What's up with the S5 camera and the focus? - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 5

The camera's focus is so bad that I can't even use my own phone anymore for depositing checks using my bank's mobile app -- I have to use my wife's iPhone 6. It's not that the phone is damaged - unless it came like that from the factory - as it's had bad focus issues since day 1.
When I try to focus on something, it will focus and then it bounces back to somewhat blurred. If I try it multiple times eventually moving the object closer or further away from the phone, I can get it to focus properly. But what a pain!
Am i the only one with this problem or is everyone else noticing the same?
MOD EDITrofanity removed from title and thread moved to Q&A. Please read forum rules before posting

meissen said:
The camera's focus is so bad that I can't even use my own phone anymore for depositing checks using my bank's mobile app -- I have to use my wife's iPhone 6. It's not that the phone is damaged - unless it came like that from the factory - as it's had bad focus issues since day 1.
When I try to focus on something, it will focus and then it bounces back to somewhat blurred. If I try it multiple times eventually moving the object closer or further away from the phone, I can get it to focus properly. But what a pain!
Am i the only one with this problem or is everyone else noticing the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have that problem. Are you tapping on the screen to focus? If so and you still have bad focus issues, you probably have a defective camera.

I get excellent photos from my S5. Do make sure that the piece of plastic has been removed from the lens, that causes all sorts of problems. If that isn't it, then yeah, possibly a defective camera.

meissen said:
The camera's focus is so bad that I can't even use my own phone anymore for depositing checks using my bank's mobile app -- I have to use my wife's iPhone 6. It's not that the phone is damaged - unless it came like that from the factory - as it's had bad focus issues since day 1.
When I try to focus on something, it will focus and then it bounces back to somewhat blurred. If I try it multiple times eventually moving the object closer or further away from the phone, I can get it to focus properly. But what a pain!
Am i the only one with this problem or is everyone else noticing the same?
MOD EDITrofanity removed from title and thread moved to Q&A. Please read forum rules before posting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are still on the warranty period, go to service and they will change your camera. If your warranty period ended, then the most easier and cheapest way to fix it is by buying a defective S5 that has only the camera working on it, and change that with your defective camera. If still doesn't work try a factory reset, actually try this first. And if still that doesn't work, then I don't know...
But good luck anyway.

meissen said:
The camera's focus is so bad that I can't even use my own phone anymore for depositing checks using my bank's mobile app -- I have to use my wife's iPhone 6. It's not that the phone is damaged - unless it came like that from the factory - as it's had bad focus issues since day 1.
When I try to focus on something, it will focus and then it bounces back to somewhat blurred. If I try it multiple times eventually moving the object closer or further away from the phone, I can get it to focus properly. But what a pain!
Am i the only one with this problem or is everyone else noticing the same?
MOD EDITrofanity removed from title and thread moved to Q&A. Please read forum rules before posting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do have the same problem from day 1. I feel that my s4 camera was lot better than s5

cmerlyn said:
I get excellent photos from my S5. Do make sure that the piece of plastic has been removed from the lens, that causes all sorts of problems. If that isn't it, then yeah, possibly a defective camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That tiny piece of plastic can cause all sorts of problems and it doesn't come off with all the other plastic. When I bought my phone and they removed all the plastic, that wasn't removed. It is very hard to see also.

I too have this issue... But not always sometime it works fine but most times not.. especially when focus on near objects.
I also scan item bar codes at store for earning rewards and i always had issue. But when i try scanning upside down of the bar code it gets immediately.
When at closer when i touch to focus, it will focus to sharp image and then goes to blurry image.
lens is clean with no plastic. Strange thing is its not issue always.
I previous phone was S3 an never had such issue.

Related

Camera glitches?

