Tomorrow is the day, I have to decide (Send back the Ultra or send in my trade In)

[Emig5m]

Been a Galaxy user since the SII and I've never done so much over thinking over a phone purchase before. Last year I was at the AT&T store at door opening for the sale of the S10 and plopped down $1k cash paid in full for the S10, left the store, and never looked back - loved the S10 from start and never had a problem with it. Now I'm here with this Ultra that with trade I'm actually paying less than the S10 but for every plus I'm finding in it I'm also finding a negative to negate the plus side at about a 50/50 ratio.

Love the zoom quality of the camera!
Hate the focus issue and narrow depth of field

The Ultra takes very poor up close shots (I mean like macro shots)
My S10 takes very good and clear up close shots

Love the faster data download speeds!
Hate the slower upload speeds (cut in half!)

Love the big screen!
Hate the weight in pocket and bulk in hand

The Mics in the ultra seem amazing so far! I took a video of my stereo playing and when playing it back over my headphones I literally thought the speakers where playing I had to take the headphones off just to make sure because it sounded so real, like I could tell each speakers pinpoint location. Took the same video with my S10 and it sounded mono in comparison!

Would you believe that there are webpages that won't load on the Ultra and just timeout but will load on my S10? Same Sim, location, everything....weird. Pop the sim into my S10 and the page will load right up. Also, like when scrolling Youtube comments sometimes it will just timeout on the Ultra where switching to the S10 they load instantly all the time (this is over data, switching to wi-fi instantly loads on the ultra, it's just the mobile data I'm having problems with).

What else? Android Auto seems to glitch when using the Samsung S-View flip cover case - like if the car tries to load Android Auto with the flip cover over the face of the phone it will fail to load. Plug the phone in with the cover open then it will load....weird?

Yea... I don't know what to do. Just seems for every plus side to this new phone there's an equal negative that makes it not so pleasant to get rid of my old phone for (I never had a problem with my S10 from launch day). But man I will surely miss the zoom and MIC quality the most! I don't know what to do, lol.

 

[DanielLoreti]

Cameras getting fixed https://forums.androidcentral.com/s...a-update-ultra-exy-his-video.html#post6758690

 

[racedog]

Was having similar issues with my 20+. Not the focus issues but having trouble finding enough difference and upgraded experience from my Note 10 5g. One day I was going to return, next I was sure I was going to keep it.

Thought I had made a decision yesterday and called and setup to return to 20+ and the freebies. But, then my wife talked me into keeping it. Problem is I have already setup the return. I don't really know what to do but I guess I'm going to be calling Samsung tomorrow and finding out how to undo all the return stuff.

I'm glad I decided on the plus rather than the Ultra. The Ultra sounds nice but I think the focus issues would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[bhatech]

Was having similar issues with my 20+. Not the focus issues but having trouble finding enough difference and upgraded experience from my Note 10 5g. One day I was going to return, next I was sure I was going to keep it.

Thought I had made a decision yesterday and called and setup to return to 20+ and the freebies. But, then my wife talked me into keeping it. Problem is I have already setup the return. I don't really know what to do but I guess I'm going to be calling Samsung tomorrow and finding out how to undo all the return stuff.

I'm glad I decided on the plus rather than the Ultra. The Ultra sounds nice but I think the focus issues would be a deal breaker for me.

Well if you don't send anything the return will be void anyway so you are fine and don't have to do anything if you want to keep.

 

[HJStrawberry]

This will only fix the jumpy auto focus, not the horrible blurry (over bokeh) up close photos

 

[jdfry15]

What if they were trading in a phone? You think they could still send that in? Sounds like it could be a mess.

Well if you don't send anything the return will be void anyway so you are fine and don't have to do anything if you want to keep.

 

[bhatech]

What if they were trading in a phone? You think they could still send that in? Sounds like it could be a mess.

If you are planning to return, you just don’t send the trade in. If you have already sent in the trade in and then decide to return then it gets tricky. They will still accept the return but for the trade in phone they will give a promotional coupon that you can apply for another Samsung.com order. But you’ll want to make sure that you confirm that with them and have some kind of documented proof that they said that.

In short return is straight forward if you haven’t sent your trade in still.

 

[felloffthetruck]

Well, what is the verdict?

 

[Morty2264]

I want to know, too! What did you end up doing, OP? The Ultra looks like a difficult phone to return!

 

[jtcannonball]

I’m in stitches waiting for a response. What did you do?

 

[Emig5m]

I'm going to leave you guys hangin' for a week then let you know what I did!
































Sike...lol. I kept the Ultra. I finally figured out how to get good clear closeup (macro) pics, even better than I could get with the S10! I did mucho testing trying my hardest with both to make each other's camera shine in the best way possible so that I could make up my mind, I was consistently getting better results with the ultra's camera...the closeup/macro shots with the ultra was the hardest to learn but I got it figured out. So I'm going to ride the storm I guess and hope that they can improve the auto focus. Other things I would miss if I gave back the ultra is, the larger screen, haptic feedback (the S10's haptic feedback feels budget phone level in comparison), and the zoom quality. They just need to fix that auto focus for both film and still shots and it will be golden. I shot some video in my living room with the telephoto lens and black and white filter and wow...looks kind of pro/cinematic! I tried my hardest to replicate the quality with the S10 and couldn't even get close. Got my ultra macroshots bangin' more detail than the S10 and everything.....praying that they can fix that auto focus and some other minor annoyances/bugs.

