[Q] how is rear camera protected? - Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have just got my Galaxy Note 2 yesterday and noticed that the rear camera is not protected. There is just camera lens visible (small piece of glass approx 1-1.5mm in diameter). It looks like there is a protection glass missing above the lens, because there is just the chrome bezel and and inside another plastic part which surrounds the lens.
For example here:
In the review posted on phonearena "GN2 x HTC One X" (I cannot post the link), there is nice picture of GN2 rear camera and it looks like there is a layer of glass/plastic above the camera lens. But I am not sure.
So I wonder if someone, simply by looking at this Note 2 backside, can confirm my suspicion.

Mine has a layer of plastic almost flush with the chrome bezel. It is square(ish), about 8mmx8mm.
(Picture attached)

mg35pt, thanks for the picture, which makes the covering layer very distinguished. That is what I was afraid of. Mine does not have anything "in the hole", just naked lens. So I guess I am going to return it .

risa2000 said:
mg35pt, thanks for the picture, which makes the covering layer very distinguished. That is what I was afraid of. Mine does not have anything "in the hole", just naked lens. So I guess I am going to return it .
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Are you saying yours doesn't have that chrome looking bezel? Would you mind posting a picture to give others a heads up of what to look for?
If you only have your phone you can try using a mirror.
Daniel

dachness said:
Are you saying yours doesn't have that chrome looking bezel? Would you mind posting a picture to give others a heads up of what to look for?
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It is not that I miss the bezel, which is right there. What I miss is the small window from transparent glass/plastic, which is sunk in the bezel and covers the lens and protects it from dust and contact with outside world. (As was nicely pictured by mg35pt). The missing window is not apparent at the first sight, so I guess they just forgot to put one there and quality control did not notice.

risa2000 said:
It is not that I miss the bezel, which is right there. What I miss is the small window from transparent glass/plastic, which is sunk in the bezel and covers the lens and protects it from dust and contact with outside world. (As was nicely pictured by mg35pt). The missing window is not apparent at the first sight, so I guess they just forgot to put one there and quality control did not notice.
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Thank you for the clarification. So all you see is the camera lens which is the tiny circle and not a flat surface as it should be.

