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Thread: How to get track addict app to not auto focus?

  1. #1
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    How to get track addict app to not auto focus?

    I am trying out the app and if it works properly I will get the racerender software. So far it seems like the perfect app I was looking for but I have 1 issue I can't seem to overcome. I have a samsung galaxy s5 phone. I went into camera settings AND I think I turned off autofocus, but when using track addict, it keeps on trying to focus the whole time video is being recorded. I didn't see a setting in the app to disable that either. Am I missing something? Thanks.

  2. #2
    HPT Employee Weston@HPTuners's Avatar
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    Are you using Android 5? And have you updated to the latest version (2.9.3)? It includes some changes to help this situation...

    TrackAddict has always requested an infinite or fixed focus mode for video recording, which is ideal for this type of use. Unfortunately, not all Android cameras offer those modes, and I have a suspicion that this issue might have gotten worse with Android 5.0. The latest app update adds some more logic to attempt to auto-focus just once and then lock that focus at the start of recording. That might be the extent of an app's ability to control this, but if the issue is still remaining for some devices, then I'd like to know and will see if there's anything else we can try in a future update...

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    I'm using 2.9.3 with Android 5.0.

  4. #4
    HPT Employee Weston@HPTuners's Avatar
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    Thanks for the info. I'll take a deeper look into this and see what we can do from within the app to improve the camera situation...

  5. #5
    HPT Employee Weston@HPTuners's Avatar
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    Update: It turns out that this is a bug in somewhat recent Samsungs, most notably affecting the Galaxy S5, and apparently some others as well. They're telling apps that the camera supports "Infinity Focus" mode, but the reality is that their implementation is broken or otherwise not following expectations, so it ends up making a mess of the video by continuously refocusing.

    A solution for this will be in the version 2.9.8 update, which I expect to have ready for release within the next 24 hours or so... It will simply disable Infinity Focus mode by default, and instead attempt to use a different fixed focus mode (depending on what that particular camera supports). For users who have devices that do properly implement Infinity Focus, they will be able to enable that on the "More Options" screen. It can be helpful to keep the camera from mistakenly focusing on something up close, like dirt or pits in the windshield.

  6. #6
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    I have same problem - I love the app and would like to use it, but it focuses on the windshield and I can't figure out what to do about it. I'm running TrackAddict v4.1.2 on Motorola X Play (Android 7.1.1). Any ideas?

  7. #7
    HPT Employee Weston@HPTuners's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mkjackson View Post
    I have same problem - I love the app and would like to use it, but it focuses on the windshield and I can't figure out what to do about it. I'm running TrackAddict v4.1.2 on Motorola X Play (Android 7.1.1). Any ideas?
    In this case, I would recommend going to the app's Options screen and turning the "Infinity Focus" mode On, as it is designed to solve this problem (it should have no effect if your phone's camera doesn't support this mode). It is just off by default because certain Samsungs (Galaxy S5 and others) would report supporting it but then didn't implement it properly, leading to unusable video for those users.

  8. #8
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    iPhone users also want to disable auto-focus feature.