Has anyone else noticed scratches on the plastic that goes over their lens, which appear to be caused by the lens cover? 😮 When I got my N97 there were no scratches...
At the moment there are three parallel and fairly deep scratches in the plastic that goes over the lens, I think I am lucky in that my scratches are just above and below the area that covers the lens, so they are not visible on photos, however, I'm sure there was only one scratch last week and now there are 3 so maybe the cover is creating more scratches as I use it. :con?
I can smell a recall of N97s coming on!
BTW, does anyone else have a problem taking a picture using the flash when holding the phone landscape orientation? Mine seems to end up with a light section (about one sixth of the image) on the left.. Problem does not occur if phone is portrait or flash is not used...
Mine does it too. It's the scratch catching the light and flaring over the photo. I can't take photos with the flash indoors anymore!
😞
It's the only thing about my n97 that I'm finding disappointing.
davecozens wrote:Mine does it too. It's the scratch catching the light and flaring over the photo. I can't take photos with the flash indoors anymore!😞
It's the only thing about my n97 that I'm finding disappointing.
This is a huge and shocking design flaw and they will need to redesign the camera cover and offer a free update to all N97 users, as the phone is damaging itself! 😮😮
Your theory about the scratches causing the 'light area' when using the flash makes sense, when the phone is landscape the scratches will be vertical and the light could be distorted. I guess this means that I haven't been as lucky as I thought and the image without the flash is also being affected, but it's just harder to notice.
I guess this mostly due to the way we open the slide cover which is by putting your finger on the middle part an sliding it down while putting pressure on it.
I suggest using your finger nail to push it down from the top instead of applying pressure.
This is a design flaw and i think the n86 will have the same problem because there isn't any part of the slide mechanism that facilitates its movement.
My main scratch is between the led and the lense, so although the scratch doesn't show on pics the light hitting it makes indoor shots with flash impossible!
Anybody else getting this issue? Check you lenses!
dorisall wrote:I guess this mostly due to the way we open the slide cover which is by putting your finger on the middle part an sliding it down while putting pressure on it.I suggest using your finger nail to push it down from the top instead of applying pressure.
This is a design flaw and i think the n86 will have the same problem because there isn't any part of the slide mechanism that facilitates its movement.
Since there are no detailed instructions about opening the lens cover (with a warning about not using your finger in the centre of it), I would say this is a design problem and not a problem with how it's being used. On top of this problem, the cover itself is too easy to open when you are removing the phone from a pocket.
There is no way putting light pressure anywhere on a lens cover should scratch the lens underneath. The purpose of the cover is to protect the lens, as it stands my N97 lens would be in better condition if it had no cover at all!
This kind of obvious flaw does make me worry about how the opening mechanism for the keyboard will hold up.
Just checked mine, i have scratch lines where the lens cover slides up and down also.
Luckily (so far, anyway) the lines don't go directly over the camera centre.
Just for knowing, are your devices Finnish or Chinese ? Mine is black Chinese and I don't have any scratches, but then again I didn't use the camera that often.
munkiii wrote:Just checked mine, i have scratch lines where the lens cover slides up and down also.Luckily (so far, anyway) the lines don't go directly over the camera centre.
That doesn't help. My worst scratch is away from the lens and the reflected light from the scratch ruins pics with flash... Click link for BIG detailed photo
http://www.davecozens.com/n97/scratch.htm
Hmm... previous post got moderated for images inline.
See photos of my scratches at http://www.davecozens.com/n97/scratch.htm
My worst scratch is in the middle of lens and led and the flare from it is nasty. It's not just scratches on the lens area itself!
Yup, I already noticed the scratches after opening and closing the lens cover only a couple of times... I will follow this thread to see if any news comes up on this issue...
after reading this thread i had alook at my phone and low and behold i have a scratch that goes right down the lens so i have organised play to come and collect it for a refund:frown:
Mine has been in a CP-323 Nokia Case since I first bought it so dust/debris should be very limited - I've got scratches on the lense, only minor but I find this ridiculous considering I have only used the camera on two occassions.
Yolmol wrote:Mine has been in a CP-323 Nokia Case since I first bought it so dust/debris should be very limited - I've got scratches on the lense, only minor but I find this ridiculous considering I have only used the camera on two occassions.
I noticed my first scratch after using the camera once, within 10 mins of unboxing, so it's nothing to do with 'trapped dirt' and everything to do with a design/manufacturing fault.
http://www.nokiausers.net/forum/nokia-n97/28878-your-n97-main-camera-glass-being-scratched-slider-cover.html
please could all users with this problem vote in this poll and if possible add their pictures of the damaged lens
mickey over at nokia users is trying to get something done about this problem and will be at the next nokia confrence where he will eb able to talk to reps about this bad design
over at nokia users we are going to try and take this as far as we can but we will need your help with this
we are hoping that we can form a poll with pictures as evidence that this problem is not limited to a few handsets and is a design fault with the phone
once we have enough eveidence we will be using the poll as evidence against nokia , we will try nokia , offcom , watchdog , bbc . itv , trading standards and any consumer rights organisation
this is a bad design and shouldnt have been released like this
please please spread the poll around other forums and try to get people to vote
if we dont complain nothing will be done
we can only try
but there is power in numbers , so lets all stand up and say this isnt good enough
please join the poll , add your pictures and then spread the poll around
thanks for your time
please could a user from here spread the poll to howard forums and the n97 section in the vodafone forums
thanks again and please dont forget to visit the poll and add a vote and photos
i can see how this would happen. you need to apply pressure when sliding the cover open and closed. essentially you are grinding right down into the lens with your thumb. for now i would use your fingernail and push from the very edge to open so that you are placing zero downward force onto the lens, rather you are only placing force horizontally to move the cover. at least that might save you from scratches.