Related

back cover and picture quality

little irritated that i just realized that taking the back cover off my tilt2 made for better quality pictures. and i randomly clean the plastic lens cover on the back cover but pics still come out hazey.
anyone have this issue or tips to clean it?
asiancuta said:
little irritated that i just realized that taking the back cover off my tilt2 made for better quality pictures. and i randomly clean the plastic lens cover on the back cover but pics still come out hazey.
anyone have this issue or tips to clean it?
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Is the plastic cover scratched -- like from rubbing against something?
Ironically, I am having the same issue. I was just searching for a solution on here last night. It seems to have just happened within the past week. The cover on mine doesn't seem to be scratched.
I tried cleaning it vigorously with my shirt, but the haze wouldn't go away. A little more "cleaning" today and most of it seems to be gone.
My buddy fixes copiers, so I figured he might have something that will clean it up good. I will work on this tomorrow and see if I can get it cleared up.
nope no scratches or anything. i'm pretty careful with the phone since i paid full no-contract price for it i've done windex and rubbing alcohol via q-tip...but no success.
the drastic difference without the back cover is like going from watching standard tv without contacts to watching HD tv with contacts.
yeah, I noticed the same on my tilt 2. The plastic cover makes the pictures blurry. I ended up just removing the plastic camera piece from the back cover. The camera is recessed, so I don't see the need for a plastic cover. Works much better.
asiancuta said:
the drastic difference without the back cover is like going from watching standard tv without contacts to watching HD tv with contacts.
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Kinda like this:
I've got the European version of the TP2 - it doesn't have any screen in the back cover - just a hole!
big difference..
thanks for posting this....hadn't thought about this issue....
but checked it out...and yep...HUGE difference....
the plastic 'lens cover' looks like a pretty cheap plastic material....
even with the best care and cleaning it will ultimately change....
mine's filthy and scratched a little....
considering popping it out
I popped mine out and it looks a lot better now. The contrast/sharpness is much better without it. The camera is actually pretty decent now, weird that htc ruins the cam by putting these plastic pieces of crap over the lens!
jcterry said:
Kinda like this:
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that's exactly how my pictures came out. thanks for posting examples.
those of you that have popped that plastic cover off haven't had any dust or foreign debri issues getting in the phone, without it? that's my only concern.
Nice find asiancuta the camera is so much better thanks for sharing.
It's not because the lense is dirty, I tried it the same day the TILT2 came out, fresh out of the box. So it's not a dirty lense, i had the same issue with the TILT 1 , its the protective lense cover, it's just cheap and not clear. so you could remove it , some people even drilled a hole in it. It will allow for dust to get under the cover more, but it gets under there anyways, you can blow it out every once in awhile, instead over removing your cover and having people look at you like your retarded.
magnaman750 said:
Nice find asiancuta the camera is so much better thanks for sharing.
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no prob. figured picture quality was a lens cover issue..went on a hunch. loving the pictures and the phone so much more now
bwnotredame06 said:
It's not because the lense is dirty, I tried it the same day the TILT2 came out, fresh out of the box. So it's not a dirty lense, i had the same issue with the TILT 1 , its the protective lense cover, it's just cheap and not clear. so you could remove it , some people even drilled a hole in it. It will allow for dust to get under the cover more, but it gets under there anyways, you can blow it out every once in awhile, instead over removing your cover and having people look at you like your retarded.
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true..i airblow mine once a week at least. dust build up is incredible...pretty much a dust magnet. looks like i'll attempt to drill a hole or take the plastic off completely. picture quality is too d*** good without it
If you are concerned about dust, when removing the clear plastic piece, place a small piece of gaffers or masking tape (with one end curled over) on the hole. This will create a small flap that will prevent dust from entering. When it's time to take a photo just peel back the tape a little.
Also No need to Drill a hole, from the outside push on lense protector inward, and it pops right off, if you decide later, you can put it back on real easy.
bwnotredame06 said:
Also No need to Drill a hole, from the outside push on lense protector inward, and it pops right off, if you decide later, you can put it back on real easy.
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i'm gonna keep the plastic off for a couple of days and see how it goes.
side note and another small observation: looks like a slight bad design flaw on HTC's part, for the HTC Tilt 2 if you look at other phones...blackberry, nokia's, and even the HTC Pure..basic keyboardless version of the Tilt2...you can see the lens higher up on the back of the phone. now hold you're phone as you usually would while browsing the web or checking the weather. don't know bout anyone else, but i place my pointing finger along the back of the phone as stable support..unknowingly covering the lens part. that and possible oxidation (the yellow discoloring that occurs on your car's headlights) may lead to the bad quality pictures.
Night and day difference in popping out that cheap plastic lens. WOW, better then my 3.1 digital camera now.
Yeah, I did that on my Kaiser and it was much better. Bought a replacement back cover just for that purpose, but I can't find another cover specifically for the Tilt 2 yet, so I just can't bring myself to do it to this phone yet.
Debbie
I got my TP2 just one and a half week ago new here in Germany. And there was no plastic lense in the battery cover, just a hole.
But the quality of the camera is more than poor. I had an SE X1 with the same 3.2 MP before it -that was goot quality. The TP2's quality is more than poor compared with the X1. Like 1 MP (TP2) to 3 MP (X1). Even at a good sunny day a picture in a garden is without sharpness at the edges and in the bottom of the front. The camera of the X1 I used more and more often instead of my standard digital camera for same easy pictures and it was ok. But the camera of the TP2 ist unusable compared with the X1

heres good soft and hard shell cases

Hard casehttp://www.amzer.com/Amzer-Rubberized-Black-Snap-On-Crystal-Hard-Case-P88785.htm
Soft casehttp://www.amzer.com/Amzer-Silicone-Skin-Jelly-Case-Black-P88765.htm
hard case says its ships ships on 8/17?!! dunno if i can wait that long
The hard case appears to be covering the front facing camera
BradBot said:
The hard case appears to be covering the front facing camera
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It's probably just a bad photoshop but the T959/Vibrant doesn't have one.
BradBot said:
The hard case appears to be covering the front facing camera
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No camera, but you do bring up a good point that it covers the little light sensor or whatever that thing is on the front...
degeneration said:
No camera, but you do bring up a good point that it covers the little light sensor or whatever that thing is on the front...
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Click to collapse
Not only does it appear to cover the light sensor on the front, but the back of the case also appears to be covering the speaker. I picked up the Tmo case in store and really like it.
I am waiting for this one:
http://www.amzer.com/Amzer-Luxe-Argyle-Skin-Case-Smoke-Grey-P88793.htm
can you describe the one that you got at the tmobile store? is it a hard case or just the silicone one? how much was it?
im going to stop by the tmobile store today to look for a hard case and screen protectors. although people in the screen protector thread said the screen protectors from tmobile sucked. any suggustions that dont require me putting water on my phone like the clearfreak screen protectors?
btw, i am looking for something like posted above, but dont want to wait till mid august
Hard casehttp://www.amzer.com/Amzer-Rubberize...ase-P88785.htm
ArcticWolf91 said:
I am waiting for this one:
this case is bad ass. One thing i noticed is that it doesn't look like it has a hole for the speaker on the upper right side?
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degeneration said:
No camera, but you do bring up a good point that it covers the little light sensor or whatever that thing is on the front...
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Click to collapse
There is a light sensor and a proximity sensor in front. Might be another one. I see 3 small dots on the front.
I've heard you're better off covering the front facing camera, at least it keeps you from thinking you can actually use the thing. (I don't have one, but I've heard in several places it's pretty much worthless).
The FFC is near worthless without Fring/Skype. You can chat with QIK but that's about it, the other stuff is worthless. So much for it taking over.

[Q] Black dot when I take pictures

Why is there a black dot in the same exact place when I take a picture. It doesn't matter what camera app I use. I'm thinking that its someting under the camera lens. What should I do?
Looks like a piece of plastic or foam under the lens.
fury683 said:
Looks like a piece of plastic or foam under the lens.
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How can I remove it?
You'll have to open the back of the case and see if you can clear the debris that way. If it's not easily accessible or blown out that way, I'm not sure you'll even want to mess with it further. Not sure what kind of real uses this terrible camera has anyways.
Here's a teardown guide, be careful not to crack the back cover....
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+7+2nd+Generation+Teardown/16072

