Is my S9+ camera defective?

[Michael_Archangel]

I've just bought a Galaxy S9+. Tried the camera side-by-side compared to my S7, and all photos have what looks like a red Instagram filter on them, and the lack of detail especially on closer shots such as pets is staggering. See example photos attached, where the cat's hair on his head on the S7 is nice and sharp, whereas on the S9+ it's all blurry and has a red tint...

I have returned the S9+ as in my opinion it's so bad. But I'm wondering if it's just a matter of taste or settings (I was just in Auto in both cases), or if my unit was actually faulty? I don't want to order a replacement one if the camera photos are going to be exactly the same.

 

[Michael_Archangel]

Btw the top photo is the galaxy S7. Even the detail of the fabric of the sofa is spot on on the S7, whereas on the S9+ below it's blurred out (especially at 100% crop - images do not upload at full size on these forums) and the sofa colour looks blueish instead of grey.

 

[zerospace-net]

Color is subjective and depends on what you view it on. My PC monitor is color calibrated, and your top photo reminds me of the ones I get out of my old S7 -- it's yellow shifted pretty noticeably. The S9 shot has a little more of a blue shift, so in both, the white balance is off.

It's not defective necessarily. Every camera has issues like this. That's why you color correct or adjust the white balance manually if you have to.

Were these cropped in any way? It looks like the focus point is different between the two.

 

[edubb256]

I also returned my S9+ because of difficulty in getting a sharp picture. I don't know if mine was defective or if they are all that way. But I agree with zerospace about the color.

 

[Scott Morey]

it looks like the same exact picture but a different shade

 

[zerospace-net]

I also returned my S9+ because of difficulty in getting a sharp picture. I don't know if mine was defective or if they are all that way. But I agree with zerospace about the color.

Really? I did some close up shots of small objects and managed to get a much sharper image (macro) with the S9 camera than I ever could with the S7. I haven't done anything outdoors yet. When it counts, I have a DSLR, so my phone is just for casual, spur of the moment stuff usually. If I really care with my phone cam, I'll use pro mode.

 

[Michael_Archangel]

I'm viewing these images on a colour calibrated IPS LCD computer monitor. Whilst the S7 is indeed a tiny bit on the yellow side (mostly due to ambient lighting), the colour is quite close to real life. Whereas the S9+ is very far from accurate.

Regarding the quality itself, I can confirm both shots were taken at the same time and focused on the same part of the image. But whatever I did on the S9+ (pressing on the head of the cat on the screen), it just would not focus any better and the result was always blurry in low light.

The images I previously posted were uncropped. I'm now attaching a couple of 100% crop comparisons. The first is the hair on the head of the cat, the second is the fabric of the sofa.

 

[edubb256]

Really? I did some close up shots of small objects and managed to get a much sharper image (macro) with the S9 camera than I ever could with the S7. I haven't done anything outdoors yet. When it counts, I have a DSLR, so my phone is just for casual, spur of the moment stuff usually. If I really care with my phone cam, I'll use pro mode.

I did some very extensive comparisons against my Note 8. I never tried macro shots. Just some portraits and outdoor events. I tried using pro mode, but like most phone cameras, don't think pro mode really helps that much unless you have special situation. Like using a slower shutter speed to drop the ISO if you know there is no motion of the subject and are using a tripod.

I have a full frame mirrorless camera for serious situations, but phone camera performance is still important to me and my S9+ was definitely a step back from the Note 8. As I said in my other post, maybe my S9+ was defective, I considered exchanging it for a replacement.

 

[Michael_Archangel]

Fur and cushion crops. There is not one part of the image that is sharper on the S9+.

And all photos I took with it were the same.

 

[Michael_Archangel]

Thanks edubb256. I might consider Note8 then. Thing is, I was expecting a big improvement for the price and all the fuss they made about their f1.5 camera, and this is clearly worse unless it is defective. But if you've had the same issue I guess it must just be how it is.

 

[zxphenomenalxz]

my camera has been extremely bad too. I've read on xda that some people are suffering from lensflare. I'm wondering if mine is and it's making the camera difficult to focus in properly or handle the lighting. what color do you have ? a lot of the reports I saw was the coral blue having the issue more. I have coral blue.. but the camera is just horrible. I reset camera settings and it helped a little but compared to my Pixel 2 the s9+ is taking photos as if it's a Motorola phone.

