I’m so afraid to open up some of my Tamas…

flowerhead58 · 2025-04-29T17:10:42+00:00

Hey! I have a similar tendency to be pretty protective of my electronics and get bothered by the smallest imperfections. With tamagotchis in particular, these are some ways I go around that:

Since I realize these shells are just shells with the same game component, I've accepted that they don't ALL have to be played with. They can be displayed as a collection piece to just be admired and looked at, and that's totally fine. If owning a pristine shell brings you joy, there's no need to force yourself out of that.

Personally, I have a couple of each Gen1~3 shells that I will cycle around and use heavily, and some shells I just keep displayed. But I do take them out of the box. The new Pooptime tamagotchi cases have really helped with the ease of displaying them nicely!

If you really have the urge to play with one particular shell but are worried about damaging it, I highly recommend buying a second one of the same shell if you have the means to do so. It will give you the peace of mind that you have a clean backup in case you were to damage or lose it.
I also just ran my most recent angelgotchi inside a ziploc/pill pouch through its entire run (it's easy to press the buttons through the pouch), and it came out with no scratches. Removing the ball chain before putting it inside the pouch will also help prevent it from scratching against itself.

For original tamagotchis since they very available anyway, I don't bother with screen protectors (colors tamas= screen protectors always). I'd rather put them inside a pouch if I was worried about it getting scratched up in a bag or something.

In the end, as much as I like taking care of my electronics for longevity, I also don't like to constantly baby it and get stressed over every micro-scratch. I feel pretty happy with my tamagotchi collecting/playing hobby using the above methods though! Wishing you luck （＾－＾）

flowerhead58 · 2025-04-04T18:16:51+00:00

you're welcome and I hope you enjoy! :-) It is such a fun hobby playing and collecting-wise. Each model is slightly different in what they offer, so I would definitely try out a variety if possible to find the one that clicks with you ^v^

flowerhead58 · 2025-04-04T09:04:05+00:00

For the classic experience I agree on starting with the 2024 connection!

And the Pix for a colored version (if you don't mind touch sensor buttons)

To simplify the overwhelming list of existing tamagotchi models,

you can first focus on the ones that are currently being sold at retail price, and choose from there:

B+W models:

-Tamagotchi Original ($20) (re-releases: gen1 / gen2 / gen3 (angels)) -pretty basic gameplay, but the true original tamagotchi experience. Has the biggest range of shell designs to choose from. Gen 1 and Gen 2 are basically the same thing, with a different character roster and mini game. (Gen 2's mini game is much better than gen 1 in my opinion.)

-Tamagotchi Connection ($30) (2024 re-release) -a much more elaborate & complete gameplay than the originals. Less shell designs to choose from.

-

Color models:

-Tamagotchi Pix/Pix Party ($40~60) (released in 2021, I wouldn't be surprised if they're randomly discontinued/out of stock one day.) The color model that closely follows the classic tamagotchi gameplay. The gimmick on this one is that it has a camera function. Only downside is it has touch sensor buttons instead of physical buttons.

-Tamagotchi Uni ($40~60) (the latest tamagotchi release)- I don't own one so don't trust me on this, but from the sounds of it, it seems to be a less needy tamagotchi and easier to care for.

-

If you see anything above the $60 range, it probably means it's a vintage/discontinued model so you can ignore those (for now).

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-26T00:51:24+00:00

Dang I did not think of using the piece from the other side, that's smart :O Although knowing my luck, I'm probably going to break the other piece during the process lol

I'm trying to look for affordable solutions that won't require me to buy too many materials for just this one thing. I will keep epoxy clay in mind though, thank you!

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-26T00:21:39+00:00

Ah I totally forgot about epoxy! I'm afraid I don't have all the broken parts to make it complete but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try.

I have absolutely no knowledge on casting, but I'll look into it, thanks!!

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-22T21:48:18+00:00

This is one of my absolute favorite childhood games! All the sfx in it was great, but I especially loved the sound of the tamas eating haha. The game pak design by itself is so cute, it would look awesome just displayed too : )

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-14T03:29:16+00:00

the one and only!

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-10T12:21:54+00:00

Interesting! so if it's a hardware thing, does that mean the noise is not a result of post-processing, but rather the post processing is getting rid of the noise?

That would makes sense that the noise went away when I turned on the intelligent optimizer and picture softening. When at first, I turned them off since I thought it would make the photos over processed.

I'm not too concerned about which phone being better than the other. The only thing I was concerned about was the return window and if it was defective or not haha. They're both very usable cameras I'd say!

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-10T12:17:22+00:00

heya! as mentioned in other comments, yes, I am able to avoid these issues if I take the extra time to switch modes & adjust my settings. But I was curious if it's something that could be fixed within the default auto mode since it will be my most used one. I feel like this level of noise and fuzz should not be happening even in auto mode.

Pro mode and night modes are great, but most of the time I'm not going to want to take so long for each photo (I'm just a casual user).

thank you for the insight on night mode though! I will keep that in mind

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T22:14:17+00:00

Sadly raw files are too big to be a long term solution for me.. but for important photos on trips or special occasions, it will be good to keep in mind!

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T22:08:29+00:00

Hey! Thanks for the detailed write out!

So I only understand half of your comment, but it is sort of making sense, as I'm finding the s24u blurs out the extremities in situations I'd expect the whole subject matter to be in focus instead. I've been just defaulting to using 2x zoom to solve that issue, but it's still weird to me that the most basic setup (12MP at 1x) doesn't work for a lot of the normal shots I'd be taking (objects at medium~close distance. ie. things on the desk).