Hello. I received my handset on Saturday morning from P4U and have been very impressed so far, especially compared to my experience with the One X last year where I had to swap 3 handsets before finding one without a major problem.
I have noticed however a possible glitch with the camera. When using the camera outside in bright sunlight I sometimes get glitches on the screen in the form of a jumping/rippling effect which is sometimes accompanied by a faint crackling/clicking notice. On one occasion it would not focus at all, with the screen rippling the whole time and refusing to focus. Following turning off and on again I have not had the problem to the same same degree, although it does happen occasionally with maybe just one of two ripples before the image on the screen settles down. The issue does not seem to arise in other scenarios (indoors, etc). Had I not had the situation where the camera could not focus at all I would just have put it down to the particular way that the camera focuses
Also I noticed that when the issue was most pronounced, I was standing outside our house in a bad/poor mobile reception area, just on fringe of out Wifi connection within the house. The phone was also set to auto update and was trying to do so. Could this therefore be some sort if interference issue interfering with the camera sensor or imaging chip?
Hs anyone else experienced anything similar? I am very pleased with the handset so if this is standard I would not exchange it. However if this is an indication that I have a dodgy camera module or imaging chip I would want to do something about it now.
Many thanks.
Just tried to use the camera to take photos at the theatre in combination of dark foreground and bright background. Camera struggled to focus on a number of occasions, with repeated clicking and pulsing/ripples on the screen as before. Never seen anything like it with a digital camera. Might be something to do with ultrapixel technology but it can't be right can it? Any ideas? Looks like an exchange may be necessary...
Reminds me of another thread...you should check out this thread : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2196059
Might be the same problem.
Thanks - I had seen that one too. Not the same effect, but I have seen that issue as well.
I called P4U today and got given a swap code to exchange the handset in-store, which I did earlier today. Not had a chance to test the new one, but hopefully it won't have the same issue as I have not seen anyone else complain about it before.
pclark666 said:
Thanks - I had seen that one too. Not the same effect, but I have seen that issue as well.
I called P4U today and got given a swap code to exchange the handset in-store, which I did earlier today. Not had a chance to test the new one, but hopefully it won't have the same issue as I have not seen anyone else complain about it before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a video clip to show the ripple effect you have mention?

Do you experience issues with your camera?

Forum, I have HTC One M8. This morning the following message started showing up: duo camera is blocked, please make sure all lenses are uncovered.
Does anyone have any idea?
PS. All lenses are uncovered and thoroughly cleaned.
Thank you
Doesn't look like your case is the culprit. Having said that, have you tried using the camera without the case? Only time I've encountered this issue is when my finger was in the way of the duo camera itself.
Magnum_Enforcer said:
Doesn't look like your case is the culprit. Having said that, have you tried using the camera without the case? Only time I've encountered this issue is when my finger was in the way of the duo camera itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have identified the problem... defective camera itself. When i pick up my phone, and shake it gently, there is a rattle sound thats coming from the camera. In addition, the top camera (under the lens) rotates every time i jog or shake the phone. So in short, its defective camera, but since i do not have the coverage, im SOL for now.
Thank you

Nexus 6 Camera - Blurry in landscape only

My Nexus 6 seems to have an issue from day one and is still present with the 5.0.1 update and the most recent camera update. I'm unlocked and unencrypted.
When using the camera, any camera app, the viewfinder and ultimately the photo/video comes out blurry when shooting in landscape. If i shoot in portrait, the viewfinder and the photos are sharp.
In landscape is starts clear and sharp and then quickly changes to being blurry. Even resting the phone on a still surface it is always blurry. Lighting conditions or shooting mode don't make any difference.
I attached two photos showing the difference, both handheld.
It's almost like something is wrong with the OIS in landscape. Hardware issue?
did you touch to focus or did you just point and shoot?
simms22 said:
did you touch to focus or did you just point and shoot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
touch to focus... it actually begins to focus and then it looks like the sensor is shaking on the screen and shows up in the photos. I have no issues at all when in portrait mode.
This even happens when the camera is sitting on a still surface so its not my hand shaking.
This is with the camera sitting stationary on my desk and a 10/sec timer
mine did the exact same thing. the OIS never fully settles due to a hardware defect. i got a new one from T-Mo and returned my defective one and the problem has gone away.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57450996&postcount=78
Lucke said:
mine did the exact same thing. the OIS never fully settles due to a hardware defect. i got a new one from T-Mo and returned my defective one and the problem has gone away.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57450996&postcount=78
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info and helping verify its a hardware issue. guess I will be calling T-MO then. Where they hard to convince in replacing it?
drwolcot said:
Thanks for the info and helping verify its a hardware issue. guess I will be calling T-MO then. Where they hard to convince in replacing it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was lucky to call and complain about it within the 14 day buyers remorse period so they could send me a brand new one instead of a possible refurbished one, but it was like pulling teeth with them. i had to explain that it was a hardware issue several times before they agreed to send me another one. after several phone calls later in the next few days, i finally got someone who was willing to do it then and there while on the phone.
good luck :good:
I have about the same problem with my more then 1 year old Nexus 6. After my nexus 6 fell of my bed (with a tpu case and no visible damage) it seems that i can only get the camera to properly focus while holding it at 90 degrees (so with the camera sensor towards my right hand) and while holding it at 180 degrees (so upside down) 0 and 270 degrees (camera towards left hand) the camera focusses, during the focussing it's focused for like a fraction of second and then the blurriness/vibration starts, in both camera and video mode.
So thanks for this topic, i guess i'm ordering a replacement camera module.
Replacing the camera module has fixed my focusing problem. The module itself was around 13 dollars on aliexpress. For anyone that's facing focussing/ois problems with the camera, you can easily replace the module yourself.