 

[Michael_Archangel]

It was a black one. I wonder if the normal S9 (not +) would be the same. I actually would prefer the smaller size, but bought the + for the second rear camera.

The Pixel 2 camera does look good, however I am used to Samsung and especially having the back button on the right. Also the list of issues with the Pixel 2 put me off: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_2#Other_issues

 

[zxphenomenalxz]

It was a black one. I wonder if the normal S9 (not +) would be the same. I actually would prefer the smaller size, but bought the + for the second rear camera.

The Pixel 2 camera does look good, however I am used to Samsung and especially having the back button on the right. Also the list of issues with the Pixel 2 put me off: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_2#Other_issues

I was one of the lucky ones to have a pixel 2xl with zero hardware issues. No grain screen no blue color shift.. phone is superb.. I'm rocking my s9+ naked until my case arrives this evening from Amazon. I'm hoping with a case on pictures will be better as I won't have any light reflecting from the back of the phone.. but if it continues to be bad I'll probably go exchange it . The camera is a significant drop off in quality from what I've been used to on my Pixel.

 

[Fred98TJ]

With the short lens (wide angle) in less than good lighting conditions when the 1.5 aperture kicks in you can expect soft photos and often some color shifting.
It’s extremely hard to produce a fast (1.4, 1.5, etc) wide angle lens that is sharp with no color shifting when wide open.
A lens alone cost several thousand US dollars. With the plastic lens used on the phone softness when at 1.5 (and some color abnormalities especially in the corners) is to be expected.
Even some of the documentation says that (dual aperture, 1.5 for low light and 2.4 for sharper photos in good lighting conditions. )

 

[L0n3N1nja]

With the short lens (wide angle) in less than good lighting conditions when the 1.5 aperture kicks in you can expect soft photos and often some color shifting.
It’s extremely hard to produce a fast (1.4, 1.5, etc) wide angle lens that is sharp with no color shifting when wide open.
A lens alone cost several thousand US dollars. With the plastic lens used on the phone softness when at 1.5 (and some color abnormalities especially in the corners) is to be expected.
Even some of the documentation says that (dual aperture, 1.5 for low light and 2.4 for sharper photos in good lighting conditions. )

I've been thinking the same based on my experience with DSLR cameras.

You also get a shallower depth of field, which puts less of the image in focus.

 

[Fred98TJ]

I've been thinking the same based on my experience with DSLR cameras.

You also get a shallower depth of field, which puts less of the image in focus.

It’s more because of the lenses on the phone camera. You simply can’t make good optics for a fast (1.4, 1.5) wide angle lenses made from plastic that are anywhere near cost effective enough for a cp.

The softness being seen is totally expected. Yes you’ll get some more light but the photos are going to be soft as hot butter.

 

[edubb256]

It’s more because of the lenses on the phone camera. You simply can’t make good optics for a fast (1.4, 1.5) wide angle lenses made from plastic that are anywhere near cost effective enough for a cp.

The softness being seen is totally expected. Yes you’ll get some more light but the photos are going to be soft as hot butter.

Ideally lenses should be fast, sharp, and cheap. But you can only get two of the three.

 

[torbach1]

I'm not analyzing color accuracy in detail, but so far I'm very happy with my S9+ camera. Check out this night shot.

 

[Fred98TJ]

I'm not analyzing color accuracy in detail, but so far I'm very happy with my S9+ camera. Check out this night shot.View attachment 281342

Disregarding any color issues, this is the same as I’ve been seeing, very very soft. No detail anywhere on anything.

 

[Michael_Archangel]

That's a real shame, for a camera that is billed as being made especially for low light, that its weakness is actually low light... I think the S7 is pretty good in low light while retaining sharpness. So f1.7 is pretty much as good as you can achieve with a smartphone lens, and I should avoid any photos below that.

Now they've made a f1.5 lens and a lot of people seem happy with it, I doubt they'll ever go back to f1.7, so I guess that means the S8/Note8 will be the last Samsung phones I can get... Hopefully other smartphone manufacturers won't follow suit.

I don't know how anyone can be happy with an image that soft. Thing is, in some reviews, I've seen low light images taken with the S9 where small tree branches look fairly sharp and details like brick walls are not soft. So not sure what's going on there, hence why I thought mine might be faulty...