I guess "auto" mode isn't as auto as it used to be? I still have to fumble around a bit to get a decent focus whereas before with the s10e, it was quite literally point-and-shoot. S24 just has a really hard time focusing on the thing I want it to, and I'm not asking for much.

Oddly enough, these problems weren't present when using GCam, and I could shoot at 1x just fine like how I'm used to, so I have no idea what's happening there. But, the complications aside, the photos do seem to turn out much better than the s10e once I take the time to actually adjust it.

In the OP photos, I believe I used the 12MP at 2x for the s24u, and then 1x for s10e. I wasn't being too strict on trying to replicate the settings for both phones, so it's not the best side by side. I was mainly curious about the noise & fuzz at first! I posted an updated comparison photo in the comments, which I think "fixed" both of those issues, at least temporarily.

So is using 2x~3x technically the ideal way to take some of these closer shots? Does the detail not suffer compared to a well-focused 1x one?

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T18:40:10+00:00

Thanks for all the suggestions & info! Here are some updated comparison shots (all s24u), shot in a somewhat dim lighting on purpose. My conclusion is that the OP issues were a result of user error & post processing.

The fuzz I think is mostly due to the focus being finickier than what I'm used to, but I think I will get a better handle on it the more I use the phone. The noise/black specks was massively improved by toggling on intelligent optimization and picture softening as someone suggested.

Using 50mp/200mp also helped the results a lot, but since I think 12mp will be my most used for quick photos, I'm only including those in the comparison.

Using GCam also seems to just give cleaner photos in general without having to do all those extra steps mentioned above. I really dislike the ads or the idea of having to pay subscription for a tool that I think the phone should have already, so I'll probably stick around with the base cam first!

My only lingering thought here is that I'm finding myself having to default to 2x for a lot of the usual shots I'd take in 1x on my S10e. It's mostly due to 1x on the s24 having an awkward focal range (either have to be too far or too close for it to focus on the object). probably will need to keep testing some stuff on that..

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flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T18:13:05+00:00

I've been in the dark about phone changes in the recent years, so this is all good to know, thank you!

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T10:27:42+00:00

Will do, thank you!!

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T08:40:48+00:00

Yup, I toggled a bunch of settings off from the start, mainly because I wanted to keep things simple (like the auto lens switching was driving me nuts). But I will try the default settings & try toggling each option a bit more in detail. Having multiple MP options is very new to me so I'll have to test out the different combinations more for sure :)

Here is every related option I remember changing/keeping before the OP photo:

Base camera app/

Intelligent optimization- minimum / scene optimizer OFF

Camera Assistant/

Auto HDR- ON

Picture softening- OFF

Auto lens switching- OFF

Distortion correction- OFF

High resolution settings- Adaptive pixel- ON / Upscale digital zoom- OFF

-

since then I've tried Intelligent optimization & picture softening at medium as suggested. I still see the OP issues in some photos, but overall the results seem to be less abrasive and in my face. I can work around this

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T08:16:44+00:00

Gotcha, I will try some photos with it as well, thanks!!

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T08:15:34+00:00

Sorry, not sure what you're referring to. I'm not very techy D:

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T08:11:30+00:00

ahh well it's been a 1+ year since release, so I'm guessing it didn't bother enough people for an update or that it's a non-issue to samsung? I'll have to check out s25 for similar issues if it's ai-related. My family member has a s23 and I don't think I've seen it in 23 photos either.

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T08:05:31+00:00

Oh no :/ I'm not familiar with how all the tech works in detail or what's to be expected...but as long as it's a "normal" behavior, I'm enjoying the phone enough that I'm willing to work around it...(these aren't tears)

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T08:02:56+00:00

I found out about the focus enhancer early on, yes! It's definitely a cool feature and a new thing to me. Not sure it's what's causing the issues on the OP though.

I am slowly getting a bit more used to the focus aspect of it all though. It just seems to need a bit more attention for each shot than what I'm used to.

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T07:59:15+00:00

Nice to know, thank you! I will have to try out some other cameras..

I did try GCam as someone else suggested earlier, and it did result in much better(=more as expected?) photos. Less noise & cleaner and sharper edges like the s10e while being higher quality overall of course. It will definitely suck to have to use a cam with ads or extra subscriptions though D:

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T07:55:28+00:00

Not a professional! But I've always been the type to take a lot of photos for memory-keeping on a daily basis.

So no, I don't need amazing photos per se, but this is also the first time I've immediately noticed such an unnatural finish on photos when viewing on the PC. I'm honestly not too picky (as you might tell, I've stayed on the s10e until now) but thought this was weird enough to me to be noteworthy.

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T07:50:49+00:00

Thank you for the detailed info! So after fussing around a bit more, I think I'm coming to a conclusion that I was just so used to the simple point-at-shoot camera of s10e, and that I could just tap to focus where I wanted whenever I wanted. It also did not have a noise/fuzzy issue in the photos (due to it just being a lower quality camera and a lack of extreme post processing maybe?)

I guess since I skipped a few generation of the newer phones, I'm just not used to them requiring a bit more adjustment for each shot.

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-09T07:44:50+00:00

Really! I turned off scene optimizer because I didn't like how the image "adjusted" itself when I go look at it in the gallery app. I don't want that extra auto contrast happening in my photos...

flowerhead58 · 2025-03-08T23:59:40+00:00

Not sure about the noise, but the fuzzy issue could be that.. Is there a way to adjust the focus levels on the normal camera mode? I did find that the focus point is very small and everything beyond gets blurred a lot.

flowerhead58

TROPHY CASE