hi mate
people have been really carefull with their n97s and are still getting this scratch
its not caused by pressure being put on the lens cover when opening
the n97 has a lens cleaner , its a blue pad , this is in constant contact with the plastic lens of the n97 camera , if you get a tiny bit of dirt/dust/debris of any kind in the mechanism then there is a risk of a scratch happending not matter how much pressure you use , as the dust or whatever will be dragged along the plastic lens , if you do it gently it will just be rubbed along it gently which can still scratch it
no other lens cover has a cleaning pad does it?? i havent seen one on digi cams or other camera phones
most lens covers sit above the lens not on it
take the n95-1 no chance of this happending , the n82 again no chance due to the ''floating lens cover''
now the n97 this will happend unless you carry a can of air around with you and blow it every now and again when you use it
seriously have a look at how much room there is between the lens and the lens protector , the blue pad is touching it if not it is very very close to the plastic
i agree to an extent that pressure wont help ie the harder you push the worse it could be but iam pretty sure however gentle you are you run the risk of scratches due to the extremley bad design of the camera cover
Just looked at mine its not even a week old and there is a scratch right down the lens, very poor from Nokia! Luckily the scratch is away from the lens and I haven't noticed it effecting and photo's yet but we will ahve to wait and see.
Had a look at mine before I plugged it in again to do my V11 update... not a scratch! There's a fingerprint, but that came off with a quick wipe. And it's not as if I've barely used the camera, I've used it loads (as my soon-to-come-out mini review of the phone gets posted).
I guess I've just been lucky not to get any grit in there or anything.
It appears I have a minor scratch. i think it's a bit of stubborn grease to be honest. But it's not in the path of the lens.
Bit unfortunate that much of the details and replies to this thread have vanished! 😮
Handy for Nokia though, who are in denial about there being a problem with the design and implementation of the N97 lens cover. 🙄
After making a complaint about the problem online, I got this report:
"In response to your email, We wish to assure you that all Nokia products undergo a very thorough quality assurance program with extensive research and development. Nokia maintains the most stringent quality controls available so that we can confidently provide one of the most reliable products in the industry. Hence, there are no generic faults with this or any other Nokia mobile phones. However, we do take into account that the requirements of our customers may differ and have forwarded your feedback to the appropriate departments for further review."
Has anyone been to a Nokia care centre and managed to get this issue resolved? I cannot get to one until early August.
In the meantime, I would take a look at some of the pictures in this thread for examples of how your lens cover will end up if you open and close it:
http://www.nokiausers.net/forum/nokia-n97/28878-your-n97-main-camera-glass-being-scratched-slider-cover.html
Also, the problem DOES affect the quality of the images if you take pictures using the flash, or even without the flash if there is bright sunlight. Sometimes I get a form of 'flaring' from areas of bright light, with the flash I get large areas of bright light on the image.
Makes the camera a bit... pointless!
celios wrote:
"In response to your email, We wish to assure you that all Nokia products undergo a very thorough quality assurance program with extensive research and development. Nokia maintains the most stringent quality controls available so that we can confidently provide one of the most reliable products in the industry. Hence, there are no generic faults with this or any other Nokia mobile phones. However, we do take into account that the requirements of our customers may differ and have forwarded your feedback to the appropriate departments for further review.
That actually made me laugh out loud 😃 when you can find about 10 bugs just in simple everyday use of any phone they put out to pasture it makes you consider if they do ANY proper beta testing of their phones.
I went into a nokia care centre in peterborough today, but their "person who fixes phones" person isn't in until tomorrow. And I'm not in Peterborough for 2 weeks after today so I won't be leaving it...
I'll try again in 2 weeks...
I wouldn't worry about the thread contents being lost. There are discussions of this subject on various n97 forums. Such as: -
http://discussions.europe.nokia.com/discussions/board/message?board.id=smartphones&thread.id=147821
http://www.nokiausers.net/forum/nokia-n85/28847-n85s-camera-shutter-does-scratch-lens-cover-like-n97s-does.html
Interestingly this has now been picked up by http://www.whatmobile.net/News/generalnews/290154/nokia_n97_camera_lens_problem_due_to_design_fault.html who have apparently requested a statement from Nokia...
Fingers crossed...
davecozens wrote:Interestingly this has now been picked up by http://www.whatmobile.net/News/generalnews/290154/nokia_n97_camera_lens_problem_due_to_design_fault.html who have apparently requested a statement from Nokia...Fingers crossed...
Oh well, at least we tried to warn them to avoid all that negative PR for their flagship phone. It seems that denial isn't just a river in Africa.
The Nokiausers poll is showing 76% (49) of respondents have the problem.
Maybe they should just include a map to the nearest Nokia care centre and a voucher for the bus fare for 10 return trips in the N97 box. 🙄
celios wrote:Maybe they should just include a map to the nearest Nokia care centre and a voucher for the bus fare for 10 return trips in the N97 box. 🙄
lmao!
But quite right nonetheless. If you're going to betatest your phone with early adopters, at least listen to the feedback!
*sigh*
I wonder what happens next...
D
davecozens wrote:
I wonder what happens next...
D
Me too.
Either Nokia redesign the slider and offer a free retrofit for N97 owners (dream on...!)
Or they put their head in the sand and pretend there is no problem and we need to keep getting the cover replaced (possibly at our cost!) <-- We are here at the moment
Or we end up having to mod the N97 lens cover ourselves.
Or we could get together and try to take (highly public) legal action against Nokia...
Anything other than my first option and I won't be buying another Nokia.
A simple mod would be to remove the protective cover from the underside would it not?
Im nos sure how "robust" that would make the slide ( it will prob just flop around and be far too loose )