Camera now showing distortion

Returning to my GF after a hiatus, the camera now displays a large degree of fisheye distortion that wasn’t there since receiving the unit. The distortion is greater than any that I have seen on past reports. Add to that, it is clearly unfocused even with PG materials. This is the sort of thing that should never occur with updates (imho). I couldn’t find any solutions on past reports (which by the way only refers to month and date, I have no idea if the issue is older than a year). It would seem there would be an auto update, and I don’t recall any methodology to force an update. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Is there any chance your unit isn’t level or that the door isn’t square? Realize this sounds nutty but it’s made a noticeable difference with my current unit.

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How long of a hiatus? The Glowforge updates firmware automatically when you turn it on if one is waiting in the queue. But if it hasn’t been turned on in a while, it can take some time for the updates to load, and the Startup Calibration can interrupt the updates. (It can hang things up and cause some issues.)

Try turning off the machine for a minute or two, then open the lid and leave it up when you turn on the machine. That will keep the Startup Calibration from beginning, and give it a chance to load any updates. Give it fifteen minutes or so, make sure any restarts are done, then close the lid and let it finish the Startup Calibration and the head return to the home position before you try to run a job.

Don’t know if that will completely fix the fisheye issue, but it should eliminate one potential source of trouble. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Nothing is nutty if it has results. This doesn’t seem to be this issue. thanks
Hiatus was 4-6 months I believe

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Thanks, I will give the open door restart a try

I’ve had this problem as well. I’ve done all the cleaning suggested, etc. I’ve just had to live with it. No working solutions from gf personnel.

I left the GF on with the lid open for 45 minutes. No change. Makes me wonder why programmers who enable updates don’t seem to detect a visual side effect, then strive to correct them. (I’m in a parallel struggle with an new Apple iPhone issue, so i am venting)

Hmmm…well that’s too bad but not unexpected…the visual alignment is probably a software update and those happen with a browser refresh. (Assuming you’ve done that a few times over the last several months.)

About all you can do now is run a copy of the Gift of Good Measure (the little ruler) on the extra sheet of Proofgrade Draftboard that they send along for the purpose, and after the print, do a screen capture that includes the rulers along the sides. Let them know the time and time zone of the print if the preview is more than 1/4" off, so they can look at the machine metrics.

If it’s out of spec they can see it from that. (Currently up to 1/4" variance at the outside edges is considered normal.)

Thanks Jules,
I will do as you suggest. I did notice that after a job, that the image overlay did not match the actual cut. I believe this is expected, but it is much worse than in the past.

I am including two images of the result. I guess the variance is currently considered normal (fig 1). However, I wanted to point out what seems like serious distortion, and possibly even a shift in what I would think should be a centered image. The second image clearly shows the hex sheet frame, and I’ve highlighted the fisheye distortion at the edges (circle on right and between lines along the bottom. I did relocate the GF, but the lid was down and camera never touched. Thoughts?

I hate to say it but I am envious of your camera alignment with that cut. It’s pretty much spot on.

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It seems to be, considering the print location. The most noticeable thing is that the screen display was very crisp. Now it is ‘bleh’. The shift off center, where the fisheye distortion is noticed (curved black areas at bottom and right centers) where the camera lens doesn’t reach is very weird.

Holeeeee crop-rotation! I wish my alignment was that good! :smile:
(Dude…they must like you a heck of a lot!)

I can give you a tip on the placement of your material…that is actually normal, to see a little bit of the tray on the right side and the front. When you place your material, place the right front corner of the material on the right front corner of the gridded area of the tray. Then you wind up with a full 19.45 inches by 10.95 inches of cuttable area accessible by the head.

You’ve got nothing untoward going on there, and I’m also a little jealous of your alignment. :smile:

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Yours is WAY BETTER than most out there. Use it and enjoy.

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Thank you for sharing this feedback. I have shared your feedback with the rest of the team to investigate. I’m going to go ahead and close this thread for now. If you notice anything else please open a new thread or email support@glowforge.com