Foggy pictures using Lifeproof case with iPhone 5...suggestions?

[anon(4698833)]

So me and my wife went white water rafting today and the last couple of times we went, we used our Go Pro but forgot it this time and stopped by an Office Depot and grabbed a Lifeproof case to give it a shot.

Initially it took decent pictures, as clear as I would expect from the iPhone 5 (example of BEFORE it got wet)...

...afterwards though, it started taking pictures that had a haze to them, and initially, I thought it might have been moisture inside the case, but when we stopped half way through for lunch, I opened it up and there was no moisture on the inside...here's an example AFTER it got wet (very wet, lol)...

...anyone with experience with this case have any tips or tricks to keep this from happening? I really couldn't find much online about it, and the case itself worked really well at keeping the phone dry, but I've had better results just snagging screen shots from Go Pro HD films vs. the pictures from this, and am really considering returning it if this is a normal thing.

Obligatory Class 5 shot, lol... (which, surprisingly after getting really REALLY wet in that section, was able to take a pic this clear...which just baffles me more about the hazed ones we got, which was about 80% of the shots after it got wet)...

 

[anon(4698833)]

Also, proof that the case does it's job as being water PROOF...I dunked this bad boy right in the river and snapped a pic, lol...

 

[Alli]

My husband has a similar problem with his DSLR when we go from the air conditioned car to the humid outdoors. Just like your glasses. So it could be something as simple as that, and it clears up after a while?

 

[anon(4698833)]

It clears up if it's out of the water for a while (like more than 5min.)...the shot above our raft was nearly submerged (including the phone) and then we were waiting out the rest of our group of rafts for about 10min. and the haziness went away. I kind of figured it was the humidity, but was just curious if anyone had figured out a way to cut that effect (I even thought about putting that "Fog X" stuff Rain-X makes for cars on the lens of the case...that is if i decide to keep it. Truly, there's no reason to have the iPhone (or any phone) on the river like that because there's no service anyways, but it was cool to have such an easily accessible point and shoot out there, but water proof disposable cameras are also convenient and a hell of a lot cheaper too.

 

[jerome g]

Never had that problem with my lifeproof Fre, even in Florida when the humidity is 80%+. I only get the effect that I see in your pic when my finger gets slightly in the way of the lens.

 

[Jaguarr40]

Many people where I live in FLa tell me that the reason they gave up on the original Lifeproof case was because they were having the same problem as what Sean was having because the screen protector as they even tell you on installation to press down against your shirt to have it adhere to the retina display but it also because it sticks creates this issue.
The new case they have w/o a plastic screen protector but still entirely waterproof does not have this problem because you are touching the actual glass when using it and there is nothing to touch the glass and have this happen. I have quite a few friends that have told me this. They either put nothing on the retina or use a Zagg that lays flush with no air in between believe it or not.

I myself really like the Seidio Obex case for the IP 5 which you might like to look into to. Anyway had many of my friends not told me the same thing occured that Sean was having happen I would not put in my 2 cents..

 

[anon(52425)]

I had nothing but problems with the Fre. From speaker distortion, voice muffling, air "puffing" and the lens fogging you speak of. I returned it and went back to Otterbox. Then they released the Nuud. No issues with the Nuud except the sound distortion.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I guess i should add that this was in fact the "Fre" case, we didn't see the "Nuud" one or I probably would have tried that one instead...the screen protector over the screen makes the phone useless when it gets a bubble underneath it. There was really no point in even trying to grab a quick shot because it took a minute or so just to get the screen to respond. The Nuud screen would have been INFINITELY better, and I'm going to switch this one out for that one (if i decide i need to take my iPhone on a trip like this again).

 

[Jaguarr40]

I guess i should add that this was in fact the "Fre" case, we didn't see the "Nuud" one or I probably would have tried that one instead...the screen protector over the screen makes the phone useless when it gets a bubble underneath it. There was really no point in even trying to grab a quick shot because it took a minute or so just to get the screen to respond. The Nuud screen would have been INFINITELY better, and I'm going to switch this one out for that one (if i decide i need to take my iPhone on a trip like this again).

Sean would you even consider looking at the specs on the the Seidio Obex or for that matter the new Otterbox Armour case. From what i have read about them and 2 friends that do have the Obex, They are quite satisfied and well made as far as the Obex. The new Otterbox Armour I have not seen? It's worth a shot reading up on it don't you think? Good luck on what you wind up doing.

