So I've had MANY Samsung devices in my day. It's a bit of a love/hate relationship with the brand. Sometimes there are hits and other times there are straight up misses.
I bought a S20 Ultra in 2020 and the camera glass cracked, developed a hole, and condensation eventually killed the device. Instead of paying the insane price of repair, I was so dissatisfied with performance of the camera in that $1400 device, I chalked it up to a paperweight and got a Pixel 3a XL. When I tell you that the $350 Pixel produce more consistent and better quality photos than my Galaxy S20 Ultra, I mean it. So I rocked the 3a XL for about a year until the S21 was announced. While the camera performance was spectacular, the device was slow and annoying. So, instead of going all in like I did the Ultra, I decided to get a S21 5G instead.
While the 120Hz OLED is beautiful, performance is mega, and the hardware is gorgeous, the camera generally disappoints. The images are inexplicably blurry, the shutter speed snaps photos much later after you press the shutter button, and zooming in on photos only shows graininess and lack of sharpness. And don't get me started on the selfie camera. It still tries to "beautify" my face, even with the effects and filters turned off.
I thought I was misremembering my experience on my Pixel, so I pulled it out for some comparison shots and turns out, I wasn't. The photos from the Pixel 3a XL were much more pleasing out of auto-mode than on my S21 5G. Not just sorta better, but NOTICIBLY better. I was also more easily able to whip my phone out of my pocket, take a shot, and assume it was fine, than immediate reviewing it on my Galaxy to see if I needed to take it again, and maybe again, to finally get a usable shot.
It is frustrating listening to the marketing hype and show that Samsung puts on every year only to be outperformed by a $350 device in this area ESPECIALLY since Samsung likes to use marketing photos that are seemingly DSLR-like quality.
That's all to say, what am I doing wrong with my S21 in auto-mode to make the photos experience so challenged?
Honestly, when it comes down to the camera and comparing the 3 main top cellphone brands ( Samsung,iPhone, Pixel) I realize it all comes down to preference anymore. Some people prefer the richer colors and brighter greens of the Samsung s21.....while other people prefer the lod and darks of the iPhone. So one or the other isn't really better they are the same
I'm just not sure where you're getting that info from. From the reviews I've see from notable sources, that just doesn't seem to be the case. Furthermore, while I can get amazing photos from my S21, my main issue, as noted in the original post, is consistency. I tend to shoot in Auto mode and sometimes use the ultra wide, but otherwise a basic shooter. In that case, I can consistently get a great photo from my Pixel where I have to take a few from the Galaxy to get something I like.
You're not doing anything wrong. You actually downgraded as far as cameras go from the S20U to a regular S21. Samsung is still continuing to improve their software processing but isn't at the Pixel's level yet. With that said, if you use Pro mode and RAW photos with editing, it'll be way better than the Pixel (but obviously not convenient).
i just regret buying S21 . My S8 has much much better image quality.. its shame Samsung instead of improving the camera seems not even making it similar to earlier models.
Well I recognize the superior hardware in my S21 than in my Pixel, but even today just taking a shot, the Pixel has the brighter, clearer, and more palatable image. The thing that is most frustrating is that the photo looks AMAZING in the view finder before you snap the photo, so it seems like there is some post processing bafoonery going on. Just wanted to see if anyone had a similar experience
The 521 plus has several setting if you want the highest quality put the camera in Pro and it will save Jpeg and Raw photos You also want to Set the camera atthe highest Mg for the S21 plus that Is 3X4 64mg
I would recommend using Lightroom to process the images ins Adobe Raw you can adjust the White down and bring the black up the highlights down and Shadows up
But BEFOREAdjusting any photo save original to different location
I use photoshop expressCon mytablet) to put my copyright on the images and then I can export them to a file folder to beloaded upto my 500px or my website I always save in another file the adjusted Image that is high quality and without copyright for when I have an order for that image.
