topic Re: A70 main camera focus issue in Galaxy A Series

A70 main camera focus issue

CalinP — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 12:26:59 GMT

Hi guys,

I just bought a Galaxy A70 and I have a problem with the main camera.

When taking photos outdoors, these are out of focus. Even if I touch a point on the screen, I can see the image focusing on the subject for a split second and then getting out of focus. I tried different ratios (16:9, full, 3:4(H), 3:4), scene optimiser on and off and still I only get blurry images (which is quite annoying, since I was expecting an upgrade from the J7 Prime I was using).

I don't think there is something wrong with the camera itself, as it seems to focus properly if I choose to zoom in (even at just 1.2x). Wide camera also works properly.

Anybody else has this issue?

Cheers.

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

CarloL — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 15:13:34 GMT

Hey @CalinP! Make sure that the lenses on the Camera are cleaned. Now, make sure that the phone's software is up to date by heading to: Settings > Software Update > Download Updates Manually. Then go to: Galaxy Apps > 3 dots (top right) > My apps > Update. If this doesn’t help, could you run a Hardware Test on the A70? Go to: Samsung Members app > Press Get help > Press Interactive checks > Camera. Is the Camera still blurry or it fails?

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

CalinP — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 13:33:17 GMT

Hi CarloL and thanks for replying to my question.

I went through all the steps and the photos are still blurry.

As a side note - not sure how the interactive checks work, but for the camera it just asked me to take a photo and then I had to decide for myself whether the photo looked good or not (w/o being able to zoom in or anything else). It didn't really feel the app was doing any checking or HW testing of its own...

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

CarloL — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 15:55:10 GMT

Thanks for trying that! The Interactive check enables only the main camera system without any feature added so that the camera can act in its purest form. If the photos are still blurry, then you would need to visit your closest Samsung Support Centre to have a Samsung enginner to look at the phone for you.

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

mastermind456 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 21:24:24 GMT

Attach some sample images... I'd like to see how blurry they are.

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

CalinP — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 22:06:43 GMT

Images attached, details in captions.

Didn't have the chance to visit a Samsung Centre yet, plan to do that soon.

Main camera, no zoom, touched to focus on the building in the foreground

Main camera, zoomed in, auto focus

Wide angle camera, auto-focus

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

mastermind456 — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 21:46:43 GMT

The first image is the only one that looks troubling to me. When you tap the screen while using the regular camera, does a ring appear?

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

CalinP — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 08:49:49 GMT

Yes, it does.

And the image focuses properly for a split second and then it gets blurryThis is how it looks when I tap the screen.

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

ozziesda — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 13:55:31 GMT

I'm having a similar issue, except the camera wont focus properly in any mode. Aside from a great battery life, this phone is a POS compared to my S8!!

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

Qwerty7 — Sat, 28 Dec 2019 18:35:17 GMT

Yeah I have that in my a8 too. Super annoying but I think it's because these phones use PDAF autofocusing compared to regular ones on j7 and A3 2016( which I had without this issue). It is more accurate but not as reliable as regular focusing. I still think it could be resolved though as on my device it only happens at short distances

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

Qwerty7 — Sat, 28 Dec 2019 18:36:27 GMT

(such as less than 10cm)

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

CalinP — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 08:52:21 GMT

Mine works perfectly at short distance (e.g. 4-5 cm), but only if I let it focus on it's own. If I tap on the screen to focus on a specific area, everything gets blurry (including the point I just tapped).

I've been told to go to a service centre, but I still think this is a software issue. If there was something physically wrong with the camera, all photos would be out of focus. Not to mention by now the phone has a bucketload of personal data and details, so leaving it for servicing would mean to reset to factory settings first (and then go through the hassle of restoring all of that).

It would be good to know whether Samsung is looking into this issue and working on a patch to fix it?

Either way, I was not expecting to get poorer photos by upgrading my phone. I absolutely loved the J7, so I decided to stick with Samsung, but next time I buy a phone I'll probably take a better look at other brands.

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

A70-unhappy — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 19:19:15 GMT

I have the same focus issue with the A70. I am also frustrated that the motion picture feature is no longer available as well. This is my 3rd Samsung phone. I have enjoyed the great picture quality of older models so I hope this is a software issue that can be resolved URGENTLY.

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

Suzie2 — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 19:35:32 GMT

I am having same issue. I got phone mainly for the camera and pictures are terrible in comparison to my 13mp older phone. Its seems to me it optimises the photos itself. Any help appreciated.

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

bbolo1 — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 20:56:49 GMT

I agree with you it is most probably a software issue. I tried other apps which can take photos and when I press to focus, I can see the chosen point going in focus and then in the next second it goes out of focus again.

I tried to take a few photos this week on a ski area (sunshine, plenty of light) and I ended up deciding I've had enough of this POS phone. In 80% of the cases, the photos were out of focus. The lens were perfectly clean and the reason for this lame results were the garbage rear camera and its focus algorithm.

Anyway, I won't buy anything from samdung in the futureThis is an example in which the rear camera went out of focus about a second after it seemed to be spot-on. The focus point was set for the house on the right

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

bbolo1 — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 19:28:19 GMT

I think you should get rid of this phone. I have the same focus issues plus the horrible camera quality (worse than even A50!!!) and I am planning to get a different brand phone. Next samsung phone - No, thank you. I'll get a different brand in the following days

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

MichielByt — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 19:51:21 GMT

It happens to too many people so I don't think it's worth paying a visit to a support center. It looks more like a software bug, hope it's not a design flaw.

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

bbolo1 — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 22:30:25 GMT

When I 1st noticed the camera issues (~Nov 2019) I was hoping the future software updates will fix the issue. I updated the system software about 3 times since I got the phone. I have the latest update right now. Pretty much all the system update summaries were mentioning fixes to the fingerprint sensors but nothing about the camera.

Just to be 100% sure it isn't an issue with my phone I went to one of the big electronics retailers in my area and I tried the A70 and the A71 phones that were there for demos.

I could see pretty much the same focusing issues with the A70 there (in many cases the camera doesn't end up with the proper focus even though the camera app says it is in focus).

The demo phone had no system updates, however it behaved pretty much like mine which has the latest update. At this moment I am leaning towards a poor quality image sensor rather than a software bug.

A71 is much better to acheive good focus but we have to keep in mind it uses a different image sensor.

Now, speaking of the system software updates. After the latest system update I am no longer able to register any fingerprints anymore. I am following the instructions and press the finger as suggested by the phone but in the end the fingerpint recording app gives up and tells it cannot register the fingerprint.

I was only able to get up to 80% (maximum) before the app gave up.

My fingerprints haven't changed, only the system software.

Did anybody experienced the same issue registering fingerpints?

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

Newion — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 15:39:29 GMT

I have the same camera auto-focus issue with Samsung A40. It is embarassing...

Re: A70 main camera focus issue

eberjunior — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 19:51:08 GMT

I've been having the same problem and it is quite annoying. The focus is slow and often incorrect and when you press the shutter button it takes a few seconds to work and you end up missing the shot.

What helped me quite a bit was to turn of the "Scene Optimizer" on the camera's settings. That usually keeps trying to figure out how to improve the photo before you take it, which delays the whole situation. It's not 100% yet, but definitely better.