Camera can't focus properly, screen tearing/shaking/jerking.

Yesterday I bought a used (yet excellent condition) M7_UL. I was hyped for a bit, unlocked the bootloader, flashed recovery, rooted, and installed some roms. Eventually I settled on GPE+ 3.0.2 but my joy was short lived.
I soon noticed very weird behavior of the focus. (I've owned 3 other M7s and neither behaved like this).
The camera finds it really hard to focus on anything further than... let's say a foot. When I does, it's enough to ever-so-slightly move the device by 1mm and it will lose focus, even with AF and AE locked before capture. At times, it will lose focus even on a tripod - I tap to focus, make sure it really is in focus and wait. A few moments later focus is lost. Tried this outdoors, where light variations are expected, and also indoors. Same thing.
It does have an easier time focusing on objects closer than a foot or so, but the behavior is similar. Just wait or move the device in the slightest and focus is lost.
More than this, while it tries to focus, there are some strange going-ons with the camera and it's viewfinder - screen tearing, shaking, jittering... I'm really not sure how to explain it so I've uploaded a video.
https://youtu.be/B7Jla932rJY
I've done a couple of hours of research and I think I eliminated most obvious culprits. I've thoroughly cleaned the lens cover, gave the phone a tap on the back, threw it on my bed, snapped it against my thigh, thinking maybe it's jammed , cleaned data of the app, tried stock, and several 3rd party apps.
Nothing did anything.
Can anyone offer some insight, please?
zgomot said:
Yesterday I bought a used (yet excellent condition) M7_UL. I was hyped for a bit, unlocked the bootloader, flashed recovery, rooted, and installed some roms. Eventually I settled on GPE+ 3.0.2 but my joy was short lived.
I soon noticed very weird behavior of the focus. (I've owned 3 other M7s and neither behaved like this).
The camera finds it really hard to focus on anything further than... let's say a foot. When I does, it's enough to ever-so-slightly move the device by 1mm and it will lose focus, even with AF and AE locked before capture. At times, it will lose focus even on a tripod - I tap to focus, make sure it really is in focus and wait. A few moments later focus is lost. Tried this outdoors, where light variations are expected, and also indoors. Same thing.
It does have an easier time focusing on objects closer than a foot or so, but the behavior is similar. Just wait or move the device in the slightest and focus is lost.
More than this, while it tries to focus, there are some strange going-ons with the camera and it's viewfinder - screen tearing, shaking, jittering... I'm really not sure how to explain it so I've uploaded a video.
https://youtu.be/B7Jla932rJY
I've done a couple of hours of research and I think I eliminated most obvious culprits. I've thoroughly cleaned the lens cover, gave the phone a tap on the back, threw it on my bed, snapped it against my thigh, thinking maybe it's jammed , cleaned data of the app, tried stock, and several 3rd party apps.
Nothing did anything.
Can anyone offer some insight, please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dont know about GPE but CM has some issues with camera
try going back to HTC STOCK ROM and see if the problem persists

