Question

We have noticed that, with the DOT mobile SDK, users sometimes have to move the device very far away from their face before it starts capturing their face. 


Answer

This is a known issue caused by the longer focal length used in some models of mobile phones. The majority of mobile phones use 25mm focal length but some models use 32mm. Therefore, it is not a wrong implementation in our SDK, but it is a parameter of the front camera itself. Users of those phones have to stretch their arms more to capture full selfies in general.

However, this issue is also affected by the scale type of your image:
  • Scale type FIT - it is generally recommended and it should maintain acceptable face distance from the camera even when using a camera with 32mm focal length
  • Scale type FILL(deprecated)  - this one might cause problem in your case. In this case, the component picks 4:3 resolution to display, but if the selected camera has a different aspect ratio it can cause the necessity to position the camera far away from the face. Basically, the original image is cropped and you are displaying only a zoomed part of it.
Therefore we recommend you use the FIT scale type to avoid this kind of lowered usability comfort.


Relevant Product / Version

DOT mobile SDKs