figure is that the back up LEDs aren't bright enough
__________________
Al

2020 M340Xi| ZDA| ZDY| ZPP| ZPX| 1CR| 1PL| 688| 6NW| 2VFH|
Retired: 2014 328i
BMW CCA
Appreciate 0
      03-23-2020, 08:29 AM   #6
Sling56
New Member
17
Rep
23
Posts

Drives: 2019 330i
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: New Brunswick

iTrader: (0)

I have found this as well, very different from any other car I've had. Camera is almost useless at night, I've cranked the brightness as well
Appreciate 0
      03-24-2020, 05:06 PM   #7
TigerOne
New Member
4
Rep
13
Posts

Drives: 2020 BMW 330i xDrive M
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Ontario, Canada

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by bacampbe View Post
I notice that the reverse and PDC cameras on our new m340i are really dark at night. When trying to reverse out of the garage with a car on the other side of the driveway, that car is completely invisible on the display. It's as if the reverse and side lights don't illuminate much at all.
Along those lines, when coming into the garage at night the headlights do not seem to illuminate the forward camera view much.

I've tried turning up the brightness, but it seems to have very little effect at night.

This was not at all the case on our old 328i or my current m240i vert. Is there some adjustment other than brightness and contrast that can make this better?
Agreed. I do not believe it is a LED brightness issue or an screen brightness issue.....it is a matter of the exposure setting for the camera sensor. This could be adjusted via software update or by giving users control over the exposure / gamma.
Appreciate 1
bacampbe341.50
      03-24-2020, 10:20 PM   #8
bacampbe
Lieutenant
342
Rep
530
Posts

Drives: 2024 Z4 M40i PB
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Dallas, TX

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by TigerOne View Post
Agreed. I do not believe it is a LED brightness issue or an screen brightness issue.....it is a matter of the exposure setting for the camera sensor. This could be adjusted via software update or by giving users control over the exposure / gamma.
I agree it looks like an exposure setting problem. It's dark, but has pretty saturated colors. Under similar lighting conditions my m240 looks washed out, but you can see things. I wonder if someone made a decision to make it prettier, and lost function in the process.

What is the best way to give feedback to BMW on this sort of thing, in the hopes they fix it in a future software update?
Appreciate 0
      03-25-2020, 08:41 PM   #9
TigerOne
New Member
4
Rep
13
Posts

Drives: 2020 BMW 330i xDrive M
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Ontario, Canada

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by bacampbe View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by TigerOne View Post
Agreed. I do not believe it is a LED brightness issue or an screen brightness issue.....it is a matter of the exposure setting for the camera sensor. This could be adjusted via software update or by giving users control over the exposure / gamma.
I agree it looks like an exposure setting problem. It's dark, but has pretty saturated colors. Under similar lighting conditions my m240 looks washed out, but you can see things. I wonder if someone made a decision to make it prettier, and lost function in the process.

What is the best way to give feedback to BMW on this sort of thing, in the hopes they fix it in a future software update?
Wish I knew. I mentioned this to my sales guy and I sent an email to the generic customer service email address in Canada. All I received back was a suggestion on how to adjust screen brightness, which was not the point. If you ever do find a means of getting constructive feedback to the firmware developers, please share in here.....we'd probably all like a shot at making some good changes. For example, I would also like to be able to select a bias for the brightness of the instrument screen. It is automatically adjusted using a sensor during the daytime, but there is no way to manually adjust the centrepoint of that brightness. When I brought up this point with BMW, they told me how to adjust brightness at night using the rotary dimming switch, which again was not the point since that does not appear to do anything to affect screen brightness in the daytime.

Front line customer service folks do the best they can, but they will likely not be as tuned into the subtleties of using the systems as the engineers are, which is why the only answers they provide are straight out of a users manual that we already have.
Appreciate 0
      04-07-2020, 07:49 PM   #10
Hysnbrg
Private
United_States
191
Rep
92
Posts

Drives: 2024 X3 30;2020 M340;2016 340
Join Date: May 2019
Location: PA

iTrader: (0)

Do you guys have Alpine White cars by any chance? Coz I do.

I notice this issue a lot more when my car is freshly washed and shiny. I think it's something to do with the contrast of the white bumper that takes up a good chunk of the rear view camera view. Sort of what a phone camera runs into without HDR with both bright and dark objects in the view.

I read somewhere that putting a small piece of black vinyl tape on the lower part of the rear view camera to block some of the bumper appearing can solve this problem.

Can't find source, didn't try it, and it's not as much a problem for me now that I don't wash the car every week like I used. I daily drive it
Appreciate 0
      04-08-2020, 02:28 PM   #11
bacampbe
Lieutenant
342
Rep
530
Posts

Drives: 2024 Z4 M40i PB
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Dallas, TX

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hysnbrg View Post
Do you guys have Alpine White cars by any chance? Coz I do.

I notice this issue a lot more when my car is freshly washed and shiny. I think it's something to do with the contrast of the white bumper that takes up a good chunk of the rear view camera view. Sort of what a phone camera runs into without HDR with both bright and dark objects in the view.

I read somewhere that putting a small piece of black vinyl tape on the lower part of the rear view camera to block some of the bumper appearing can solve this problem.