​BTW where were the rapids? The water looked like a great area.

 

[anon(4698833)]

Oh I checked them out as soon as you mentioned them...unfortunately I'm thinking with a used case from Office Depot, they'll just offer store credit (but they carry the Nuud model online, so i might be able to do that). The Obex one is pretty much what the Lifeproof case cost, so if they had it, I'd certainly try it out.

To be totally honest though, my GoPro took pictures like these (screen captured from 1080p video we took)...so the iPhone has the disadvantage of having to be running video (which just doesn't hold a candle to a GoPro...yet) to get the action shots, which is what are fun to show off...

The river we did this past weekend was the Ocoee Upper and Middle (was used in the 1996 Olympics for white water sports and has rapids up to Class V). It's in southern Tennessee. The GoPro vids above are from the Chattahoochee river in south Georgia...it's a fairly new course. I have a video but I haven't compressed it down yet, it's like 4GB lol! Tons of people have vids online of both rivers though if you're curious. One of my favorite hobbies...wife is just getting into it too which is cool!

 

[Jaguarr40]

Oh I checked them out as soon as you mentioned them...unfortunately I'm thinking with a used case from Office Depot, they'll just offer store credit (but they carry the Nuud model online, so i might be able to do that). The Obex one is pretty much what the Lifeproof case cost, so if they had it, I'd certainly try it out.

To be totally honest though, my GoPro took pictures like these (screen captured from 1080p video we took)...so the iPhone has the disadvantage of having to be running video (which just doesn't hold a candle to a GoPro...yet) to get the action shots, which is what are fun to show off...

http://i.imgur.com/f2WZzPz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Iq6XCnR.jpg

The river we did this past weekend was the Ocoee Upper and Middle (was used in the 1996 Olympics for white water sports and has rapids up to Class V). It's in southern Tennessee. The GoPro vids above are from the Chattahoochee river in south Georgia...it's a fairly new course. I have a video but I haven't compressed it down yet, it's like 4GB lol! Tons of people have vids online of both rivers though if you're curious. One of my favorite hobbies...wife is just getting into it too which is cool!

Well first of all those are the best pics yet and very cool water to hit with Kayaks and or canoes. I think I know the area as my buds and groups of friends often hit that area when we go on motorcycle trip for vacations. Great area.
Not trying to be nosy but if the case were 'Defective' and you have your receipt to get a full refund, Had you thought about IF they gave you store credit, Turn around and get an Amazon gift card. Now if you look at the Obex and from what I have seen on several of my friends IP 5 with the Obex it is very well built and i am just biased about Seidio. Why I mentioned the Amazon giftcard IF they give you store credit and have to go that route Amazon is way less than retail since Office Depot does not have the case. Have you looked online at Office Derpot for the case but check this out Sean:

Amazon.com: Seidio BD2-HWIPH5-BK OBEX Waterproof Case and Holster Combo for Apple iPhone 5 - Retail Packaging - Black: Cell Phones & AccessoriesSee what you think about that - I did look online @ OD and no Seidio but gift card can be your best friend in this case ( no pun intended) anyway I wish you luck and just don't think the you can beat the Obex. Hope it all turns out for you.

 

[anon(4698833)]

Man you're really plugging that Obex case lol! My wife actually took the Lifeproof case back yesterday and got a full credit restored to our debit card so we got full cash back (they didn't even ask any questions, which was cool...maybe they've had a lot of those particular cases come back or something). I'm going to take a look at that case now that we have the cash back, but I'm still of the opinion that my GoPro can handle what I need on the river (not to mention getting great video at the same time).

Aside from the foggy shots, you have to figure out how to mount the iPhone 5 safely in order to get good action video, and the way you're thrown around while rafting some of the higher class rapids, it might take some abuse...the GoPro is damn near indestructible, the iPhone might be significantly more vulnerable (especially if the screen isn't covered by anything)...I'm a bit torn, because i don't really NEED to find a way to bring my iPhone on the river in this fashion, I was simply trying it last time out of curiosity (and because we forgot the GoPro at home, and only realized it about 2 hours from home, lol!)

Anyways, I will keep ya posted. I'm really probably going to wait until the 10th to see what changes (if any) are coming to the new iPhone...because a nice water proof case on the iPhone 5 won't do me any good if I sell my iPhone 5 after getting the new model and the new model is at all different in size.