S25 Ultra Camera needs a software update!

[summit92]

Not a troll post...

Unpopular opinion. This is something that Samsung needs to fix with a software update for the camera app and sensor in general. I am posting this to help.

I have 20/5. The same as an eagle's vision. For those who don't know, it's better than 20/20 vision. Not trying to brag.

I recently started trying to use the 200M back camera on my brand new S25 Ultra with the most recent software updates and Android version. And I cannot do it. The image quality is absolutely terrible. Why?  

Every single shot I take is overexposed and the colours appear brighter than they actually are. For example, an object that is solid red will appear to be almost orange!

Even with basic portraits, the shocking lack of colour accuracy is so awful that I cannot edit it with any photo editing software to be true-to-life, so to speak. Every time I try with literally any setting, it ends up ruining the background or part of the subject in the photo that makes the image even worse than it was originally when taken with the S25 Ultra. I tried with pro settings, with literally every configuration I know of, and the result was never better, only even less accurate than before.

On the contrary, my old S21 5G, which is 4 years old takes much better pictures. 

The colour accuracy is significantly better with the S21 Ultra camera, almost exactly the same as real life, and I can easily edit the photo to be perhaps 95% the same as real life. As a matter of fact, I have fooled some photographers who thought the photos I took with my S21 5G (edited) were taken with a professional mirrorless camera. 

For reference, I've attached two photos of the same object. A simple object in my washroom. The S25 Ultra camera fails this test miserably. Settings on both smartphone cameras were reverted to "default" so I have not changed any settings. Therefore, this is a fair comparison.

Please fix this, Samsung. Do a software update for the camera to allow for auto HDR and a feature that automatically adjusts for colour accuracy. There is so much potential here for better image quality, and your developers seriously failed here.

- Summit92

[realaud]

Maybe my eyes are not as good as yours, but I don't see an appreciable difference between the two examples. You were complaining specifically about red tones, yet there is nothing red in your photos. I see a slight variation on the reflected wall color, but that could easily be because you were at a very slightly different angle and distance. However, you are not the first to mention the camera not being so great.

[summit92]

There is no appreciable difference between the two photos because you haven't seen this item in person. And maybe because your visual acuity isn't on the same level as me. Not trying to be insulting... Colours are way off, not to mention locking in on text!

Here are 2 obvious examples. I hope you and other people can tell the difference. 

Guess which one is the S21? The image with the clearer "Krypton" text. I could not get the S25 Ultra to shoot a clear shot of the text, even when mounted on a smartphone tripod that was perfectly steady. The complaints I have about camera quality on the S25 Ultra have nothing to do with variations in camera angle; irrespective of this, colours and sharpness are lacking.

"Ferrrari Red" is better represented on the S21 camera. The S25 Ultra camera also exaggerates the scratches with additional brightness, making the car look more damaged than it actually is.

I have a few paintings to sell, and cannot use the S25 Ultra because clients think I'm sellings fakes! it's that bad. I might have to buy a real camera now; smartphones were supposed to make photography better, not worse.

PLEASE SAMSUNG FIND A SOLUTION....

This forum has been rather counterproductive for me. I'm disappointed.

- summit92

[realaud]

Both those cars look more orange than red to me. The text is clearer on the on on the left. I already said many people have complained about the camera on the S25. I don't have that model, so I'm just telling you what I see. 99.5% of the population do not have the eagle vision you claim to have, so it probably would not bother the general population. If you still have the S21, and feel the camera is superior, just take your photos with that camera. Sorry this forum is a disappontment to you, I don't know what you were hoping for - none of us are the developers and cannot fix the issue. The best way to get your complaint to the developers is to send feedback/error report through the support tab of the members app

[summit92]

The McLaren F1 is orange! 1995 McLaren F1 LM - Images, Specifications and Information

The text of "Krypton" above probably appears purple to you, then?

Jokes aside, thank you for the info about how I can contact the developers. Like I said, there is so much potential with the S25 Ultra.

Performance is otherwise amazing, super-sharp screen with excellent pixel density (nearly 500 ppi/dpi) and I can't complain about anything else with the S25 Ultra. It's only the camera... a software improvement/update would probably make it perform much better.

- summit92

[realaud]

Actually, the Krypton text in the right photo appears just as a darker blue to me, not purple, so it's harder to distinguish on the black background.

[Tom6068 · Accepted solution]

I totally agree and the images are stark in comparison.  Also, the hardware has largely unchanged since the S21U though the S25U. Tbh, I think the software on the S25U took a substantial step back in quality. Considering this is currently the 5th iteration of the ultra line, one would think that the devs could really make far better software to make the images better. Google is the master at software for their camera systems and they keep up as they add newer hardware. Apple is even much better.

Many YouTube reviewers have noted with louder voices that Samsung is not changing the hardware. I guess why should they when they still have the 2nd largest brand market in the world in smartphones (they have about 22% of the market in the US as it is). Apple took their #1 spot in 2023. One thing Samsung still cannot get right is their low/night photography. The graininess just cannot seem to be fixed. One aspect where Samsung is the best is in daytime photography and I can see a difference even between my wife's S21u and my S22u (which I still have but is idle), but it is certainly not at some next level.

In your shots I do see the exaggerated warm color and the dimness between the two. I also notice and along with your statement that no other settings were used, that both are the same, is that other than the object of the metal detox, the S21 is crystal clear on not just on that but also the background and surrounding. The S25u is slightly blurry to very blurry as the depth of the background is seen. That is a focusing issue if the settings are the same.

I am hoping the upcoming software update really addresses these issues altogether. I am not and never have been a brand loyalist, I only care about quality for the price, and Samsung has met that for the most part (the S10 is still best buy for the money I have ever had for a smartphone still).

[summit92]

I'm glad we agree about the differences in image quality between former generations of Samsung Galaxy smartphones, and the S25 Ultra.

I hope that Samsung will take requests for improvements seriously and address my concerns and those of others who want a better camera experience with their flagship smartphones.

I will try to contact Samsung / Developers, and maybe they'll find a solution.

- summit92

[summit92]

I figured out how to significantly improve the colour accuracy, sharpness, and overall quality of the photo on the S25 Ultra.

Now, I love EVERYTHING about this smartphone.

I'll write a new post about it.

[summit92]

@Tom6068 @realaud 

Better image quality on S25 Ultra steps 

1. hold down on the brightness icon and make sure "Adaptive colour tone" is enabled.

2. on the default camera app, toggle off/ "night shot" under PORTRAIT and PHOTO

3. under "Camera settings" on the default camera app, change to RAW format (preferred or JPEG of you want to save space)

4. under "Advanced picture options" set "Motion photo capture" to "Before and after shutter" 

5. under "Advanced picture options" set high efficiency pictures to off (will be off by default if set to 200 MP)

6. under "Intelligent optimization" set to Minimum - and Scene optimizer will be set to off by default if this is set 

7. lastly, make sure that under "Camera settings" you have Video Stabilization enabled when you shoot videos. 

As you can see, the detail retrieval and quality of these shots alone (without editing) is already very good to excellent. Any glare or lack of clarity you see is due to deliberate lighting. I'm really happy with the S25 Ultra overall now. 

Have a look!