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Poor picture quality of FaceTime camera and Apple’s response

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I love FaceTime and use it a lot, especially on my iOS devices. When I’m in front of my MacBook Pro however I don’t switch to my iPhone or iPad to make or answer FaceTime calls. Why would I?

I guess I never paid too much attention to the video quality but a couple of weeks ago I noticed that the picture (or video I should say) of the FaceTime camera built into my MacBook Pro with Retina Display sucks, to be blunt.

So I started googling to see if this is an issue other people are having as well and I came across this thread on the Apple Support Forum, basically confirming that MacBook Pro’s with Retina displays are equipped with cameras producing low quality video.

I compared the video with that of my wife’s regular MacBook Pro and noticed her video looks better. So I called AppleCare but they just referred me to the Genius Bar at my local Apple Store. So I made an appointment and the grey-haired Genius at the Apple Store at Northpoint Mall, Alpharetta, GA (not to mention any names) grabbed his 13″ MacBook Pro and asked me to compare the video quality. The video on his machine looked much better than on mine and that’s what I told him. He acknowledged the difference in quality and took me over to one of the 15″ MacBook Pro’s with Retina Display they had in the store. He asked me to compare again. I did and pointed out, that the video looked just as bad on the store model. He acknowledged again and looked at me as if he didn’t understand what my concern was.

So I asked him how it could be that my $3.5k machine produces significantly worse video than an iPhone, iPad or any other (non-Retina) MacBook Pro.

His response, in a tone that led me to believe he couldn’t care less about my concern: “Well, this (the one Apple puts into MacBook Pro’s with Retina Display) is a low quality camera”. So I asked if he thought it was OK for a $50 Logitech webcam to produce sharper images than the camera in the most expensive MacBook Pro Apple has ever built. He confirmed.

This is contrary to what Apple promotes on its FaceTime webpage:

facetime_hd_2x
FaceTime video quality according to Apple

 

Say “hi” in high definition.
Your FaceTime calls are getting the HD treatment. Now FaceTime for Mac supports video calls up to 720p. All you need is an iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air with a built-in FaceTime HD camera, and your calls display with next-best-thing-to-real-life clarity. The FaceTime HD camera also supports a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, so Mom, Dad, Grandma, your best friend, and even the dog can gather around for a video call.

This is how it really looks – or better yet, that’s how I look when I’m mad through a crappy FaceTime camera.

Mike mad
Mike mad

You see the difference? I logged a complaint with AppleCare and they urged me to go back to an Apple Store, which I will do. I don’t expect an immediate solution but I would really like to see how Apple intends to fix this problem, one way or the other.

Update: Went back to the Apple Store today to sign up for Joint Venture, Apple’s business program. I took the opportunity to bring up the FaceTime issue again, since I figured I had some leverage now. The Join Venture lead, store manager and a genius looked at my sample pictures and at a live demo on my rMBP and then concluded that swapping the whole system against a brand new model was the best course of action. Of course I didn’t object! Thanks Apple for keeping me a happy customer!

And here is a screenshot of FaceTime with the new camera in my new MacBook Pro with Retina Display – quite a difference!

Mike happy
Mike happy

 

13 Responses to "Poor picture quality of FaceTime camera and Apple’s response"
  1. I too would like to see something happen….. I am angry that I paid so much money for a computer that is made by Apple that has a bad quality camera!!! Dissipointed I don’t think I am going to buy another MacBook again unless I get some closure.

  2. I bought a MBA (new version) a year ago and that camera sucks! I realized it is out of focus and if the camera has a fixed focus than there is no way to fix it without opening MBA and try to screw the lens in and out. Camera is focused at about 15cm distance and everything beyond that distance is simply blurry. Stupid me that I did not return this aluminium crap when I could…

  3. Same problem with me. However, in the first month of use of the macbook pro the camera was perfect. Somehow a few days ago the images started to look very bad! I don’t know how can that be possible! Furious with apple. Had several problems with this ridiculous computer and if it wasn’t so freaking expensive I’d certainly throw it out the window!

    • Hehe, I know the feeling but fortunately after having the display replaced and the fan issues fixed by a firmware update everything is running smoothly…except the FaceTime camera of course. I could swear it was better in the beginning as well (maybe the new display they out in has a crappier camera) but more likely I just can’t remember how (bad) it was in the beginning 🙂

  4. Hi Mike,

    Thanks for posting all that, it took me some time to do a research on the issue. Only got my MBPR 2 months ago but surprisingly enough haven’t used the camera until like yesterday. I am pissed at Apple for a clearly false advertisement and am going to sign in for a Genius appointment here in London.

    When did you write that update? Have they replaced your MBPR? Was that a warranty case? Can you tell more about how exactly it went? That would help me a lot in that fight at Apple that I am now planning. 🙂

    P.S. Great blog!

    • I wrote the update just a few days ago. They did replace my rMBP. But it took me two visits to the Apple Store and two calls to AppleCare. I think it helped that I spoke to the Joint Venture (Business) lead at my 2nd visit. I opened FaceTime (without making a call) and then took screenshots on both my rMBP as well as my old Cinema Display and showed them the comparison. They then looked at a model in the store (a new one that is) and confirmed the difference.

      Good luck!

      • They replaced the whole display with a camera on my MBA and it solved this issue. It is as it soppose to be now.
        The other problem that Im facing right now is on other Apple device 😐 After upating iphone 4S to iOS 7.0.4 the battery needs to be charged 2x a day! Damn Apple!!!

  5. Hi Mike,

    just read you post after having been googling this specific issue. I can inform you, if you care, that this is stil lan issue with new apple products. I just purchased an iMac 27″ Retina, and the Photo/video quality is extremely bad compared to my +3year old MB Air … I wnt to the local retailer [live n Denmark, and we do not have an Apple Store where I live], and showed them my findings – which was the issue when examining the iMacs and MP Pro/Air they had in the shop.
    They fully agreed that there is an issue, but had never heard of it before and suggested that I made contact with Apple, which I did – however, the yguy I spoke with had the attititude that as long as the issue didn’t seem to be isolated to my iMAC but more of a general nature, then so be it.

    I’m still left with the iMac with a poor quality cam and am not sure what to do NeXT – if there is anything I can do. If it is a general problem with the other Retina devices, then the issue is mostlikly [for me at least] not possible to get have resolved …….
    Any ideas of how to move forward here?

    Lasse

    • Hi Lasse,

      I don’t own a Retina iMac but I have read initial reviews pointing out that certain things (like standard definition videos) or even 720p FaceTime may not look as good due to the high resolution of the display. Now the same “excuse” was given for the Retina MacBook Pro’s, so it may not mean anything.

      But ultimately, how does the video/picture quality look on the other end of the FaceTime call? I’d test it on a LAN (to make sure Internet speed is not an issue) and see what the difference is. All Apple devices (except for the new MacBook) have a 720p FaceTime camera, so quality should be similar between those devices.

      If you can confirm that your iMac Retina produces worse results and assuming you are within warranty of have AppleCare, I’d call Apple and ask for a refund, if that’s what you want.

      Cheers
      Michael
      Cheers
      Michael

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