Why is Director’s View missing from the Galaxy S24 Ultra?

In 2021 Samsung introduced the Director’s View video mode, allowing you to record with multiple cameras, as a revolutionary feature… that is missing from the recent Galaxy S24 series.

Videographers using previous editions of Samsung’s SXX series starting with the S21 grew used to a feature that the company introduced in 2021, Director’s View, which allows you to record with multiple cameras and switch angles so you can really put yourself in the director’s chair. The feature even evolved in the S22 and S23 series, but is missing from specifications of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Those who rushed to buy the new Galaxy S24 Ultra without reading all the specifications were in for a surprise, if they had previous versions of the smartphone and relied on its Director’s View video mode: it’s gone! Yes, a feature that Samsung introduced as able to “put yourself in the director’s chair” is gone, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra features a Dual Recording mode that the company says is an evolution of its Director’s View.

Director’s View, which evolved in term of features in the S series after S21, gives you access, on models like the S22 Ultra, to three lenses/cameras, which appear on the screen as thumbnails, showing the coverage of the different lenses – 13, 24 and 70mm. While you can shoot video at longer focal lengths, up to 20x (that’s 460mm), you’ve to adjust them manually, as the Director’s View mode only works, automatically, with the focal lengths mentioned.

Record from multiple camera lenses at the same time

The workflow is simple: once you’re in Director’s View, thumbnails of the view using different lenses appear on the screen, when you need them. You access the desired framing simply by tapping the thumbnails while recording a video. It’s like having a set of lenses that you can use, for a more dynamic capture of events. As Director’s View allows you to record from multiple camera lenses at the same time, dual recording with front and rear camera offers more options, especially for vloggers.

When using Vlogger mode – which is in fact Dual recording -, you can change the layout of your recording by choosing either single, split, or a floating view, which you can move around to better match what you’re filming with the rear camera. If you’re not a vlogger, you can use Director’s View by itself (with no selfie camera) simply to switch between the rear camera lenses.

The feature was so promising that Samsung continued to include and expand it in the S22 and S23 series, stating that with it you can “capture more of your scene and tell a better story”, adding that “like a creative movie director, you can simply switch between different views while shooting, and make a video with the front-facing camera and rear-facing camera simultaneously.”

Save videos as separate files

The S22 or S23 series offered an additional option in Dual recording: allowing users to record the selfie front view video and the main rear view video as separate files! If using Dual recording, users should also keep in mind that while you can alternate between the rear camera’s lenses while a video is recording, you can’t change the Dual recording feature once a video has started, so make sure to choose one before starting. Samsung is clear about the limitation: switching from the rear camera to the selfie camera while recording will turn off Dual recording.

Besides the limitation mentioned above there is another limitation for Director’s View: the captured footage is only FHD at 30fps. Capturing two video feeds at once – and optionally saving them as separate files on S22 and S23 series – asks a lot from the processor in those models. That may be one of the reasons why the feature was dropped from the S24 series, which returns to a more classic approach, using Dual Recording, a feature present in older models, like the S20 series, but now updated to explore the power of the processors used in the S24 series.

To justify the change Samsung says that “some users noted that in the previous Director’s View mode, the front camera recorded the uncontrolled footage of the photographer when the camera view was changed while shooting with front/rear cameras. Thus, after listening to customers’ reviews, we are providing the improved version as Dual Recording starting with the Galaxy S24 series (excluding S24 FE).”

Ultra HD supported on S24 Ultra

Dual Recording is available on all three models of the Galaxy S24 series and, as before, it allows you to capture images from both the rear and front camera, something vloggers will appreciate. What is absolutely new is that now it is possible to record with two rear cameras at the same time with Full HD resolution supported on Galaxy S24 and S24+ and Full HD and Ultra HD supported on S24 Ultra. Also, with Preview Snap, you can extract a snapshot image from your recording at any time, while dedicated Image Signal Processor (ISP) Block and enhanced ISP capabilities support improved video noise and brightness.

So, although the “shoot like a pro filmmaker” promised by Samsung when introducing the Director’s View mode in 2021 is not even mentioned for the S24 series, the Dual Recording mode offers an equally interesting option, not only because it allows you to use two rear lenses simultaneously, but also because, at least in the case of the S24 Ultra, it supports 4K at 60fps.

In fact, if you’re more a video creator than a vlogger, the ability to use two rear cameras simultaneously is quite appealing and makes Dual Recording like a more robust Director’s View, as you can use higher resolutions that make sense in 2024, and control the dynamic workflow of the narrative using two lenses from the rear block of cameras.

Samsung notes that the ultra-wide, wide and the telephoto (70mm) are usable, as well as the selfie, if you want to, what means that the new mode excludes the new 50MP telephoto lens – 5X – with a focal length of 111mm, introduced instead of the 230mm telephoto (10X) – paired with a 10MP sensor – that was the hallmark of previous Samsung Ultra models.

It’s a pity that Samsung did not include the new 50MP telephoto lens in the number of lenses used in Dual Recording, because that would, no doubt, offer better results than the 70mm telephoto, which is paired with a 10MP sensor. That would make the package even more interesting and give those interested in Dual Recording another reason to upgrade to the S24 Ultra. Can a new firmware update do the trick?