Can't find source, didn't try it, and it's not as much a problem for me now that I don't wash the car every week like I used. I daily drive it
No, Portomao Blue here.
Appreciate 0
      04-10-2020, 04:09 PM   #12
RSnic
Major
RSnic's Avatar
United_States
658
Rep
1,478
Posts

Drives: 2020 M340Xi (G20)
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Virginia

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2020 BMW M340  [0.00]
No, my car is Tanzanite blue
__________________
Al

2020 M340Xi| ZDA| ZDY| ZPP| ZPX| 1CR| 1PL| 688| 6NW| 2VFH|
Retired: 2014 328i
BMW CCA
Appreciate 0
      12-23-2021, 07:59 PM   #13
gnolivos
Captain
306
Rep
685
Posts

Drives: Various BMW
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: US

iTrader: (0)

Same problem here. My f30 backup camera worked very well at night.
My old Honda CR-V actually triggers infrared camera at night which is even better (even if not pretty).

Bmw dropped the ball here. They better fix this cause I can’t see a darn thing backing up at night in about half the situations so far.
Appreciate 0
      12-24-2021, 04:45 AM   #14
Andy3661
First Lieutenant
Andy3661's Avatar
United Kingdom
122
Rep
383
Posts

Drives: BMW G20 3 Series 320D XDRIVE M
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Manchester, UK

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
Quote:
Originally Posted by gnolivos View Post
Same problem here. My f30 backup camera worked very well at night.
My old Honda CR-V actually triggers infrared camera at night which is even better (even if not pretty).

Bmw dropped the ball here. They better fix this cause I can’t see a darn thing backing up at night in about half the situations so far.
Maybe there is some underlying fault with the camera but how bad is it, can you post a pic so we can compare to ours?

Mine seems to have gone worse overtime so wonder is the infrared LED are deteriorating or failing.
__________________
BMW 320D XDRIVE Mineral White, M-Sport Plus Pack, Tech Pack, Premium Pack, Visibility Pack, Comfort Pack, Live Cockpit Professional, Connected Package Professional, Driving Assistant Professional & Parking Assistant Plus
Appreciate 0
      12-24-2021, 07:03 AM   #15
gnolivos
Captain
306
Rep
685
Posts

Drives: Various BMW
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: US

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy3661 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by gnolivos View Post
Same problem here. My f30 backup camera worked very well at night.
My old Honda CR-V actually triggers infrared camera at night which is even better (even if not pretty).

Bmw dropped the ball here. They better fix this cause I can't see a darn thing backing up at night in about half the situations so far.
Maybe there is some underlying fault with the camera but how bad is it, can you post a pic so we can compare to ours?

Mine seems to have gone worse overtime so wonder is the infrared LED are deteriorating or failing.
Infrared you say? I'm not even seeing an infrared kicking in at night. It's full color for one. And it's very hard to see anything.
__________________
Bimmercode best coding options (Basic and Advanced):
https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...5#post29807925
Appreciate 0
      12-24-2021, 07:30 AM   #16
Andy3661
First Lieutenant
Andy3661's Avatar
United Kingdom
122
Rep
383
Posts

Drives: BMW G20 3 Series 320D XDRIVE M
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Manchester, UK

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
Quote:
Originally Posted by gnolivos View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy3661 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by gnolivos View Post
Same problem here. My f30 backup camera worked very well at night.
My old Honda CR-V actually triggers infrared camera at night which is even better (even if not pretty).

Bmw dropped the ball here. They better fix this cause I can't see a darn thing backing up at night in about half the situations so far.
Maybe there is some underlying fault with the camera but how bad is it, can you post a pic so we can compare to ours?

Mine seems to have gone worse overtime so wonder is the infrared LED are deteriorating or failing.
Infrared you say? I'm not even seeing an infrared kicking in at night. It's full color for one. And it's very hard to see anything.
Well I'm assuming there is some LED omitting light so it can see in the dark. If not then no wonder it's poor as it's using your reverse lights etc and if they are not clean then won't be enough to provide enough light for the camera.

Saying that in the rain all 4 of my cameras are poor to the point I can't see a parking space lines!
__________________
BMW 320D XDRIVE Mineral White, M-Sport Plus Pack, Tech Pack, Premium Pack, Visibility Pack, Comfort Pack, Live Cockpit Professional, Connected Package Professional, Driving Assistant Professional & Parking Assistant Plus
Appreciate 0
      01-09-2022, 02:28 PM   #17
A6bullet
Lieutenant
Germany
336
Rep
440
Posts

Drives: 2020 330i Msport
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Rheinland-Pfalz

iTrader: (0)

Damn, ok it thought it was just me. Yeah at night the camera is really useless, which I hate coming out of garages. There's has to be a solution
__________________
E36 318ti
E46 320i
E82 135i
F87 M2

G20 330i
Appreciate 0
      01-09-2022, 05:22 PM   #18
Andy3661
First Lieutenant
Andy3661's Avatar
United Kingdom
122
Rep
383
Posts

Drives: BMW G20 3 Series 320D XDRIVE M
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Manchester, UK

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
I keep getting a issue where it goes blue, only intermittently at this stage.
Attached Images
 
__________________
BMW 320D XDRIVE Mineral White, M-Sport Plus Pack, Tech Pack, Premium Pack, Visibility Pack, Comfort Pack, Live Cockpit Professional, Connected Package Professional, Driving Assistant Professional & Parking Assistant Plus
Appreciate 0
      01-10-2022, 04:58 AM   #19
rodc271
Private First Class
rodc271's Avatar
United Kingdom
27
Rep
102
Posts

Drives: Mineral White 330i M Sport Pro
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: UK

iTrader: (0)

Does everyone with the issue have the 360° cameras?
I had a loan G20 recently with a single rear reverse camera and no issues at night, very bright and clear.
My G20 with 4 x cameras is atrocious at night.
__________________
Mineral White 330i M Sport Pro
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:23 PM.




g20
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST