Back up camera quality

Got it - thanks for the response. G'luck with the mod! I'd definitely need a "plug & play" option so I don't make things 100x worse by trying it myself!

 

I have a 2020 Tacoma TRD OR without the AdvanceTech cameras or JBL head unit and my rear camera looks fine. My father in-laws 2020 Tacoma TRD OR WITH the 360 AdvanceTech Cameras and JBL head unit looks like someone smeared Vaseline on the camera. I've only driven his truck once or twice but it was pretty jarring in comparison. I didn't mess around with any settings though, so if there's a button to remove the fish-eye distortion that may have fixed it, I'm not sure.

For reference, we both picked up our Tacomas from the same dealer on the same day. But looking at the VIN's mine was assembled in Texas, his was assembled in Mexico, but I'm not sure if that made any difference, I think it's purely the 360 cameras/interface that screws with the image

 

Great info thanks!

 

That's REALLY interesting. Exactly how I would describe the view (like someone smeared Vaseline on the camera). My '19 does not have the 360 degree (and, similar to what you're saying, the image is more clear).

However, the '22 was also assembled in Texas, so may rule out the theory of the assembly location impacting things here.

 

Wonder if there's another Toyota or even non-Toyota camera that would be a better solution and maybe even plug and play. I'd be willing to upgrade the head unit to make something work

 

Yeah first time I saw it, I thought he had something on his camera, because I was backing into my driveway like I normally do, and it felt like I couldn't see any detail (dimly lit driveway).. I of course used my mirrors to backup and everything was good, but if I paid more I'd be upset that I have a worse image

 

If you want a 360 camera there is a good kit on Amazon iirc. I believe it works with the regular backup camera, or in place of the regular backup camera, but probably won’t work with the factory 360 cameras.
Nothing will be “plug and play” exactly but with folks like Dave making great harnesses and the capability of 3d printers it seems like a reasonably simple kit could be assembled.

This can be done on factory non-360 trucks today. The difficult one will be the 360 camera trucks due to the canbus connection. Ultimately even if the video feed can be spoofed the canbus will still report the cameras as missing, to fix that you either need keep the factory cameras in the loop or spoof the canbus messaging with something like an arduino (assuming it can be spoofed). And as much as Mr Head Unit a few comments ago was spouting off, the issue could potentially lie in the video processing capabilities, or lack there of, of the head unit itself. I don’t personally see video processing artifacts when using the cameras so I’m hopeful it’s in the cameras themselves but it IS a distinct possibility. That means throwing away the whole head unit and going aftermarket.

 

Absolute worst quality back-up camera I have ever seen. It's a shame because I really like the rest of the truck.

 

Success, somewhat. I successfully switched to a different camera (on a 360 camera truck)



and the cheap camera I had on hand



Don’t try and come to any conclusions over the images as the fov, coloring, etc are all so different, not to mention my camera is unknown cheap crap with scratches, that nothing can be determined from these pictures.

 

And, to correct my own post…truck was not assembled in Texas - it was indeed born in Mexico. SO, the parts supply theory may still hold…

 

It doesn't. Mines a 21 Pro from TX and the cameras are pure doodoo.

 

Mine is adequate. Zero complaints. I don’t care if I’m not getting 4K or 1080p from a reverse camera.

 

This is indeed very interesting. Anyone have the back-up camera from a non-360 truck they can swap over to a 360 truck? Maybe with so many more camera Toyota just cheaped out.

 

funny comment

you do realize the backup camera runs on less then 480 right? As in less then VHS. 720 has 3 times the resolution of these cameras
Do you have the 360 cameras because those that do appear to have significantly worse quality then even the not-480 of the non 360 equipped trucks.

 

No, I only have the basic reverse camera. I have never even thought about how clear it was. I mean sure, should it have a better picture? Probably so. But it’s adequate enough for me to clearly see where I’m reversing into. That’s all I’m saying.

 

My 2014 civic had a wayyy better camera. I don't know what Toyota is thinking.

 

From what I have seen talked about on here those (non-360) were decent. Certainly not going to knock your socks off regarding picture quality but serviceable.

It seems the 360 camera system really dropped the ball on video quality, even more frustrating considering most paid extra for it. I have seen pictures where a gas can was a red blob.

my complaint isn’t being “4K” quality, it’s that you cannot just glance at the camera to see what’s behind you, you have to STARE at it. I find myself either trying to use the camera only, which is stupid, or having to ignore it completely, which sucks.

 

I'm in agreement; I have a '21 with just the backup camera (no 360), and I just came here to TW looking for some sort of swap-in / plug-n-play upgrade to the camera itself.

 

I hands down don't mind my 2019 camera

 

Doesn’t look great, but seems to serve the purpose.