Camera Quality

[Dark-Fx]

Did you use your turn signal? I flip off lots of people that inconvenience me by not doing so. They could likely have turned in front of you while you were slowing down, but didn't know if you were actually turning or not.

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[Ecupip]

Good thing they make equipment for those worried to no end about capturing evil beings. Search for 360 dash/sentry cams.

 

[Zoidz]

The cameras are part of the OEM ADAS subsystem that Rivian selected years ago during the design phase, reportedly they use MobilEye. Us Gen 1 owners have to accept the fact that our vehicles have a system that is probably 2018-2020 vintage tech and the implementation is Rivian's first effort.

Changing the lenses or cameras would be a challenge unless the software/firmware is also changed because of the different aspect ratio (lens change) or pixel resolution (camera change). Rivian or a 3rd party would have to go through and fix everything related to camera views - Driver Plus, on screen displays, camera stitching. etc. It's not practical or cost effective for Rivian or the consumer.

Even when Telsa offered upgrades to the ADAS module, to my knowledge they did not offer camera upgrades. Expecting Rivian to offer a retrofit upgrade is akin to expecting Apple or Samsung to offer a camera upgrade to an existing cell phone. It's not going to happen.

I also agree with the comments that while we tend to believe having a readable license plate is going to "catch that crook" the reality is much more sobering. As stated before, driving like an asshole is not against the law and the police don't have the time for it. If you believe and expect otherwise, buy an add on system designed for taht purpose. It woule be far cheaper than any upgrade offered by Rivian.

 

[Whale Blubber]

But that's all just the practical reality we inhabit, and I want to ignore those facts!!
- My lizard brain

 

[SwampNut]

This is all the same whining and hand-wringing that happened on Tesla forums years ago. These cameras are for ADAS. The fact that you get to record them is just a bonus. Musk resisted it because he predicted, correctly, that people would whine that they aren't good dashcams.

 

[COdogman]

As someone without a lifetime of high end car ownership, I am curious how many vehicles exist out there from the last 5 years(?) with the ability to clearly capture and record all events that occur 360 degrees around the vehicle either while parked or in motion?

Even the highest end aftermarket dash cams and OEM security systems are unlikely to capture license plates if they are more than a few feet away from the vehicle. Even the cams claiming to do so aren't going to give you 360 degree coverage.

 

[Giddy89]

I was not born in this country. I arrived when I was barely 11 and spoke no English. For four decades I’ve experienced much more discrimination than this one random act. You all can survive a little anti-EV hate.

karen, wants to see your manager.

 

[Zoidz]

As someone without a lifetime of high end car ownership, I am curious how many vehicles exist out there from the last 5 years(?) with the ability to clearly capture and record all events that occur 360 degrees around the vehicle either while parked or in motion?

Even the highest end aftermarket dash cams and OEM security systems are unlikely to capture license plates if they are more than a few feet away from the vehicle. Even the cams claiming to do so aren't going to give you 360 degree coverage.

Me too. My Avalanche has no cameras, and my wife's X3 has only the backup camera required by law. Coming from that perspective, the R1S is a huge step forward.

 

[COdogman]

Me too. My Avalanche has no cameras, and my wife's X3 has only the backup camera required by law. Coming from that perspective, the R1S is a huge step forward.

That's how I feel about it. I just wasn't sure if others have been living in the future while I drive my Flintstones cars.

My Tacoma had horrible cameras and even after I installed a dash cam with both forward/ rear facing cameras I realized the only way I would capture a license plate was if they hit my truck head on at slow speeds. And even then the hood blocked much of the view forward and the bed backward

 

[runwithscissors]

It's because Rivian cheaped out with crappy pandemic parts when it came to cameras. Nothing you can do but buy Gen 2 or install a drive camera yourself.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Me too. My Avalanche has no cameras, and my wife's X3 has only the backup camera required by law. Coming from that perspective, the R1S is a huge step forward.

My '13 X5 diesel's cameras were of slightly lower resolution and there were fewer of them, plus no recording capability. The display was also much smaller. Better cameras would be welcomed, but I have no complaints. For practical daily use, they do the job.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

It's because Rivian cheaped out with crappy pandemic parts when it came to cameras. Nothing you can do but buy Gen 2 or install a drive camera yourself.

Unfair/inaccurate portrayal of the situation. Back then Rivian was brand new and hadn't yet begun production. Most of the media and suppliers didn't even know who they were. They didn't have leverage to negotiate on prices, specs and availability... But still had a production target to meet. They did the best they could at the time.

 

[kozak79]

It's not a codec issue. The resolution of the cameras is really poor, they are also cramming in a fish eye lens into that resolution, so the usable pixels are not enough for any detail. I made a video comparison of my recent incident comparing an aftermarket dash cam I have and the Rivian Gen 1 video. The videos are not scaled; they are layered on top at a 1:1 pixel ratio.

 

[strykerwsu]

Did you read what he wrote? Looks like you skimmed.

 

[Glembi2]

Aren’t we talking about two different, overlapping camera/ radar systems? I thought the ADAS system was the high mounted windshield camera and all the radars while the gear guard cameras were the lower fisheye cameras? I do not really know so I’m asking.

If these systems are separate, I think this discussion separates into two different goals:

1. improving ADAS

2. improving camera resolution so we can read the license plates of nefarious vehicles

If so, improving the fisheye cameras would not improve ADAS and improving the windshield cam would not improve the captured video.

I get that Gen 2 improves both.

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