It's blur, not bokeh! Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+ users report image blur issues on their cameras
(Image credit: Samsung)
Camera blur is a photographer's worst nightmare – and owners of Samsung's flagship phones seem to be suffering from the issue due to no fault of their own.
Users of the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S23+, which in many respects are two of the best camera phones available, are reporting an issue with the rear camera where the center of the image is pin sharp, but towards the corners it isn't as sharp as it should be.
While the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra recently got a free camera upgrade in the latest round of firmware, the 50MP rear camera on the Galaxy S23 and S23+ has a problem with keeping the entire scene in focus. Users report that while the center of the scene looks sharp and focused as you would expect, the photos are blurry at the sides and edges.
(Image credit: Notebookcheck)
It's been reported by Sam Mobile that these issues are only affecting S23 and S23+ units made in Vietnam. The website was also able to replicate the blurring issue when photographing documents and text on devices made in India, but could not recreate the issues while taking photographs.
Notebookcheck also tried to replicate these finds with similar success with two images (seen above and below) from the camera of the Galaxy S23+, in particular, showing that Samsung definitely has a potential quality problem.
(Image credit: Notebookcheck)
Incidentally, Notebookcheck thought this could just be an issue with the JPEG format – but, on closer inspection, the problem also occurs in RAW mode, with the blurriness on the Galaxy S23+ photo being retained as a DNG file.
Samsung is yet to reply to these findings but, if the issue continues, we don't think it's something that can't be fixed with a software update.
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For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
