Back up camera - upgrade possible?

[IdahoRanger]

Mine seems to accumulate dirt and water on it pretty easily which makes it difficult to see anything. I wiped it off this weekend and it is better, but when it rains all the water collects on it and distorts everything. I tried putting some rainx on it but it didn't seem to help at all.

Does anyone else experience the same thing?

Yes

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[RedlandRanger]

I did a little googling and it looks to be a VERY common problem among many car/truck brands. Rainx is mentioned a bunch, but I did find this:

https://www.amazon.com/F150-Rear-Camera-Shield-2015-2017/dp/B07XWVJ9TZ

The only one I found it for was the 2015-2017 F-150. Wondering if any of the 3d printers here might like to take a crack at something like this for the Ranger?

Edit: Nevermind - further down in the thread that talks about it is this response:

https://www.f150forum.com/f118/drip-shield-rear-backup-camera-370587/index3/#post6379256

Guess it is just the nature of the beast.

A few intrepid souls have created a washer for the camera - not sure that is for me though:

https://www.f150forum.com/f118/rear-camera-washer-yes-please-371603/index5/

 

[Dr.Me]

I beleive the lower resolution helps with getting better real time video.

I have a hard time trusting these rear cameras, I had a 2015 Corolla fo a little while and had a hard time getting use to using it, then one day I guess it froze or started to lag when I was backing out a parallel stall, then wham my bumper kissed the motorcycle's exhaust pipe even though it showed I had about 2 feet left, I then had to find the owner and he shrugged if off and told me it's okay.

 

[Texasota]

I beleive the lower resolution helps with getting better real time video.

I have a hard time trusting these rear cameras, I had a 2015 Corolla fo a little while and had a hard time getting use to using it, then one day I guess it froze or started to lag when I was backing out a parallel stall, then wham my bumper kissed the motorcycle's exhaust pipe even though it showed I had about 2 feet left, I then had to find the owner and he shrugged if off and told me it's okay.

You are a good man. Many people in parking lots that hit another vehicle just drive away.

 

[ebFX4]

We need more drivers like you @Dr.Me
Good point on the resolution. I didn’t consider that, but higher res would need more processing power.
And seeing as using and switching apps already stutters a bit, I’m guessing the console’s computer isn’t too beefy. A higher cam could crash it!

 

[Dr.Me]

We need more drivers like you @Dr.Me
Good point on the resolution. I didn’t consider that, but higher res would need more processing power.
And seeing as using and switching apps already stutters a bit, I’m guessing the console’s computer isn’t too beefy. A higher cam could crash it!

And on top of it all just say it has a beefy processor and high resolution camera...the sync 3 itself doesn't have a very good display compared to higher resolution aftermarket. It can be a number of things.

But instead of fixing these small little details that to majority don't matter I'm pretty sure the common denominator in all these problems is sync 3...its the bane of at least my trucks life. Interface is plane ugly, the anc is most likely tied into it(messing up my bass) and why in the hell would people think it would be better to put AC controls in the head unit now I always gotta look at the damn thing while I'm driving to change the AC configurations...PHYSICAL BUTTON FOR "ALL" AC CONTROLS!!!!...I would go aftermarket but with the LACK of physical controls I would definitely lose the controls.

 

[Dr.Me]

Just realized I went a bit off topic sorry for the little rant there

 

[TechnicallyReal]

And on top of it all just say it has a beefy processor and high resolution camera...the sync 3 itself doesn't have a very good display compared to higher resolution aftermarket. It can be a number of things.

But instead of fixing these small little details that to majority don't matter I'm pretty sure the common denominator in all these problems is sync 3...its the bane of at least my trucks life. Interface is plane ugly, the anc is most likely tied into it(messing up my bass) and why in the hell would people think it would be better to put AC controls in the head unit now I always gotta look at the damn thing while I'm driving to change the AC configurations...PHYSICAL BUTTON FOR "ALL" AC CONTROLS!!!!...I would go aftermarket but with the LACK of physical controls I would definitely lose the controls.

Are there setups where the AC is really only through the head unit? Is this why so many people doing the manual upgrade to Sync 3.4 mention losing the controls? I have both physical controls as well as on-screen controls. Maybe it's a Lariat thing? or a Canadian thing?

About the quality - a higher quality camera wouldn't or shouldn't add lag or require more processing, since they are analog cameras built for real-time use. When you get into digital and HD then those concerns come into play more. Or when you get into cameras not meant for this use case.

I've replaced the camera on a 2013 Santa Fe with a better quality one before. The hard part is finding one that fits into the OEM housing. You probably won't fine one I ended up getting one that bolted onto the license plate frame instead. With that particular vehicle the motivation to put on a better camera wasn't image quality, it was that the OEM camera had a leak and corroded causing it to blue-screen frequently. I just happened to notice how much clearer the image was on the aftermarket camera. The head unit on the Santa Fe was much older and slower than that of the the Ranger's.

I also built racing quadcopters for a while and was really into the FPV camera side of things. Some analog cameras do have extra lag if they're not meant for time-sensitive applications. Most cameras used for FPV are actually meant for use as security cameras and so there's a bunch of extra functionality and processing going on within the camera board itself. Camera's made for use on a vehicle shouldn't have that issue.

 

[Dr.Me]

Might be a Lariat thing, the only physical AC controls I have are the fan speed and temperature

 

[Fawnbuster]

As long as I keep the lense clean mines great. In dust or winter (salt) I make a habit of using a cloth, glove or sleeve to gently wipe it before getting in and backing out of a parking space

 

[THLONE]

While you are back there cleaning the lens just look with you eyes and see how close you are to the object. ? ?

 

[t4thfavor]

I just want to be able to turn it on at any time, not just in rev.

THIS IS NOT A JOKE...

Now that I've given the pretext that this is legitimately how it works, you can just throw the truck in Reverse while speeding away down the e-way and the backup camera turns on.
In case I didn't say I'm not joking, you can check various youtube videos for the exact procedure. Just don't go into P because that is bad.

Also, the camera is Analog, so the resolution isn't going to be as good as some of the digital systems. I second the Wrangler being better after driving one around Maui for 2 weeks.

 

[Trigganometry]

I messed with this stuff when I put a Panasonic head unit in my old Ranger. The higher res cameras also have the colored bars in the cameras electronics. The head also had higher resolution than the one I have now does. Depending on the camera connector in the tail gate I do have a spare hi res camera leftover. Curious to see if it’s improved and compatible with head unit.

As far as resolution of the current head unit. Might be able to replace touch screen with higher res if you can find a compatible plug and play.

 

[jblc]

If it uses composite video, maybe something more high end: https://www.brandmotion.com/summitview-1/rock-cameras/summitview-rock-camera-9002-8851.html

Just out of curiosity, what makes this higher-end than the stock camera?
The resolution for the summitview rock camera is 480p, which seems less than the stock backup camera....

 

[LostMy65]

Any updates with anyone trying an f150 camera, or other possible solutions ones have come up with?

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