 

[felloffthetruck]

The camera issue has me worried and I'm thinking about returning mine before my 14 days are up.

The camera problem might be more of a hardware issue that can't be fixed with a software update.

 

[Peter Scooze]

The camera issue has me worried and I'm thinking about returning mine before my 14 days are up.

The camera problem might be more of a hardware issue that can't be fixed with a software update.

From what ive seen online with the video showing the new update and me using gcam on my ultra, it seems to be software issues.

 

[matyou98]

Sent my pixel 4 back yesterday. Yes there are camera issues with the S20 ultra, but if Samsung wants to be able to sell an ultra/pro/platinum model going forward, they are going to have to prove that the higher asking price is worth it.

If this ultra model doesn't deliver I would think that's bad for business with future top tier ultra level models. Right now when I get a good photo I'm happy with the results. I still get out of focus photos that I'm optimistic will be improved. Love the rest of the flagship specs. I'm also a first time Samsung user and if my ultra turns out to be a bust, my next phone will likely not be a Samsung.

 

[Morty2264]

I'm going to leave you guys hangin' for a week then let you know what I did!
































Sike...lol. I kept the Ultra. I finally figured out how to get good clear closeup (macro) pics, even better than I could get with the S10! I did mucho testing trying my hardest with both to make each other's camera shine in the best way possible so that I could make up my mind, I was consistently getting better results with the ultra's camera...the closeup/macro shots with the ultra was the hardest to learn but I got it figured out. So I'm going to ride the storm I guess and hope that they can improve the auto focus. Other things I would miss if I gave back the ultra is, the larger screen, haptic feedback (the S10's haptic feedback feels budget phone level in comparison), and the zoom quality. They just need to fix that auto focus for both film and still shots and it will be golden. I shot some video in my living room with the telephoto lens and black and white filter and wow...looks kind of pro/cinematic! I tried my hardest to replicate the quality with the S10 and couldn't even get close. Got my ultra macroshots bangin' more detail than the S10 and everything.....praying that they can fix that auto focus and some other minor annoyances/bugs.

So glad you are going to keep it! Good for you for trying everything out and comparing both the S20 Ultra and the S10 before making a final choice. Enjoy your new phone!

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Pre orders have finished and reading so many threads and watching YouTube videos, it's obvious the S20 Ultra is a real mixed bag. Even on my Note 9, I notice focus issues in low light and videoing. I wouldn't want to replace this phone and get another with similar issues.

I think the good news of all this negative press is that hopefully these issues will be addressed and corrected in the S21 which I am wishing to replace my Note 9 with. I did love however playing with the zoom in the carrier store demo unit so something to look forward to. Also, Huawei will beat the zoom on their next flagship and even iPhone is supposed to get a radical camera upgrade with there upcoming 12 series. So hopefully Samsung won't rest on their laurels and increase again the optical zoom levels next year.

 

[Mike Dee]

I'm going to leave you guys hangin' for a week then let you know what I did!
































Sike...lol. I kept the Ultra. I finally figured out how to get good clear closeup (macro) pics, even better than I could get with the S10! I did mucho testing trying my hardest with both to make each other's camera shine in the best way possible so that I could make up my mind, I was consistently getting better results with the ultra's camera...the closeup/macro shots with the ultra was the hardest to learn but I got it figured out. So I'm going to ride the storm I guess and hope that they can improve the auto focus. Other things I would miss if I gave back the ultra is, the larger screen, haptic feedback (the S10's haptic feedback feels budget phone level in comparison), and the zoom quality. They just need to fix that auto focus for both film and still shots and it will be golden. I shot some video in my living room with the telephoto lens and black and white filter and wow...looks kind of pro/cinematic! I tried my hardest to replicate the quality with the S10 and couldn't even get close. Got my ultra macroshots bangin' more detail than the S10 and everything.....praying that they can fix that auto focus and some other minor annoyances/bugs.

So whats your macro trick ?

 

[Angmoe]

For me I go into pro mode and slide the af all the way down...picked that up in a video I watched. I'm not a camera pro by any means...but i try to learn the easy tricks

So whats your macro trick ?

 

[Mike Dee]

For me I go into pro mode and slide the af all the way down...picked that up in a video I watched. I'm not a camera pro by any means...but i try to learn the easy tricks

Duh! Essentially manual focus. That should have dawned on me but I've gotten so damn lazy with all these Auto features that I thought someone had an Autofocus solution.

Thanks

 

[Emig5m]

So whats your macro trick ?

Here's how to take closeup and macroshots with the Ultra.



1) Set main lens to 2x zoom (or even experiment with 3x), this is critical to get around the edge blurring. Make sure you're set at the low megapixel setting and not the 108mp setting.



2) Find the the optimum distance to where you get the most close up detail while the camera can still be able to focus - you will have to tap and lock the focus. With more time and practice you should be able to get it right faster without much fuss.



3) Even after the focus is locked you might have to experiment with moving the camera ever so slightly further or closer - this is mainly more for macroshots of bug size objects. You shouldn't have this much fuss with taking a closeup pic of a phone sized object.