[Review] GPEL Tempered glass

The GPEL screen protector is fantastic! No dot matrix, full adhesive, comes with 2, affordable, case friendly & no Halo affect.
The black border is just a tad too big, so you lose a row of pixels..
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D1CG8QY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_MQYCBbYM79AP7
Thanks for sharing the review!
Hello,
Does the black line cut from the sides of the screen ? Or the bottom ?
Thank you !
Al3xxxinho said:
Hello,
Does the black line cut from the sides of the screen ? Or the bottom ?
Thank you !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently have this protector, as stated in the OP it cuts off a little on all sides and is it a bit crooked. I have plans to review another screen protector (might be the one) in a new thread soon
So, anyone that sells this internationally for less than 15usd for shipping?
8bitbang said:
I currently have this protector, as stated in the OP it cuts off a little on all sides and is it a bit crooked. I have plans to review another screen protector (might be the one) in a new thread soon
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Click to collapse
Care to share which one? I just picked up a g7 yesterday, have a SUPCASE UB Pro on order, want to pull the included plastic shield, put on glass.
The gpel sounds good, but I'm interested in seeing what else looks solid. (Not interested in going to the $50 dome glass.)
Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk
markfm said:
Care to share which one? I just picked up a g7 yesterday, have a SUPCASE UB Pro on order, want to pull the included plastic shield, put on glass.
The gpel sounds good, but I'm interested in seeing what else looks solid. (Not interested in going to the $50 dome glass.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 2 g7s one with gpel and dome glass. Do you want a side by side comparsion picture. Either is perfect and has flaws
8bitbang said:
I have 2 g7s one with gpel and dome glass. Do you want a side by side comparsion picture. Either is perfect and has flaws
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Click to collapse
Sure, thanks!
Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk
Dome is on the left and GPEL is on the right
Dome - doesn't affect the sensors but it's smaller than the actual display. It's a bit too short on the left and right sides. This causes light bleed on the edge of the screen protector. Dust magnet but less likely to have bubbles
GPEL - affects sensors and black borders cut off display and is especially noticeable when watching YouTube videos in full screen pinch. Bubbles can happen
8bitbang said:
Dome is on the left and GPEL is on the right
Dome - doesn't affect the sensors but it's smaller than the actual display. It's a bit too short on the left and right sides. This causes light bleed on the edge of the screen protector. Dust magnet but less likely to have bubbles
GPEL - affects sensors and black borders cut off display and is especially noticeable when watching YouTube videos in full screen pinch. Bubbles can happen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are the sensor impacts from using the gpel?
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markfm said:
What are the sensor impacts from using the gpel?
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Click to collapse
It can cause the display to dim and sometimes turn off like when you raise your phone to answer a call. To be fair all full cover screen protectors are suffering for this flaw. Even OtterBox is getting massive hate for their version and is temporary unavailable.
Just to let you guys know,
You will NOT have the "notch" border pixel line problem if you perfectly align the holes at the top with the sensors, but with a catch: you have to align it with the sensor being more towards the bottom than dead center. My very first screen protector had it more towards the top (basically, the entire protector aligned downwards 1mm, which made the notch very prominent). Then I wasted two more trying to make it bottom aligned. (edit). That fixes the sensor problem and the pixel problem at the top with the notch, unless you are looking down at the phone from above the phone (and who the hell does that?). Unfortunately, perfect alignment is expensive and will cost you several screen protectors since you have to deal with lifting and replanting as well as small nudging WHILE you are in a steamy bathroom hoping for no dust hairs to drop on something. Took me three of them to get it perfect. But I got perfect and I'm pleased.
The left and right sides black bars aren't a problem; the missing pixel line can always be seen by looking to the side of the phone. Just remember to focus on aligning the TOP first (edit) align the ridged sensor so it's almost touching the bottom cutout) and then pressing the top down, then the middle. That's the hard part. This will also cause a few air bubbles on the sides, which means you will have to carefully lift the edges and press outwards to reapply again, and make very sure your fingernails are spotless. That is going to be the risk of dust getting in there, so be careful. Get it perfect then everything will make you happy.
The results are worth it.
Falkentyne said:
Just to let you guys know,
You will NOT have the "notch" border pixel line problem if you perfectly align the holes at the top with the sensors. That fixes the sensor problem and the pixel problem at the top with the notch, unless you are looking down at the phone from above the phone (and who the hell does that?). Unfortunately, perfect alignment is expensive and will cost you several screen protectors since you have to deal with lifting and replanting as well as small nudging WHILE you are in a steamy bathroom hoping for no dust hairs to drop on something. Took me three of them to get it perfect. But I got perfect and I'm pleased.
The left and right sides black bars aren't a problem; the missing pixel line can always be seen by looking to the side of the phone. Just remember to focus on aligning the TOP first and then pressing the top down, then the middle. That's the hard part. This will also cause a few air bubbles on the sides, which means you will have to carefully lift the edges and press outwards to reapply again, and make very sure your fingernails are spotless. That is going to be the risk of dust getting in there, so be careful. Get it perfect then everything will make you happy.
The results are worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where's your proof? Both the OP and me have reported information (with evidence mind you) that contradicts your statements.
8bitbang said:
Where's your proof? Both the OP and me have reported information (with evidence mind you) that contradicts your statements.
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Click to collapse
My proof is me owning the phone and going through 4 GPEL screen protectors before I got it perfect. I paid my dues. And as someone disabled and on SSI and with a fixed income, I don't have money to go through infinite screen protectors, unlike some of you people here.
The trick is to align the "ridged" sensor so that it's (edit: just looked at my phone: the hole aligned at the -bottom- of the ridged sensor, rather than dead center! but not blocked by the edge of the screen protector), sensor bottom aligned and then after that, making sure all the sides are perfectly straight when applying (a LOT harder than you think, even in a steamy shower, because I'm in an old apartment). Took me 4 protectors and cost me over $30 dollars. (air bubbles and dust from me constantly having to re-lift to get the orientation perfect and eventually dust getting under the edges, and I have OCD so I want nothing less than perfection). Might even give GPEL an email and see if they'll send me an extra sample for my troubles. And no, I have no way to take a picture of the phone screen for you.
I forgot that I had it 'bottom' side sensor aligned rather than mid sensor aligned because I spent over 30 minutes in the shower sweating and uncomfortable wasting screen protectors trying to get rid of the notch line and getting it on with air bubbles. I was extremely stressed out, and it's difficult for someone with a metal bar in their spine to have to work that hard. Needless to say the fourth protector (thank god) I got absolutely perfect.
If it's dead center yes you will have a pixel row of the notch visible. So you have to 'raise' the protector upwards by that same pixel space. There's enough cutout to work with to make that work.
This is no problem because the very *BOTTOM* of the phone isn't used by the display (since this is an IPS display; someone mentioned this in a review, compared to OLED), unlike the top, so you have like 1mm of extra room to work with for the cutout (as long as the top sensor isn't blocked by the bottom edge of the protector). The black border at the bottom won't interfere with anything (checked with a screen test in the service menu).
I'll -try- to upload a picture of the phone with my laptop's built in camera if I can later on, but please don't be upset if you don't like the quality. My laptop isn't high definition and isn't made for such precise pictures. 720p isn't going to work very well.
@Falkentyne - thanks for the explanation.
It sounds like the critical part is where the protector is relative to the front mounted speaker (towards the right edge of the notch) front mounted camera (center of the notch), mystery circle to the left of the camera, and tiny notification led circle furthest to the left side of the notch?
If a photo of your own screen is hard to get, I've attached a photo, the top part of the g7 screen. Maybe draw a line showing where the gpel edge needs to be (outside edge of the line = outside edge of the gpel).
This is the best I could do.
markfm said:
@Falkentyne - thanks for the explanation.
It sounds like the critical part is where the protector is relative to the front mounted speaker (towards the right edge of the notch) front mounted camera (center of the notch), mystery circle to the left of the camera, and tiny notification led circle furthest to the left side of the notch?
If a photo of your own screen is hard to get, I've attached a photo, the top part of the g7 screen. Maybe draw a line showing where the gpel edge needs to be (outside edge of the line = outside edge of the gpel).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your picture, move the screen protector UP about 1mm upwards so the bottom is where the red line is.
This will leave about 1mm of 'extra' space above the sensor area (whatever that thing is, sensor, microphone, I don't know). But it will still fit fully into the enclosure.
Took me 4 screen protectors to do this AND have no spare dust hairs from all the relifting !
Perfect thanks!
Just over the bottom edge of the front speaker (the oval on the right with the grid pattern).
I just got my gpel protectors in today, will give it a try tomorrow.
I installed it following your suggestion, it seems to be working fine. Thanks for the info!
markfm said:
I installed it following your suggestion, it seems to be working fine. Thanks for the info!
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Click to collapse
Glad you got it working and got the results you wanted.
It's good that the cutout is slightly larger than the speaker(and sensor/camera) itself, but bad that people won't know about this without experimentation (or somehow coming across the posts here).

