Samsung S23 Ultra - Can this phone finally freeze action in both good and lower light?

[Winterborn]

My Samsung Note 20 Ultra needs upgrading and I am considering the S23 Ultra. I really like the S pen and shoot a mix of candid, action, landscape and very few selfies. My concern is that whilst Samsung kills the Zoom competition I frequently have to use my husbands iPhone 14 Pro Max if I want to guarantee freezing action, whether that be a person walking, just moving normally or sports. In almost every situation with movement the iPhone camera wins hands down. Have Samsung fixed this issue with S23 Ultra? I cant find enough recent reviews with photo's to answer this question.

Thanks in advance

 

[YankInDaSouth]

Short answer, no. Samsung still struggles with movement of any kind, in my experience ... especially indoors. Even with all their trying, most recently with the Camera Assistant app, it's still an issue.

 

[Winterborn]

Not the answer I was hoping for, but thank you very much. Its frustrating how long this has been an issue on Samsung.

 

[YankInDaSouth]

Not the answer I was hoping for, but thank you very much. Its frustrating how long this has been an issue on Samsung.

Yeah, it's crazy they can't seem to get this figured out.

 

[Bkdodger1]

I do think it has improved... But definitely not in the way should be right now,.. I think the s23 Ultra is the best phone out right now from Samsung... It's really a solid device and a nice overall phone...

 

[Winterborn]

I do think it has improved... But definitely not in the way should be right now,.. I think the s23 Ultra is the best phone out right now from Samsung... It's really a solid device and a nice overall phone

It looks great in every other way (we won't mention expandable storage). I am going to think about sitting this iteration out and waiting for another software upgrade or the S24. I prioritised zoom with my Note 20 Ultra and really regret it at times. Whilst I like the way the iPhone handles those' capture the moment shots', I don't love IOS.

 

[Bkdodger1]

It looks great in every other way (we won't mention expandable storage). I am going to think about sitting this iteration out and waiting for another software upgrade or the S24. I prioritised zoom with my Note 20 Ultra and really regret it at times. Whilst I like the way the iPhone handles those' capture the moment shots', I don't love IOS.

I think waiting for the s24 u is a good idea.. before you know it it will be released

 

[notacoach]

I don't think any phone is truly up to action shots tbh, except maybe in incredibly bright light where abitily to shoot high iso doesn't matter. Perhaps ios has a software tweak which makes them seem better, but physics of light is physics of light. To freeze action you need a high shutter speed, and if the camera can't boost the exposure with Iso or aperture, the shutter speed will drop to accommodate, and photos will seem blurred. Even some entry level dslr's can struggle with this for the same reasons.

 

[Winterborn]

Or

I don't think any phone is truly up to action shots tbh, except maybe in incredibly bright light where abitily to shoot high iso doesn't matter. Perhaps ios has a software tweak which makes them seem better, but physics of light is physics of light. To freeze action you need a high shutter speed, and if the camera can't boost the exposure with Iso or aperture, the shutter speed will drop to accommodate, and photos will seem blurred. Even some entry level dslr's can struggle with this for the same reasons

Thank you. The iPhone photos are not perfect but they are often significantly better a capturing a moment than the Samsung when compared side by side. I take a lot of photos, often candid / mid activity shots, rather than sports and that is where the issue is . Its so frustrating. I am lucky to have an old full frame which I haul out when I want to take serious photos (I can get decent sports shots out of it even though that's not it's real strength) so my phone camera is more for convenience and when cameras are prohibited. I was just hoping that by now Samsung would have gotten its act together. Seems like I am waiting for a unicorn whilst I try to avoid IOS!

 

[YankInDaSouth]

I will say my Pixel 7 Pro handles those types of shots much better than my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (I actually prefer practically all of the 7 Pro shots over the S23U). Point and shoot shots of my dogs are almost always better with my Pixel.

