Camera focusing unevenly

[Micha_]

So in many ways, my S24 Ultra has an amazing camera. But in one very important way, it is all but unusable. I've spent the past three days trying to get a photo of a recent art project in order to digitize it for use on merchandise. No matter what lighting, distance, angle, or setting I try, I keep running into the same issue.

The center of the image is in focus but the edges are blurry (despite the subject being perfectly flat). Not so blurry that it's the first thing you notice, but blurry enough that I certainly don't want to invest 20 hours into formatting merchandise templates with a subpar original. 

Is there anything that can be done about this? I wasn't expecting to be forced to reach for my $200 Moto 5G to take serious photos after investing this much in Samsung's flagship model. 

Attaching a randomly-chosen, unrelated photo for illustration purposes.

[userella]

maybe try using different modes or lighting? Do you have other apps open while taking it, like could you turn off your wifi and see if it makes a difference in case it needs processing power.

[LongHiker]

@Micha_ When taking a photo of something like this and you want it all to be in focus, here are some suggestions.

1. Make sure that the artwork is completely flat.
2. Make sure that you phone is completely parallel to the artwork. The best way to do this is to use a tripod or other fixture.
3. Make sure the artwork is illuminated uniformly. 

[Micha_]

Not sure what's going on here, but I replied to both of the above comments thanking you both, but I don't see the replies. At any rate, I did all of the above before posting. Thanks again for your good thoughts, though! 

[weatherman10]

I keep noticing the same thing, when using 1 X lens (wide angle) to take a photo of a document. I find the 3x lens to be much better. You just have to hold the phone further back. I didn't have this problem on the s21 Ultra, so I'm not sure why I'm having it on the s24 Ultra.

[Micha_]

Thanks! This is one thing I didn't try, as I figured that might reduce the overall quality, but I will definitely try it moving forward. 😊

[Potata]

If the 3x doesn't work, maybe even try the 5x lens. the lower F-stop will increase your depth of field/plane of focus and hopefully capture the entire sheet evenly. Alternatively, you could try using the document scan feature?

[zavieon]

Nah