S24 Ultra - Camera shift and barn door transition issue while zooming

[y2kviv]

l want to bring to your attention a concerning issue I have encountered with my recently received Galaxy s24 Ultra, which I pre-ordered on samsung.com and received on January 24th.

Upon using the device, I have observed a significant image shift problem when switching between zoom lenses (3x,5x etc) in auto mode. Also I have noticed a barn door  type of transition happening in the camera viewfinder while switching to 3x and 5x lenses. Despite my attempts to replicate the issue in Samsung store devices, I was unable to do so. This leads me to believe that the problem lies within the hardware of my device indicating a potential defect. I'm not sure this is something that could be fixed over a software update either.

I have also come across multiple instances on social media, such as the tweet linked below, where other users are experiencing the same camera issue: [Link to Twitter post: https://twitter.com/smasithick/status/1752733526586491319.]

As a loyal Samsung user for an extended period, I am disappointed that such a quality concern exists in a flagship device. I have high expectations for the performance and reliability of Samsung's products. and this issue falls short of those expectations.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a swift resolution.

Issue 1: Barn door transition
Here you can clearly see that the barn door transition happening while switching from 2x zoom to 3x and from 3x to 5x. The transition itself starts from the center and expand to all edges of the viewfinder.

Barn door Transition.mp4

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Issue 2: Camera Shift
Here you can clearly see that the image inside viewfinder shifts while switching from from 3x to 5x and vice versa.

Camera Shift.mp4

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Galaxy S24 Ultra

[Techgeek_nit]

Thanks for the detailed insight😊

[Cynic14]

I had the same issue. Yesterday I ordered a replacement from Google Fi (usually they propose to make a return and purchase a new phone, but it would affect the free storage upgrade). Will see how it will be with another one 

[Haytch]

When switching lenses. It has a weird fade effect between switching. This never occurred in previous models

Haytch-video-1707337101407

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[BandOfBrothers]

We will have to wait until the Samsung Community Forum Team approve your upload @Haytch 

[Juli3n]

Someone else posted that as well describing it as a "barn door effect". From what I've tested it seems more pronounced when the camera is pointed as something bright and uniform. It looks like Samsung is trying to smooth the lense transition but it needs polishing obviously. On the same post we also discussed the image shift that can be seen when switching lenses on when the subject is closed. Again this is some software to try to blend it the change of sensors.

[Haytch]

OK so it's more of a software issue than a hardware one?

[Juli3n]

Issue might be a strong word, but that's something they could tweak in software yes. But they could also just remove it completely and be back to how the S23U does it, not smoothly. I'm not sure which is best to be honest.

[Randaximus]

Totally agree with your findings. I've been telling people the ExpertRaw mode is unaffected. Zooming manually shows that right between the 2.8/9 and 3 zoom the shift happens. And it seems to me like a lens is taking the baton from another. I've been meaning to look up the different lenses and their focul points etc ... I'm fine with it. I'm not a professional photographer who uses my phone for a living. As long as it keeps working I'm alright. Even a pro camera can have minor stutter as the lens physically shifts. 

This phone is all about the AI for me. The screen has more realistic colors but looks great, though Samsung should relent and nd fix the broken VIVID setting.

Bixby can do a ton of things by voice commands on my wish list. Maybe this was possible on the S21 Ultra but I didn't use it. Still, AI image fixes have been awesome, and circle search is useful. They will bring far more AI feature

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades. 

[Haytch]

Have a look. The video is here now

[AntS · Accepted solution]

Hi guys,

Just sharing some insight on this one from the latest guidance we have at our side.

"The S24 has a newly applied image fusion and animation effects to blend two images together for smoother lens transitions. Due to that, when changing the zoom ratio from 3x to 5x, afterimages may temporarily appear because of the fusion and animation effects of nearby objects."

And:

"Since the Ultra wide, Wide, and Tele camera lenses are physically located in different positions, there is also a difference in view angle, similar to eye parallax.

Thus, changing zoom ratio leads to camera lens shift which in turn causes a subtle change in view angle. Also, when changing zoom ratio quickly, the preview screen may appear slightly disconnected as it takes time to switch among the Ultra wide, Wide, and Tele camera lenses.

If you move the zoom slowly, the screen transition becomes smoother."

The short version is that (as some folks in the topic correctly guessed), they're a property of the device characteristics rather than a bug/manufacturing defect.

And of course, Samsung always welcomes and appreciates  your feedback with the mind towards improvements going forwards.