I dropped my CGO3 camera yesterday on a concrete floor...The camera still works, and if you put your hand up close to the lens, it will focus, but it will not focus in on anything out past an inch or two in front of the camera. Does anyone have any idea if there is a fix I can do myself for this, or if I'm going to have to send it in?
CGO3 Camera Won't Focus
- Thread starter andyfinsterwald
- Start date
The lens sits in a plastic barrel and can be moved in and out to focus. Some of the barrels have threads and some are smooth. The barrel is attached to the sensor board with 4 screws. The lens usually as some glue to hold it in place where it meets the barrel. It may have come loose when it was dropped.
You can take off the lens cover off the camera by squeezing the sides and the top or bottom. Then you can inspect the lens. Gently move it to see if it is loose or if the barrel is loose. If the lens can move inside the barrel by turning it, then I can tell you how to refocus. Reply back here on what you find.
I just figured out that it came unglued when it hit. I'm guessing putting a little glue back on it will correct the problem?
Seems to focus in fine when I pushed it back down to where it's seated in the position it was, when it was glued.
If it moved out of focus then you don't want to re-glue it until it's re-focused. Does it look like the barrel is still solid?
Don't use anything super glue. You want something that can be removed to refocus in the future if needed.
Hmmm...Well, got it back in the hole with a very small amount of hot glue to tack it, and the two lines matched back up. Appears to focus fine closer up still, but took it outside, and about 10 yards away, it is still blurry...It is better than it was, for sure..I can't do any flight testing today, as we have 35-40mph sustained winds, and 50+ mph gusts...[emoji53]
Dang, that sucks. The only method I've seen to get a good focus is to connect a HDMI cable from the ST16 to a TV or monitor and try to get the best focus possible for distance.
I didn't think about that..I bought a 32" smart TV to screen cast to out on site, so I will try that tomorrow. I bet I can get it better with that. Thanks again.
Let us know how it goes. It would be great if you could have someone take a short video of the procedure.
I will set up one of my other cameras to try that...(Hopefully I will be able to do it tomorrow. I'm on shift at the fire department, and it's supposed to be windy again tomorrow, but whether it's tomorrow, or in a couple of days, I will post a Youtube video, and share the link when I end up getting it done.)
I know this may sound silly, but don't forget to clean the lens. As a photographer, I can tell you one of the most common mistakes people make is forgetting to clean it. It could still be out of focus, but that is also a place to look. You can also find focus patterns on-line to download and use.
Here is a link from another group I just searched that tells you what to do and they provide a link at the bottom for the focus pattern as well.
Here is a link from another group I just searched that tells you what to do and they provide a link at the bottom for the focus pattern as well.
Sweet! I don't see a link in the thread, but I can find one online. Luckily, I DID think about the lens cleaning! I can certainly see how it could be forgotten! Send that link again if you get a chance. THANKS a LOT! I do appreciate it!
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