[skywatcher77]

Ive had the N97 for 2 months now with various problems. Todays new one comes in the form of when i tried to take a picture in low lighting. To the left of the screen when in landscape mode a transparent green half sphere appears when the camera lens focus's ready to take a picture with the flash. When i then take a picture, especially in low light, the sphere/bubble appears in the final picture when the flash is used.

Here are some sample pics, its as if there is a spec of dust on the lens, ive cleaned the lens and the flash but still the problem persists. Anyone else having this problem? Thanks

 www.mypicx.com/08092009/N97/

 www.mypicx.com/08092009/N97_2/

[post007]

This problem causing due to full flash. I have seen pictures like this taken from Nikon D90 which is successfull model in DSLR range. My N82 has also the same problem. My previous N82 has not this problem. So conclusion is, I think there is some hardware problem and the problem is in the lense. Go to Nokia Care Point and tell them your problem. Give me reply if it solved there or not.

[alfdererste]

I've got the same Prob with my N97.

I think it is caused by the  Lens-cover it is build of perspex.

The flash is sourrounded by the edge of this cover and not painted

black like the surface.

So the light is emitted to the left side of the taken picture.

Look at the Lens and I hope you can imagine what I mean.

Maybe I will try to paint it by myself..

[skywatcher77]

Could this be a hardware issue in the white edition only as it has the white plastic surround and the black one has the black surround? Can anyone confirm they have an issue with the black model?

[skywatcher77]

Also, ive noticed that the green bubble issue isnt on all pictures taken with the flash, it only seems to appear in near dark conditions. I tried to colour in most of the white surround with black felt pen and blue/green peice of plastic under the pull back lens cover. The problem still happened when in a nearly dark room. So is the problem that the flash is hitting off of the plastic lens surround regardless of the colour, its more or less an obstical for the flash to hit off of and not a flush flash like most cameras have.

[au_n97_user]

---

skywatcher77 wrote:
Could this be a hardware issue in the white edition only as it has the white plastic surround and the black one has the black surround? Can anyone confirm they have an issue with the black model?

---

I have a black N97 and my pictures and videos are great.  I've attached an example.

[au_n97_user]

And here is one with the flash on

[skywatcher77]

Thanks for the last post, do you have the same result in a totally dark room, or barely lit room? Ive had problems nearly every day with this phone, and this for me is the last straw. Its getting ebay'd!

[au_n97_user]

Well, that was already taken under energy saver light - so just for you I went and turned the light off altogether - it is 10:42pm here, so it IS dark!

[skywatcher77]

Not sure if you would agree or not, but there is a light haze to the left of your picture, not as bad as the bubble effect that i have, but i have also had a bright haze to the left of my pictures. I guess it all depends on the distance from the object and/or what the flash is reflecting off of. I havent had a phone previous to this with a lens cover or with the flash embedded so deep into the phone, so i can only assume this is the reason for this problem.

[au_n97_user]

The left side of the photo is lighter than the right, I agree - but the room was totally black, the flash is on the left side of the handset and I can't remember exactly the angle I was standing.

With a straight camera, one usually has the flash on the top and therefore there will be more even lighting of the subject.  I don't expect the same quality in total darkness from a phone camera that I would get with a 35mm SLR with a flash.  Even with a SLR, depending on the type of flash etc etc you can get a similar lighter side to the image, depending on the circumstances (where the photographer is standing, angle of the camera, angle of the flash, etc etc).

[skywatcher77]

I took some more snaps just now and adjusted the contrast and brightness to highlight just how bad the problem is. The first picture in landscape mode is nearly a quarter of the way into the picture. And the second pic in portrait mode is also the same. I took these pics in near darkness with only tv light in the room. Also if i zoom half way in and take a picture then the problem goes away, do you think its the lens, the flash, or indeed the plastic surround?

[alfdererste · Accepted solution]

@all:

I did it!

I painted the edge of the cover.

Works good on my Phone!

looks like this:

http://www.jacknet.de/bilder/N97/Linse2.jpg

first I took the TDK Pen:

http://www.jacknet.de/bilder/N97/Pens.jpg

It looks like that:

http://www.jacknet.de/bilder/N97/Pen1_1.jpg

http://www.jacknet.de/bilder/N97/Pen1_2.jpg

much better, but slightly there!

After that I took another Pen:

http://www.jacknet.de/bilder/N97/Pen2_1.jpg

http://www.jacknet.de/bilder/N97/Pen2_2.jpg

Seems to be gone!!

Maybe this effect is caused not only by the edge of the cover, but also from little scratches in front of the lens

which reflect the light!

 http://www.jacknet.de/bilder/N97/Linse1.jpg

when you zoom in, you can see them!

I hope this would help you.

If this affects the guarantee, I can't say!

So please be careful.

@Skywatcher:

When you zoom in, the area with the sphere is only cutted, because software-zooming is the same like cutting a Picture after taken it.

Message Edited by alfdererste on 10-Aug-2009 04:37 PM

[mbushnaq00]

here are some pix taken at a very dark enviroment

http://www.mypicx.com/08102009/N97_Camera/

2 weeks old N97 Black

[skywatcher77]

Thank you alfdererste!! I went ahead with a marker pen around the edge of the flash as you have shown in your pictures. This is a great solution to my problem, no more haze or half shaped bubbles in my pictures! Ive included a few snaps to show the clarity. Thanks once again. The next thing to fix is those dumb scratches lol any ideas?? 

[ts2003]

I have a N97 black, bought a month ago and have issues with the flash as shown in the attachments. When pushing the button, the veil appears in part of the picture. Without flash, the pictures are perfect, but I can't take pictures in poor lighting! I'm not sure circling the flash with a black felt pen would solve my problem, as it looks more like a harware or software problem.

In addition, the lens is already streaked by a grain of sand, caught between the plastic cover and the lens. Poor show for such an expensive phone!

[skywatcher77]

Wow! Your pictures are really bad. I thought mines were bad. Honestly the best thing to try is use a very this non-permanant maker pen and try it out, if this improves your images in low light with full flash then go ahead with the permanant marker. It worked a treat for me, its a shame a cheap marker pen has to be used on such an expensive phone just for it to operate. I wont be buying nokia again in my life!

[chrispyweener]

It is a common one on the N97 this - mine did it too, as does a work colleagues.  It was normally down to smudges on the lens causing flash light to 'bounce' back into the lens and overexpose the left of all my pictures.  It is down to the flash being recessed into the same lens cover as the lens itself and I've never seen this issue on any other Nokia I've had as the flash was always in a separate sub housing.  Sad to see you have to resort to such lengths of using stationary to make a £500 Carl Zeiss equipped 5mp camera phone work properly......

I think it was a design oversight more than anything on the N97.  Looking at my N85 now there's a clear plastic border to the flash and it takes more than acceptable pics in low light, same goes for the N95 although slightly less so with it being single LED rather than dual.  Not quite xenon standards either way but you can't tell where the flash comes from i.e above or below/ left or right of the lens on the pictures taken, and that's with thumb prints all over the thing.  Not so I found with the N97 and I ended up turning the flash off half the time just to guarantee my pictures would not have white out on the left hand side.  Nokia can get it right as they've proven before, just not on the day they designed this lens/ flash housing.

[simcard]

Nice tip. Thank you.

Accepted solution? NO WAY!

[skywatcher77]

Yes way lol