Rear camera bump angled?

I just noticed while looking at the phone from the side my rear camera bump has a slight angle downward. Like the bottom is almost flush with the phone while the top is out the most. It looks like it's by design since when the phone sits on a flat surface the angle would match since it does protrude out towards the top. It looks more drastic in person. The picture here barely shows it.
bobbyphoenix said:
I just noticed while looking at the phone from the side my rear camera bump has a slight angle downward. Like the bottom is almost flush with the phone while the top is out the most. It looks like it's by design since when the phone sits on a flat surface the angle would match since it does protrude out towards the top. It looks more drastic in person. The picture here barely shows it.
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Click to collapse
Not sure how you noticed that! But yes it looks like mine is also angled.
vwgti18 said:
Not sure how you noticed that! But yes it looks like mine is also angled.
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Click to collapse
I was putting a case on it, and when I turned it sideways the sun hit it just right, and my eye caught the slightest angle. All chance. I wasn't even looking for it.
Same
I have this too. I noticed it when I was putting a dbrand skin on. I assume it's to reduce camera wobble but I don't know.
My original P3 XL purchased on Dec 2018 had it, but i didnt noticed it until earlier this year. I thought my wiping of the lense caused it as time went by... Now on May 2020 i cracked my rear glass, so i did a Assurant replacement... The replacement device i got, was refurb, and was perfectly straight. No lean.... BUT that device had issue with touch sensitivity, so i had it replaced and the new refurb also has a slanted camera glass....
So i dunno, maybe its like that, maybe it should? Who knows.

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