360 rumors

Yesterday, I posted the update on the inconsistent sharpness of the Samsung Gear 360.  Tamas Pasztor determined that the underlying cause was the sensor or processor heating up, causing one or more parts to expand, and changing the focal distance of the lens from hyperfocal to macro focus. While the update was generally well received, there were a few who reacted with skepticism.  So I took some more tests to demonstrate the repeatability of the phenomenon. Test: 1. Take a 30mp test photo. 2. Record a 5 minute 4k video. 3. Take a second 30mp test photo. 4. Compare the two test photos. I followed exactly this procedure, using nothing but the camera (with the self-timer).  I positioned one lens very near a wall, so that we could see if the blur issue affected both near and far objects.  Based on Tamas Pasztor's explanation (which I agree with), the sensor or processor heats up and changes the focal distance from hyperfocal / panfocal to a macro-like distance. To rule o...

A few weeks ago, I posted about an apparent inconsistency in sharpness of the Samsung Gear 360 (see here and here ).   The good news is that  Pasztor Tamas of INSTAR films  has figured out what's going on.  But it's not all good news. Pasztor tested three cameras and discovered the cause: overheating causes expansion which changes the focal distance between the sensor and the lens: "The problem is the overheating. When the camera gets started to warming, the distance of the sensor and back lens or the front lens and lens cover (it's a diopter cover) changes, and the focus point will be closer. So because of the thermal expansion, the infinity focus will be a macro focus (you can try it, put something at the front of the lens). When the camera cools down, the focus will be infinity again. This problem presents especially with the front lens/sensor, the back lens gets less out of focus." This is not a manufacturing defect per se, but an issue with how it was desig...