Hello Everyone,
I have a problem with my Framework camera: Under artificial light my skin looks like I spent too much time at the beach and am experiencing a bad burn! Framework sent me a new camera, but that has not solved the problem.
Is anyone else experiencing this, or does anyone have an idea what might be wrong? Thank you!
David
Can you post a photo of the issue? A printed color-checking sheet should give the gist. I was thinking that a connector might be improperly seated, but most devices use USB. Rarely, although possible, there might be a red film on the camera, which is required for PnP assembly (pick and place). Try peeling the bezel back and taking a picture.
Hi StarEngineer - Thanks for responding!
I actually had Framework send me a new camera, replaced the old one, and while there is some improvement in natural light settings (looks normal most of the time), as soon as I turn on the inside lights I look beet red.
And Iām bald so this is no help.
I canāt attach a photo (something about new users not being able to). Thanks for your help!
David
I think Imgur links would work, just have to click to see the image.
This might be due to the wavelength of the light, as very specific wavelengths might register as red on the camera. This is an example spectral response curve for a Canon 40D camera, the FW can have a different one.
Iām having a similar issue. I adjusted the saturation on the camera settings in linux using a python tool called camset. Itās better, but still not perfect. The camera just seems to oversaturate red.
Itās the lack of decent auto white-balance.
Also, thereās no mention of the colour reproduction accuracyā¦itās not just the web cam. You need to consider the display as well.
What your eyes perceived is a compounded output from the webcam AND the display panel, in conjunction with your ambient lighting conditions.
So technically, " Camera shows extreme red hue" (when talking about the Framework laptop webcam) is incorrect, as web cam (and other sensors) are not for displaying / reproducing colours; The web cam does not āshowā thingsā¦it interpret photons wavelengths and encode that digitally to represent the colours that it perceived.
In short, there are at least two things to calibrate; The display panel, and the web cam white balance algorithm to match its environment.
I understand your logic but beg to differ: Others who are observing me via video see that I look like a big ripe tomato, so there you have.
I feel very sad about this laptop. SUCH promise, SO MANY issues. I really really hope they are just growing pains. My trackpad does not allow me to pick things up anymore. I will fiddle with the settings but Iām not confident, given the hardware problems Iāve had since Day 1.
Anyone else with a DIY Framework having nagging issues? Is it just me? Should I give them another shot or bail when it comes time to buy new?
Thanks everyone!
Thatās new information. So given this, yes. Itās likely the camera has a lack of [decent] white-balancing.
I want to comment on thisā¦but will likely perceived as the ādark cloudā.
@David_Herst - what OS and video application are you running?
Iād say if you canāt confirm that the system will work the way that you need it to, hoping that one day it might isnāt necessarily a great bet.
Ahā¦found this, tested it out, seems to work. You need Skype installedā¦then you can adjust the camera settings.
In my case, I turned the saturation down from 60, to around 36-38.
This is important information. It is hard to help without this info. If you are on Windows, and youāve installed the Framework driver bundle, then this sounds like you will need to contact support.
Other wise, it could be a misconfiguration if on a Linux distro not widely tested by Framework and the community here.
I think you should give Framework the opportunity to help you out. Please understand that this is the first thread on this forum about this issue. (that Iāve seen) It doesnāt seem to be a common problem.
Despite my myriad of hardware problems with the laptop, Framework the company has been STELLAR. That has kept me around.
As for the red camera hue, they quickly sent me a replacement camera and the problem has persisted. The problem shows up on any and all video applications I use, including WebEx, Zoom, and Screen cast-o-matic. It forces me to use an external device.
I am running Windows 10 with all updates.
Thank you for your input!
Grab Skype from the Windows Store, then from that, configure the camera settings. The setting is applied to the camera [logical] device, not the app, so it will carry through to your other cam apps.
Or if you want to go the really DIY route:
https://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/access-advanced-settings-for-the-integrated-webcam-on-windows-10/
I hardly ever use the camera but I was curious. And yes, it seems that the cameraās default saturation also gives my skin tone a spent-a-little-too-long-in-the-sun look.
On Linux/Fedora:
$ sudo dnf install v4l-utils
$ v4l2-ctl -l
User Controls
brightness 0x00980900 (int) : min=-64 max=64 step=1 default=0 value=0
contrast 0x00980901 (int) : min=0 max=95 step=1 default=0 value=0
saturation 0x00980902 (int) : min=0 max=100 step=1 default=64 value=64
hue 0x00980903 (int) : min=-2000 max=2000 step=1 default=0 value=0
white_balance_automatic 0x0098090c (bool) : default=1 value=1
gamma 0x00980910 (int) : min=100 max=300 step=1 default=100 value=100
power_line_frequency 0x00980918 (menu) : min=0 max=2 default=2 value=2 (60 Hz)
white_balance_temperature 0x0098091a (int) : min=2800 max=6500 step=10 default=4600 value=4600 flags=inactive
sharpness 0x0098091b (int) : min=1 max=7 step=1 default=2 value=2
backlight_compensation 0x0098091c (int) : min=0 max=3 step=1 default=3 value=3
Camera Controls
auto_exposure 0x009a0901 (menu) : min=0 max=3 default=3 value=3 (Aperture Priority Mode)
exposure_time_absolute 0x009a0902 (int) : min=10 max=625 step=1 default=156 value=156 flags=inactive
exposure_dynamic_framerate 0x009a0903 (bool) : default=0 value=1
$ v4l2-ctl -c saturation=30
looks much better.
Havenāt looked into making this āstickyā, doesnāt bother me enough to go write a systemd unit for it.
(edit to remove stale windows reference)
Very nice @dimitris, thanks!
I hadnāt considered that the issue was simply software / driver tuning. Very cool to see.
I have the same issue on Linux (Ubuntu 22.04).
I installed guvcview and tuned the camera profile.
Itās not that perfect. Now Iām a bit too much desaturated but at least my face is not red anymore and the colors of my clothing look normal.
I am using v4l2-ctl as well. It seems odd that I have to do this, though. I have not had to do anything with other laptops andā¦ Well, those of us with Scottish heritage will never like the color that a camera gives us, but it seems odd that frameworkās camera is noticeably worse than others.
The v4l2-ctl -c saturation=30 solution works for mee too and is persistent after a reboot on Pop!_OS 22.04. Thanks, @dimitris
Big thanks to A_Fan for the Skype saturation fix solution to this problem. I have suffered long enough as a big red tomato, now I look relatively normal!
I used @dimitris suggestion. Iām able to bump it to 45 to get a slightly more natural feel without the redness.