Is the camera any better?

[ThrottleJohnny]

https://youtu.be/tvAIB3FCOQg

Very interesting.

Looks like he has an s20+ that has received the firmware update.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

I also want to comment on the camera of the S20 Ultra. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing piece of kit that is above anything offered today. But even then, the zoom capabilities are still mostly digital. The actual optical zoom is 4x. Which is still a lot better than anything out there today. And I've tested it in store myself. 10x is near lossless, 20-30x is still good. Above that it starts to degrade.

It's just that Huawei is about to release their flagship series P40 with even the lower grade phone offering 5x optical zoom and the premium a whopping 10x pure optical zoom. That still trounces the S20 Ultra-by quite a bit. I'm really hoping Sammy matches that next year with the S21. If it does, I'm definately buying.

I don't mean to knock the S20 Ultra as it's amazing what it can do and far above anything out there today. But really, most of the zoom levels even at medium zoom levels are the results of brilliant digital programming.

Whilst 4x optical zoom is significantly better than anything else, it's not next level. I would call 10x optical zoom a truly next level zoom in a smartphone.

 

[jimjonesG7]

I currently have iPhone 11 Pro, and thinking about switching to S20 Ultra mainly for camera and big screen. Would that be a wise decision considering my iPhone is only 4 months old?

i'd say yes as the Big screen meet one of your requirements, the screen comes with other benefits, 8k, 120hz , multi-screen ...so many other old and new features. The Camera is the question mark, iphone appears to be generally better in capturing naturally looking pic , Samsung fares better in some situations. Samsung cam could improve though with updates..hopefully soon

 

[milehigherik]

the short answer is no. simply no. Samsung can't get their stuff together to capture moving images of animals or kids even in proper daylight. I took probably 30 photos and I'd say two or three came out decent. in the exact same moments I press the shutter button on my pixel 4 XL and captured 26 good images. this is the stuff that I'm talking about when it comes to usability. no one wants to put their phone on a tripod. not everyone has steady hands like a surgeon. The pixel accounts for these things and makes sure that your image looks as though it were on a tripod.

this phone is going back as quickly as it got here. well not quite because I requested next day shipping.

 

[milehigherik]

Look forward to the comparo shots in similar scenes like this and your impressions.

Save your money.. mine is going back. I don't want to have to install the Google camera APK. I want a phone that works. Snap 30 photos this morning two or usable from the Samsung. A couple others look decent but only two are usable. That doesn't work for me. Life only happens once I want to capture it when it happens.

 

[goji26]

the short answer is no. simply no. Samsung can't get their stuff together to capture moving images of animals or kids even in proper daylight. I took probably 30 photos and I'd say two or three came out decent. in the exact same moments I press the shutter button on my pixel 4 XL and captured 26 good images. this is the stuff that I'm talking about when it comes to usability. no one wants to put their phone on a tripod. not everyone has steady hands like a surgeon. The pixel accounts for these things and makes sure that your image looks as though it were on a tripod.

this phone is going back as quickly as it got here. well not quite because I requested next day shipping.

This is depressing. I use my Pixel for most of the random pictures of my kids. Looks like I'll be sending my Ultra back as soon as it's delivered.

 

[milehigherik]

Save your money.. mine is going back. I don't want to have to install the Google camera APK. I want a phone that works. Snap 30 photos this morning two or usable from the Samsung. A couple others look decent but only two are usable. That doesn't work for me. Life only happens once I want to capture it when it happens.

Awesome. in addition to the fact that it takes crappy photos it flips photos too. I posted this directly from my Samsung device folder. I'm over it before it even happened. Also the auto capitalization seems to be a little finicky as well as smart Lock. I'm very finicky but for $1,400 I'm going to be

 

[milehigherik]

oh yeah one huge thing to note! in addition to the auto capitalization, smart Lock and photo quality being crappy... there's a pretty decent shutter lag no matter which photo mode I'm in when I'm outdoors. so even with excellent lighting there is still a shutter lag.

 

[Peter Scooze]

Save your money.. mine is going back. I don't want to have to install the Google camera APK. I want a phone that works. Snap 30 photos this morning two or usable from the Samsung. A couple others look decent but only two are usable. That doesn't work for me. Life only happens once I want to capture it when it happens.

I know with my note 10 i had to keep the motion photo option on then it worked much better. But yea if this is what this camera produces I'll be sending mine back also when it comes

 

[kolyan2k]

Those are horrible. Why not a single review addresses this issue. That's the reason Samsung doesnt fix ****.

 

[milehigherik]

Those are horrible. Why not a single review addresses this issue. That's the reason Samsung doesnt fix ****.

This could have been a very cool photo if it were taken with a different phone.

 

[DanielLoreti]

Isn't there a camera update rolling out?

 

[milehigherik]

This could have been a very cool photo if it were taken with a different phone.

For example to snap these little guys with my Pixel 4 XL Just now in the same lighting....I ended up pulling it out because I wanted to get a cool shot and knew that it would do it. I can't rely on Samsung today or in the past to take a good photo without setting up the phone on a tripod. I personally like the ease of taking photos.

 

[milehigherik]

Isn't there a camera update rolling out?

Yes... There has been for years. Just keep waiting for it haha. It'll come.

I know that installing the Google camera on this phone will resolve these issues. But at that point why am I driving a Samsung? Because I cannot set it as the default launch camera with the shortcuts.

 

[goji26]

Yes... There has been for years. Just keep waiting for it haha. It'll come.

I know that installing the Google camera on this phone will resolve these issues. But at that point why am I driving a Samsung? Because I cannot set it as the default launch camera with the shortcuts.

You shouldn't have to install anything to make a $1400 phone take acceptable photos.

 

[donm527]

Any chance of a protective shipping film on the camera bump causing light distortion??

From the look of the weather and lighting in your pictures... perfect blue sky... that looks like perfect "Samsung" outdoor conditions... actually looks like perfect conditions for any phone.

Yes... There has been for years. Just keep waiting for it haha. It'll come.

I know that installing the Google camera on this phone will resolve these issues. But at that point why am I driving a Samsung? Because I cannot set it as the default launch camera with the shortcuts.

 

[Peter Scooze]

For example to snap these little guys with my Pixel 4 XL Just now in the same lighting....I ended up pulling it out because I wanted to get a cool shot and knew that it would do it. I can't rely on Samsung today or in the past to take a good photo without setting up the phone on a tripod. I personally like the ease of taking photos.

Ugh Makes me wanna refuse the delivery now.

 

[milehigherik]

Any chance of a protective shipping film on the camera bump causing light distortion??

From the look of the weather and lighting in your pictures... perfect blue sky... that looks like perfect "Samsung" outdoor conditions... actually looks like perfect conditions for any phone.

I wish the issue we that simple. No protective film covering the back camera at this time.

Here's another image from the s20 ultra. for some reason it decided not to flip this image. I don't have time to screw with little stuff like that. sure it's a decent photo. But keep in mind I had life focus on which should blur the background. that didn't happen but it did get a halfway decent photo.

please understand I'm not here to bash this phone I spent my $1,400 on it just like you because I want to love it. However the camera does not work for me for the reasons listed above. This is a real world example of how I use my phone and why it does not work for me. I absolutely love every other aspect of this phone aside from the photo quality.

 

[GrooveRite]

Glad I didn't buy into the hype!

 

[WizeGuyDezignz]

Wow, you guys are really that easy to influence? Rejecting deliveries based on some photos? Obviously people can do what they want, but I'm shocked.