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Does the Motorola X4 have laser autofocus?

V

varamilc

Newbie
Does the Motorola X4 have laser autofocus? How can you tell if your device does have it, and how is it safe since there are no safety regulations smartphone companies have to follow and the companies can use high powered eye damaging lasers?
 
Laser focus is safe, I've used cameras with laser focus since the 90's, even before the era of digital cameras.
 
varamilc said:
How do the smartphone companies know it's safe since they don't have any safety regulations to follow?
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Smartphone manufacturers usually buy the parts from other manufacturers. The supplying manufacturers have to make sure that theirs products are within specs.
 
lvt said:
Smartphone manufacturers usually buy the parts from other manufacturers. The supplying manufacturers have to make sure that theirs products are within specs.
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Right but how do they know what lasers are safe and which ones aren't? There's no law's saying they have to use safe ones.
 
varamilc said:
Right but how do they know what lasers are safe and which ones aren't? There's no law's saying they have to use safe ones.
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Laser is divided to different classes according to its power. The laser used in consumer products is usually rated Class 1 which is the weakest. It's safe because it doesn't have enough of power to immediately damage your eyes and, most importantly, all humans have the natural instinct to instantly close their eyes in a fraction of a second when the laser beam is pointed at the eyes.
 
lvt said:
Laser is divided to different classes according to its power. The laser used in consumer products is usually rated Class 1 which is the weakest. It's safe because it doesn't have enough of power to immediately damage your eyes and, most importantly, all humans have the natural instinct to instantly close their eyes in a fraction of a second when the laser beam is pointed at the eyes.
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But when you take pictures you'll keep your eyes open.
 
varamilc said:
But when you take pictures you'll keep your eyes open.
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From my experience with a Pentax camera and a smartphone with laser focus (LG G4), the laser is activated only in the dark and for a very short period of time. On the LG phone the laser beam is so weak that I never see it. However I can clearly see the laser beam coming out from the other camera.
 
lvt said:
From my experience with a Pentax camera and a smartphone with laser focus (LG G4), the laser is activated only in the dark and for a very short period of time. On the LG phone the laser beam is so weak that I never see it. However I can clearly see the laser beam coming out from the other camera.
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What other camera? Are there still smartphones being made without laser autofocus?
 
varamilc said:
How do the smartphone companies know it's safe since they don't have any safety regulations to follow?
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That would depend on the particular country the laser device is to be sold and used in. But I don't know where in the world you are of course.
http://www.lasercompliance.com/
"If you manufacture or import products that contain lasers, you need to comply with the regulations of the countries where you have business activities."
 
Motorola X4 has “Dual Autofocus Pixel technology,” according to the website. Dual Autofocus is different from Laser Autofocus. Dual Pixel Autofocus (DPAF) does not use a laser to focus on objects. Most smartphones have DPAF, while some smartphones have laser autofocus. The imaging sensor in the camera has diodes that are sensitive to light. Each of the diodes detects light. The cumulative effect of the diode gives the final picture. So there aren’t any lasers involved in this.

Laser autofocus uses a laser beam to calculate the distance of an object from the camera lens. The laser emits from the phone, detects the object, and reflects back. It helps the camera focus on the object and provides a clear image. While the laser autofocus is not found in Motorola X4, the technology is safe to use. It does not affect the eyes or the skin. Your eye may feel irritated if the laser is exposed for too long.

To check if the phone has laser autofocus or not, you can simply go to Motorola’s website and search for the product.
 
varamilc said:
There's no law's saying they have to use safe ones.
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Why do you keep saying this? Where I am (in the EU) there most definitely are laws about this, and I expect the same in many other countries (can you imagine the lawsuits if someone sold an unsafe focus system in the USA?). And even if you are in a country with no regulations, it would not be worth a major manufacturer making a special version for there that they cannot sell globally.

And actually the majority of phones don't have this. My Pixel does, but curiously the option is turned off in the current software, though can be enabled in the developer options. It used to be on, but I suspect the reason it is off is more to do with it interfering with pictures than safety concerns. It's an infra-red laser, so you can't see it anyway but it does show up in reflections in photos.
 
Does the Motorola X4 have laser autofocus and how is it safe if it's always on and pointing at people or if you look at the back of the phone or take a picture of someone?
 
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