Paid $1,600 for LESS-THAN-PERFECT hardware! (S20 Ultra)

[felloffthetruck]

Just saw a video by GregglesTV where he states that Samsung has admitted that the focus issue on the S20 Ultra can not be fixed with a software update.

Sucks that I'm stuck with a $1,600. phone with broken hardware.

 

[donm527]

It's not broken. Just... a character trait. Still top seven camera of 2020 in DXOMARK... out of seven. But higher than any 2019 phone on that list and higher than any Samsung prior and even the higher than the iPhone 11 Pro.

"Basically, it’s a physical characteristic of the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 108MP camera that owners of the device will have to live with."

https://www.sammobile.com/news/impossible-fix-one-galaxy-s20-ultra-autofocus-issue/

 

[blackhawkhot]

It's not broken. Just... a character trait. Still top seven camera of 2020 in DXOMARK... out of seven. But higher than any 2019 phone on that list and higher than any Samsung prior and even the higher than the iPhone 11 Pro.

"Basically, it’s a physical characteristic of the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 108MP camera that owners of the device will have to live with."

https://www.sammobile.com/news/impossible-fix-one-galaxy-s20-ultra-autofocus-issue/

It is its focus range. Just back up a bit.
Even the best pro cams/lens have limitations; you learn to recognize them and work within the its capabilities.

In other words there are -always- trade offs...

 

[MoreDef]

maybe the use of the word "fixed" implied that there is something "broken". semantics can do that....but there literally isn't anything broken. i think samsung just bit off more than they could chew and hurried out tech before performing decent quality control.

kinda like that kid at school who just always wants to be first to hand in their school work...before checking it.

 

[mustang7757]

Just saw a video by GregglesTV where he states that Samsung has admitted that the focus issue on the S20 Ultra can not be fixed with a software update.

Sucks that I'm stuck with a $1,600. phone with broken hardware.

You paid 1600.00 full price ?
If not happy sell it.

 

[donm527]

That's what I really don't like about this camera on how all the reviewers mention this "narrow plane of focus" and show that you can't "get a whole mug in the shot (MKBHD I think it was)" where he takes a close photo of a mug and you can't even get a whole coffee mug in focus... how it blurs out at the back of the mug. That's just too narrow IMO.

It is its focus range. Just back up a bit.
Even the best pro cams/lens have limitations; you learn to recognize them and work within the its capabilities.

In other words there are -always- trade offs...

 

[illdini]

Manual focus isn't an option?

 

[felloffthetruck]

You paid 1600.00 full price ?
If not happy sell it.

Will do when the Note 20 or iPhone 12 is closer to launch.

 

[Mike Dee]

maybe the use of the word "fixed" implied that there is something "broken". semantics can do that....but there literally isn't anything broken. i think samsung just bit off more than they could chew and hurried out tech before performing decent quality control.

kinda like that kid at school who just always wants to be first to hand in their school work...before checking it.

It's a design limitation and not a QC issue.

 

[mustang7757]

Will do when the Note 20 or iPhone 12 is closer to launch.

Probably get better amount through swappa or similar

 

[donm527]

Lucky to those that signed up for that guaranteed 50% trade in value in two years. Because if they can't fix it, it can't help it's value in two years.

They could still maybe get it right in future updates because you see the Chinese phones that rank higher using the same 108mp sensor. I do read in the reviews and they do much better in focus than the Ultra. They are just tuning these things better than Samsung.

Please Samsung... don't mess up the Note 20 and have this resolved by then.

You paid 1600.00 full price ?
If not happy sell it.

 

[Mike Dee]

Just saw a video by GregglesTV where he states that Samsung has admitted that the focus issue on the S20 Ultra can not be fixed with a software update.

Sucks that I'm stuck with a $1,600. phone with broken hardware.

Which specific issue is affecting you?

A: Autofocus hunting
B: Autofocus difficulty close up
C: Shallow depth of field
D: I need to upgrade again

 

[L0n3N1nja]

I'm so annoyed with all these phone photographers calling this thing broken because they have zero experience with how a larger image sensor combined with large aperture creates a shallow depth if field.

