There seems to be a lot of confusion in this thread, between soft and blurry images. There is a big difference.
My personal complaint has always been the oil painting deal, which is something that bothers quite a few people. I've also repeatedly said, that this must be a software, rather than a hardware issue.
While LunatiqueRob deserves a loud round of applause for such a huge article, and so many bases covered (and I definitely want to take the time to read other sections), I would have to vehemently disagree with a few points in it (all regarding the camera).
The statement of "You cannot expect it behave like the Note 2", is borderline preposterous - if I can't expect it to "perform like", then I need to expect it to perform better, or AT LEAST like the Note 2, because the Note 3 is supposed to be an UPGRADE. If the Note 2 produced better low light images, then there is something fundamentally wrong from a marketing standpoint - a newer model should not mean compromise - it should mean progress.
The app suggestions are greatly appreciated, and I'm busy trying them one by one, however again, it is very irritating (but thankfully it's Android, so there is freedom), that you need to go a 3rd party route, to fix something that was broken.
The "professional" comparisons you are quoting - I would hardly call gsmarena a professional resource on photography. If it was dpreview, then we'd be talking, however these are not people to rely on. Your personal tests, hold more merit, in my opinion, than theirs.
The 4k argument is weak - most people don't have 4k television sets, nor they are going to own one, in the next 10 months, until the Note 4 (or whatever it may be) comes out. It's great that they put it in, but it is mostly marketing - if you can't properly enjoy it, then what's the point?
My biggest qualm here, is that Samsung is slowly turning into Apple, and buying a Note 2, when it came out, for me, was a way out of the Apple world. Now I'm being told what to like.
Also, the Note 3 has seen downgrades in other areas, like S-Note (all you S-Note users know exactly what I'm talking about), and a wide variety of bugs, including some very annoying Bluetooth bugs.
Would I go back to the Note 2? It's too late now, however had I known all that I know now, I may have held off until either Note 4, or all other bugs being ironed out. Well, who am I kidding - I always must own the latest stuff

And the leather back has really grown on me.
Let the flaming begin

To all the fanboys, screaming and yelling how their Note 3 camera is the best - keep doing so - you are entitled to an opinion
