I don't know if the new camera has actually been improved over the old one or if the old one was just flawed. I do agree with X5FX that it's a valuable addition even with the possible issues.

FWIW, the camera replacement and software update were all covered by BMW (of course!). The biggest issue was that it took them a few days to get it all done but we had an X3 loaner so it wasn't awful.