 

[mustang7757]

Lucky to those that signed up for that guaranteed 50% trade in value in two years. Because if they can't fix it, it can't help it's value in two years.

They could still maybe get it right in future updates because you see the Chinese phones that rank higher using the same 108mp sensor. I do read in the reviews and they do much better in focus than the Ultra. They are just tuning these things better than Samsung.

Please Samsung... don't mess up the Note 20 and have this resolved by then.

Think they should get the kinks out with Note 20

 

[MoreDef]

It's a design limitation and not a QC issue.

ah. i figured that QC control would catch that there is a design limitation. you know, like, "hey guys, this camera is having issues because we can't jam that much tech into that small a space."

and then some guy would answer, "tony stark did it in a cave. WITH SCRAPS!"

 

[donm527]

Eh... but is it the best setup that Samsung could do?? I mean I agree with Mike Dee that you can't call it a QC issue... because that's the way they wanted to send it out.

But... Call it a Quality issue?? Call it sending out a product 2/3rds baked?? They knew they were releasing these phone with autofocus not sorted out with the thought that they could with a software update after launch. I just can't see how they didn't know. But is that how you want to launch a $1400 phone??

Who said it... Don't buy a phone with a promise of something to be fixed in an update??

I'm so annoyed with all these phone photographers calling this thing broken because they have zero experience with how a larger image sensor combined with large aperture creates a shallow depth if field.

 

[blackhawkhot]

maybe the use of the word "fixed" implied that there is something "broken". semantics can do that....but there literally isn't anything broken. i think samsung just bit off more than they could chew and hurried out tech before performing decent quality control.

kinda like that kid at school who just always wants to be first to hand in their school work...before checking it.

Or the design engineers, marketing teams didn't effectively communicate the desired specs and then the actual specs to marketing...

Really for these miniature none dedicated cams shooting as well as they do is an incredible engineering feat.
I never expect much out of them because of the space limits.
Look a modern pro cam and it's lens... perhaps a dedicated cam is in the OP's future.

 

[donm527]

I'm hoping and definitely hoping people keep putting them under the spotlight on this so that they don't f up the Note 20.

It's always like this with Samsung... gotta put the light on them or they don't do anything. Remember S8 and the red tint on the screens?? Not until the attention refused to goes away they take care of. Didn't replace the screens but months later you get slider bars in an update to change the RGB levels. And I won't get into the Note 7 and trying to brush off the battery issue. But they made sure the Note 8 was perfect and I'm still rocking it!

Think they should get the kinks out with Note 20

 

[MoreDef]

Or the design engineers, marketing teams didn't effectively communicate the desired specs and then the actual specs to marketing...

Really for these miniature none dedicated cams shooting as well as they do is an incredible engineering feat.
I never expect much out of them because of the space limits.
Look a modern pro cam and it's lens... perhaps a dedicated cam is in the OP's future.

absolutely. i just think that there's a flammable combination of customers with heightened expectations DUE to company hyperbole. in the end, no one wins because the descriptions aren't realistic, and so the customer is left disappointed. nowadays, it really takes a customer doing their due diligence before buying the product. The only customers who weren't disappointed were the ones knowledgeable enough about pixel binning, how lens size affects focus, lighting, etc, and how the S20 uses which lens to zoom...it's a lot of research, and there were a lot of customers who were just dazzled by the short and sweet buzz words and catch phrases.

 

[mustang7757]

I'm hoping and definitely hoping people keep putting them under the spotlight on this so that they don't f up the Note 20.

It's always like this with Samsung... gotta put the light on them or they don't do anything. Remember S8 and the red tint on the screens?? Not until the attention refused to goes away they take care of. Didn't replace the screens but months later you get slider bars in an update to change the RGB levels. And I won't get into the Note 7 and trying to brush off the battery issue. But they made sure the Note 8 was perfect and I'm still rocking it!

One thing I know i will pay half not full price.