While Pixels lack an S Pen, it's not /iOS

 

[Bkdodger1]

I will say my Pixel 7 Pro handles those types of shots much better than my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (I actually prefer practically all of the 7 Pro shots over the S23U). Point and shoot shots of my dogs are almost always better with my Pixel.

While Pixels lack an S Pen, it's not /iOS

Pixel phone set it forget it ...

 

[Winterborn]

I will say my Pixel 7 Pro handles those types of shots much better than my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (I actually prefer practically all of the 7 Pro shots over the S23U). Point and shoot shots of my dogs are almost always better with my Pixel.

While Pixels lack an S Pen, it's not /iOS

I will be looking to see what the Pixel 8 brings to the table. It does seem to best the Samsung in this respect. Trouble is that I do love my S Pen, both for writing notes, scrolling and as a remote shutter.

 

[htcrazy]

I have both the S23 Ultra and the Pixel 6 Pro. I like and use both. As others have stated, the pictures from the Pixel are usually superior, especially indoor motion photos. I know, you shouldn't have to use 2 phones, but none does it all perfectly. Many of us have to have a backup phone just in case. You might pick up e used Pixel as a backup and for those motion shots and still enjoy the S23 Ultra.

 

[J Dubbs]

I always have a pixel around regardless of what my main phone is at the time. I'm a pixel fan at heart, even when I'm trying out something different

 

[Winterborn]

I have both the S23 Ultra and the Pixel 6 Pro. I like and use both. As others have stated, the pictures from the Pixel are usually superior, especially indoor motion photos. I know, you shouldn't have to use 2 phones, but none does it all perfectly. Many of us have to have a backup phone just in case. You might pick up e used Pixel as a backup and for those motion shots and still enjoy the S23 Ultra

Not a bad suggestion as it looks like my phone upgrade is on hold for the moment. My note should be good for a couple of updates yet. I might also look at at pocketable camera.

 

[Winterborn]

I always have a pixel around regardless of what my main phone is at the time. I'm a pixel fan at heart, even when I'm trying out something different

Its the S Pen that has me. But I am now taking a more serious look at the Pixel.

 

[Katrina White1]

I will be looking to see what the Pixel 8 brings to the table. It does seem to best the Samsung in this respect. Trouble is that I do love my S Pen, both for writing notes, scrolling and as a remote shutter.

Same. I've been wanting to try something new because I've been with Samsung since the Epic 4g touch...Besides a brief stint with Blackberry. I've had all the Notes since the 3, and now I can't live without the SPen. Ugh!!!

I'm also looking to see what Pixel offers. The S24 isn't too far, so maybe I'll compare the 2 in a few months and decide.

 

[Winterborn]

Same. I've been wanting to try something new because I've been with Samsung since the Epic 4g touch...Besides a brief stint with Blackberry. I've had all the Notes since the 3, and now I can't live without the SPen. Ugh!!!

I'm also looking to see what Pixel offers. The S24 isn't too far, so maybe I'll compare the 2 in a few months and decide.

I know! Who knew one little pen could cause such problems. I haven't found anything to touch it. I must admit the lack of raw support is another ? mark for the Pixel maybe the Pixel 8 will have a pleasant surprise- a Pen and raw files..

 

[mustang7757]

With Pixel devices they don't have the best spec chips but their chip focuses on AI and machine learning and why the pictures are better on those phones compared to the competition but Samsung is really good in different areas like video/zoom and manually setting camera up.

 

[YankInDaSouth]

I'm not a big user of the S Pen so I really don't miss that when I switch to my P7P.

The Sammy feature I find myself missing the most nowadays when I switch is Routines. I have so many routines setup for all types of situations I often forget I have a certain Routine setup so when I switch to my P7P and it doesn't do something automatically I find myself thinking "what's wrong with this phone" ... then I remember, oh no Routines LOL. I know there are third party apps, like Tasker, that have similar (and probably more) functionality but they seem to have a steep learning curve and require root to achieve some things. Routines is SO easy to use and built right into the OS so it can do some things with the need of root access.

I really wish Google would build up on their Rules feature and make it more robust.