Shockingly poor front camera quality

Hi all,
I recently purchased S20 FE 5g (Snapdragon, india) few days back for my wife. The screen of her previous phone Redmi k20 broke after a fall and screen was not available (and even if so it was going to cost around 50-60% of phone's original purchased value. So instead we decided to buy new phone. And after lot of back and forth we settled for S20 FE.
The main camera is good. But the front camera and selfie is really poor for this kind of phone and price. In fact Redmi K20 which was almost half of the price of this one had better front camera.
The photos are grainy and blurry half of the times. And smoothening effect even after turning off all filters. This doesn't have autofocus I am aware. But most of the phones do not have for front camera.
Night mode and Gcam improves it somewhat but overall very disappointing front camera.
I checked with service centre and they mentioned there are no hardware or software issues. So I cannot get any return or refund as well.
Shockingly very few reviewers mentioned the issues with front camera and overall camera reviews were good. Now after doing some research see many users complaining about front camera. Seen some posts here and many on reddit as well. My 3 years old Pixel 3xl takes miles better photos and even almost 2.5 years old Redmi K20 was better in front camera marginally which was almost half of the price.
Given S20 FE was released almost 1 and half years back I do not have any hope of fixing the front camera by software updates from Samsung (they would have already done by now)
Or if anyone here have any idea if the front camera can be improved by some tweaks? (already tried night mode and gcam which are better but anything for normal shots?)
Have a look at Open Camera .... https://opencamera.org.uk/
Thread here :
[APP][4.0.3+] Open Camera
Open Camera is an Open Source camera app for Android that I've been working on. Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera Or install APK directly from...
forum.xda-developers.com
xabu said:
Have a look at Open Camera .... https://opencamera.org.uk/
Thread here :
[APP][4.0.3+] Open Camera
Open Camera is an Open Source camera app for Android that I've been working on. Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera Or install APK directly from...
forum.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it better than the stock camera?
stock camera and stock camera app are two completely different things. Sometimes custom apps perform better.
You should look at it, then you can decide. I have the luck that I did not buy the same phone..
I bought the S20 FE and back then there was a screen bug that was enough for the seller to take the phone back - you'd have to search for the thread but it involves multi-touch on the screen.
There's an app you can DL to check it but it shows as when you do multi-touch swipes the screen malfunctions. Might work with your retailer as a faulty phone?
I would return it.
Try clearing the system cache and cam data first.
If the cam app has been updated, roll back to factory loaded version.
Also try in safe mode to rule out a 3rd party app causing the issue.
Journyman16 said:
I bought the S20 FE and back then there was a screen bug that was enough for the seller to take the phone back - you'd have to search for the thread but it involves multi-touch on the screen.
There's an app you can DL to check it but it shows as when you do multi-touch swipes the screen malfunctions. Might work with your retailer as a faulty phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. I am unable to find out the app. Could you share the link?
blackhawk said:
I would return it.
Try clearing the system cache and cam data first.
If the cam app has been updated, roll back to factory loaded version.
Also try in safe mode to rule out a 3rd party app causing the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried the first and 3rd suggestions but same result. Second one means factory reset?
rockrahul said:
Tried the first and 3rd suggestions but same result. Second one means factory reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's better to find the root cause. A factory reset is the last option. It's used after a major firmware upgrade, if a poorly written app alters hidden user settings or in the case of malware.
Problem being is you never learn what the root cause was... if the issue reappears in the future.
In the long run a conservative troubleshooting approach wastes less of your time. Use factory reset as a last ditch option. Always clear the system cache before you go full nuke as it can fix many strange glitches.
Also try a hard reboot (simulates pulling battery).
Did you do any firmware upgrades?
Did you use SmartSwitch to help load this phone?
If so factory reset. Do Not use SmartSwitch on the next load...
rockrahul said:
Ok. I am unable to find out the app. Could you share the link?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's called Touch Screen Test - there's a thread on Reddit about it here...
NOTE: Put a www. in front of the addresses and copy them to your browser - if I put the link it posts the entire threads in this post, which seems a bit impolite for others.
reddit.com/r/Galaxy_S20/comments/j6cdu0/s20_fe_5g_smg781bds_has_a_touchscreen_hardware/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
I found another thread that claims it was fixed in updates so check you have the latest firmware also.
reddit.com/r/Galaxy_S20/comments/jau31s/s20_fe_touchscreen_issue_thread/
For me i found that i get the touchscreen issue, more like the glide keyboard plays up
Reboot always fixes it.
And its usually after phone has been on continually for days on end that it acts up
As for the front camera, I agree its poor.
I find i have to add colour to the images and chuck on the warm filter to full to get warmth.
I had the same bad luck of buying this phone. Have been facing the same issue. But there is something surprising I have found in the front camera of this device (S20 FE). See the difference between the photo mode and video mode of Front camera. I found the difference quite noticeable. This confirms that there is nothing wrong with the front camera of this device but definitely with its software. In video mode of Front Camera I see no lag as in photo mode and the camera is as smooth as it could be. Kindly see the difference and do let me know.
Regards
Robin Arora

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