Acer Swift 3 SF314-57 Low Quality Camera

cffam

Just bought this Swift 3. All perfect.. until we check the Camera quality. Its image pixel is visibly large, not clear, full of red and blue dots especially in low brightness condition.
If covered the camera, the image is red, blue and black. Consult the Acer Authorized Repair, they informed that this model comes with such low quality. Nothing can be done.
Very disappointed with their answer. I have a 12 years old Acer Aspire, which its camera has decent quality. As advertised, Swift 3 has 720p camera.. well, this is not. I don't expect super clear, just decent will do, but this image quality like first generation digital camera's quality.. Hope someone can reply on this, thks 

Commodore_1995#

According to the manual, this model has a 720p camera:

Does the same problem occur when you change the resolution in the windows "camera" application?

dancemonkeymadness

I'm not sure what the specs of your HP webcam are, but 720P IS early mid-level webcam tech. Modern mid-level webcams run around 1080p. Ultrabooks, netbooks, etc. have lower powered cameras to save battery, since they're not intended to be desktop replacements but are mobile devices which can last 6-12h without needing a recharge. Think, "I've been away from work for HOURS and I've GOT to take this Skype call...." that's the purpose of an ultra book. And adding a higher powered camera would've resulted in a hardware trade-off somewhere that I'm pretty sure you would dislike a lot more than the webcam not liking low light conditions. 

NO WEBCAM LIKES LOW LIGHT CONDITIONS. While I understand you may want to be able to video call in the dark, I also know your HP webcam (or any other stock webcam) doesn't do much better in low light. You'd be best off using a smartphone since their camera apertures have really matured well in the past couple years, or getting a handheld video camera that can stream to PC (they've basically become cheap DSLR cameras nowadays). 

Alternatively, you can also get a pretty decent portable webcam that mounts on top of your screen, which is what I use because I don't like the webcam quality of ANY laptop. So yeah, in that regard, I do feel your pain. I'm just puzzled by why you're glorifying another laptop's webcam that is only better by a slight margin. … ? If you have any further insight that could help clarify that, it would help me answer you better.

The Swift 3 is handsomely priced for its hardware. I know if you're not a techie, it can be hard to tell if you're getting your money's worth, especially if things like the webcam aren't meeting expectations. However, the vast bulk of what you spend doesn't go into the webcam. It goes into the hardware you can't see that runs the computer, and this hardware makes or breaks your ENTIRE computing experience. In the case of the Swift 3, Acer also invested a lot into the case design and materials to make it more durable and mobile - MORE than most OEMs do (case in point: check out the Lenovo Flex, which is the Swift 3's biggest competitor right now). So, I know it's not much, but I hope you can take this random sys admin's word that this ultrabook is worth it. It's *almost* a perfect clone of the Macbook Air in its design and performance (look at Macbook Air prices). I've always admired Acer for the way they create budget hardware, because they do try very hard to squeeze every penny for what it's worth and deliver a well-rounded experience. Most OEMs don't put that much care into their entry level/budget designs, and charge anywhere from $100 to $300 more for their comparable models. 

However, you're not going to get a completely high-end, cutting edge machine for budget prices even out of Acer. 

Now, for the 12 year old HP laptop: I owned one. I'm shocked you kept it functioning this long, because those particular HP models were well known for overheating. It had a 1080p webcam, but only because I paid $1500 for it - it was a high end entertainment model. Not a mobile model, and it had a brand spanking new model of processor as well as several technologies (including the webcam) which had JUST BEEN RELEASED. The only reason I even had a laptop that nice was because it was one of those rare moments in retail history where there was a ton of new tech that came out, and no one was buying it (recession). So it was CHEAP. That laptop I got probably would've been worth a lot more in this day and age. 

Additionally, technology hasn't changed much since then. We're still using the same processors and close to the same memory. Prices have skyrocketed recently on hardware, probably due to the pandemic. It's not really an ideal time for laptop sales right now. I was lucky to get my AMD based Swift at the price that I did, and I bought a top of the line Aspire just two years ago for the same exact price. I really was shocked this time around to see how expensive hardware was when I was shopping around. 

I hope this helps explain some of your experiences.  

Also, I'm into photography... an easy fix for the low light issue: get a mobile phone ring light and clip it around your webcam. It will provide enough light to get a better image. I use them even in broad daylight because they improve the detail and quality of my photos. 

cffam

Hi egydiocoelho, thanks for replying.. i am having the max resolution 1920X1080... so, it is the same. I tried changing the webcam driver, which seems using Microsoft driver but, checked.. it is latest for Windoes 10. Acer does not provide any webcam driver for this model. Very disappointing.. 

If anyone out there is using this Acer Swift 3 model, kindly share your experience... thks

R6E7980XE

Not only Acer other vender did it same style even Apple Macbook with Icelake U also poor quality camera.
Better way buy the USB 4K camera and plug-in USB 3.1 Gen 2 port everything will be ok.

cffam

It is very disappointing when my 12yrs old Acer Aspire has better resolution than this newly bought Acer Swift 3. Nowadays, who don't use webcam.. they should not cut cost by reducing this webcam quality which it just mar all other standout features.
Well, no choice, I just bought a 1080p webcam... the difference is too obvious. 
My company has lots of Macbook, their webcam is bloody fantastic and way better when compared to Acer Swift3... just for those out there, beware of this disappointing Acer Swift 3... they should made a recall to chg this stupid webcam.. just useless.