Having a weird issue with our Arducam camera. The image has become really blurry and unclear recently, both at 1280x720 and the max 1600x1200. This camera is a critical part of the object recognition on our robot, and we have a competition in less than a week, so I’m kind of panicking. I’ve already wiped the lens with a microfiber cloth, reinstalled drivers, restarted the computer, and checked the USB cable and camera for any visible damage. I also stored it in an electrostatic bag as a precaution. Nothing has helped.
That sounds frustrating. Can you tell me the exact camera model and how it’s connected? Also, was the image ever sharp on this setup, or has it been like this from the start?
It’s the Arducam B0332, 50fps version, connected over USB. It was sharp when we first started using it, but it’s gotten blurrier over time. We don’t have any special code or logs to share right now, it just shows up as a normal UVC camera in our vision pipeline.
Since drivers, cable, and lens cleaning didn’t change anything, and there’s no visible damage, I’d look at the lens focus next. The B0332 uses an M12 lens, which is threaded and manually adjustable. Have you tried rotating the lens barrel?
No, I didn’t realize it was adjustable. I was worried about making it worse. Is it safe to just turn it?
Yes, it’s designed to be focused by hand. Open a live preview at 1600x1200, point the camera at something with fine detail, and slowly screw the M12 lens in or out until the picture is clear. Small turns, it can be sensitive.
Ah, that would explain it. We cleaned the lens pretty aggressively, and maybe it rotated a bit then. I’ll try adjusting it tonight and report back.
Sounds good. To sum up, the blur on the B0332 at 1280x720 and 1600x1200 is most likely just the M12 lens focus being off, not a sensor or driver issue. Rotate the lens slowly while watching a live image until it’s sharp. If it still won’t focus after that, then we can look at other causes.