Backup Camera Quality

Has anyone investigated putting a better backup camera in the truck? Are the ones put in other Toyota vehicles this bad?

The DIY one for front camera is really nice. Too bad they used the one they did in the tailgate handle. Good quality cameras are not that expensive these days.

If there is a viable upgrade path, please let me know. Thx.

 

Mine is fine. Is your lens dirty?

 

Toyota’s are not known for good backup cameras. Not sure why. But it’s definitely not isolated to the Tacoma.

Personally I don’t think it’s worth the effort to swap out on a new truck. But we’ll see if anyone chimes in that they have tried.

 

The difference between my 2019 Highlander and my 2022 Tacoma is like day vs night. I just barely use the Tacoma camera.

 

I think the same camera was used after the 2020 head unit refresh and the camera was intended for the smaller screen of the previous head unit. The stretching throws off the pixels and makes it look worse.

 

I have heard something along these lines as well. My 17 looks fine, no complaints.

 

The backup camera on my 17 taco is a thousand times better than the one on my wife’s 22 Prius. They are getting worse not better over time which is really cheap of Toyota in my book.

 

2022 camera is 100x better than my wife's 2020 crv camera

 

lol you dont need 4k hi res video to back up

 

My 2023 camera is terrible compared to my wife's 2018 CRV camera.

 

Works just fine on my 2017

 

In for the "you don't need 4k" comments since 720 has three times the resolution of our cameras...4k has 27 times the resolution

I have the 360 camera package and it makes the backup camera worse, unfortunately.

The major issue with this is the ability to quickly switch between mirrors and camera, with the lower quality I feel it is one or the other. The quality is so low I need half a second to discern the image, in previous vehicles with better cameras I could switch seamlessly,

The issue is the technology Toyota uses. I have tested it and they are using a communication method from the 60s that is lower quality than 480 (SD).

Toyota is like this across the board, I even drove a 22 Sienna and the camera was just as bad and that van was completely refreshed in 21 (reviewers even dinged it for camera quality). My mothers 19 Silverado is even worse and I KNOW GM can do better since our 2014 Acadia was nice and clear.

Again, my issue isn't the quality exactly, its that its so low quality you cannot use it easily in conjunction with the mirrors, and that just makes it unsafe IMO. FWIW I have tried a better camera and it did NOT improve the quality.

 

My backup is awesome unless it’s covered with grime or the tailgate is down. No complaints. Not sure how I ever lived without one. I often wish I had one on the front too.

 

It’s fine, unless you’re planning to read the ingredients on a box of ramen noodles. All you really need to see is the bumper line and the red tailgate clearance line. Just keep it clean. The only time it didn’t work well was after driving a couple of hours on salty winter roads.

 

LMAO

 

I wish it were because the lens is dirty... it's not.

FWIW: the camera I installed at the front of the truck which feeds the non-JBL 8" Head Unit in my '22 is the following:

$40 NATIKA Backup/Front View Camera,IP69K Waterproof Great Night Vision HD and Super Wide Angle Metal OEM Style Reverse Rear View Backup Camera for Cars Pickup Trucks SUVs RVs Vans (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H852D49?ie=UTF8&th=1

So it is only 720p, but it is so much better than the reverse camera that comes with the truck.
Is it better than nothing? For me? Absolutely. But, if there were a better camera that was pin-compatible and used on other model Toyotas, I'd jump on it.

 

The High Rez generation has spoken!

 

I've never had a backup camera, drove a 99Tacoma for 22 years before getting my 2021 Taco. To me it works just fine...

 

It's all about preference. For the price of a truck equipped with the 360° cameras I don't think it's an unreasonable ask for a bit clearer image. Is it required to operate the vehicle, no, but it is a neat thing to have.