I know, I know - don't rely on the camera, use your mirrors, etc etc.

I already do all of that, but today I was backing up to my closed garage (usually I pull up to it) and the camera really made it appear like the bumper was wider then the garage bay. It also made it look like the edges of the garage opening were literally inches from my bumper.

I knew this wasn't the case because only the center backup sensors were activated as I would expect. I jumped out and was surprised how much space I really had compared to what the camera displayed.

This is my 3rd vehicle with a backup camer and I think it's the most skewed one I've owned.

Specifically looking at the left (passenger side) but the drivers side is about the same distance from the opening as well.

 

I like the camera. I don't use it for judging distance and because of a very tight garage opening, I put a line down the center of the garage and I align it with the hitch guide. I also put a line at the back so I know when I am far enough in to close the door. Now I only have to fold one mirror instead of both until I can get power fold mirrors installed.

 

Field of view of the fisheye/wide-angle lens & the image processing to straighten it out.

What's deceiving to me is the illusion of backing up really fast when looking at the display. I back down the driveway at normal speed but the camera view makes it appear otherwise. ("HEY! Why are you going so fast??")

 

Two points (ttocsmi already brought up the Fisheye / wide-angle lens.

1) Your manual explains that the beeping tells you distance. On my 2013, fewer than 10 inches makes the warning continuous.

2) Your camera has three color zones as you see. I would recommend you backup to the door and when it starts to enter the green zone get out and measure, then do the same for yellow and red. You will then know how close each is.

 

Yeah, I get the wide angle - I guess it's worse then I'm used to because the truck is a lot wider then my previous vehicles and thus a wider lens.

The center I was fine with - the red aligns with the distance I would expect and same for the sensors.

I was more talking how the edges are skewed. I.E. - the edges of the bumper appearing to be wider and about to hit garage molding when in fact it's about 2' away with plenty of clearance on both sides.

I guess that goes with my point above having a wider truck with a wider lens though.

If anything it makes for a good example to trust your mirrors and eyes over the technology. Great tool for sure but no substitute for using the mirrors!

 

There's no substitute for how awesome it is backing up to a trailer. Holy crap that's handy. No more getting out, checking, rolling back 6 inches, checking...

 

I only use camera to see what's behind me, mirrors to make sure I don't hit anything, and sensor beeps to judge how far away I am.

 

Amen to that! Also beats the old "ball on a stick" method three ways from Sunday when hitching up. I installed my backup camera as an aftermarket item and to me it's worth every penny I paid for it.

 

+1

 

The perceived accuracy is also somewhat dependent on how far away you are. When I back into the garage, I can clearly see that I am going to go through where the garage door is until I am right on top of it. Even in your example, the indicators of where the truck is still show that it will go through the door opening. That is the price of the fisheye as mentioned above. Similar to this: