It was cold as f*ck, but great to meet you Dwight. My camera wasn't cooperating, most likely operator error.
More likely it was the cold temperature affecting the camera. We developed a small camera system for a military application and we wanted to use a cell phone camera because the components were very low cost. The CMOS chip was $19 and we found a lens assembly for $26. We tested the camera over our operating temperature range and found the focus was sensitive to temperature. The index of refraction of most lens materials varies with temperature. We had to develop a custom lens assembly that would maintain focus over the required temperature range, we call this athermalization. The unit cost of the athermalized lens assembly went up to >$500 in volume production. No gold plated toilet Jokes! the Military required that it work over the temperature range. We told them what it was going to cost but they still wanted it.
So the moral of this story is the cheapest camera you can get is probably only going to work good under ideal conditions. Some auto focus cameras will compensate for temperature, but the cheap ones usually don't. The wide operating temperature requires a greater range of travel in the focus mechanism and cheap motors have limited operating temperature ranges, plus it costs more to test the camera over the temperature range and prove it works.
I believe most cell phone cameras are out of focus in cold temperatures, but people don't notice because it is too cold to take a picture.
O, and nice looking 3's!
