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Camera quality - Not impressed. How about you?

Feel free to say that my expectations are too high, but I was anticipating better results from the camera than I have been seeing. Even in the most favourable of light the detail contained within the images is far lower than the headline 8 megapixel spec would have one believe and the JPEG artefacts are strong and ugly.
Just by way of one example here is a pair of images side by side. On the left we have unedited output from the Note. On the right we have unedited output from my DSLR, simply resized to match the pixel dimensions of the Note for direct comparison.
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The details in the image from the Note are very mushy and the colours are washed out, which I find a little weird as a scene shot with sunlit grass a couple of days back had the grass looking like it was neon. There are strong artefacts in the twigs on the tree and the details in the yellow bush on the right, the brickwork, the cracks in the pavement and the leaves on the ground are just not there.
I know it's not really fair to compare a phone camera with a DSLR, but DSLR photography has set the standard by which I judge image quality, and the Note, to my eyes falls way short. I don't know how other phones compare, but is this as good as it gets in a phone or is the Note well off the pace compared to others?
I also find that for use as a camera both the power switch and volume (zoom) rocker are poorly placed. In my efforts to gain a good, solid grip on the phone I often find myself pressing these buttons by accident, and that is not a good thing. Also, has anyone tried using the camera zoom? The results are diabolical. It's straight in the bin for anything shot with the zoom, at least by my photographic standards.
So what do you guys think? Impressed or disappointed?

If that image has been zoomed in I would say it's decent. As you mentioned it is totally unfair and you cannot compare a tiny sensor on a mobile phone which cost £500 to a dedicated DSLR which costs upwards of £400 which job is to do just photos. It could be just the phone is compressing the Jpegs a little too much but I'm sure with custom roms that can be addressed.
I forgot to add that megapixels are just marketing. It has a lot to do with the sensors and lens that are used. You may find a 5 mp camera knocks the socks of a 10 mp camera.
Can you put the original photos side by side?

From what I understand, in terms of photo quality, the only phone cameras that even match Point and Shoot cameras are the Nokia phones with Carl Zeiss optics.
Everything else will be well below that... and since DSLR is way above typical P&S cameras, I'd say the result you're seeing is exactly as expected. (In other words, megapixels mean nothing)
dangit, ninja'ed by indie.

Apples and Oranges
You've got to be joking.
In reverse:
I have considered doing a comparison of the video with 1080p HD SDI output from my video camera, but I'm afraid the Note's video might be better, after looking at these images: Note 1080p at 7.5% of the cost.
Seriously, the sensor of the note is probably very good, but the pinhole lense means it will have its limitations. It has a very good image if you consider this.

Here's a good article debunking the myth that more megapixels makes for a better image.
http://www.practicalphotographytips.com/Megapixel-Myth.html
Realistically, when talking about mobile phone cameras, you should really only be comparing like with like - comparing the Note's camera with a DSLR camera isn't going to show the Note up favourably under any conditions!
Regards,
Dave

its a very good Camera for a phone.
your trying to compare a dslr with a phone.
get real. its the glass that makes a dslr so good hence why lenses cost hundreds to thousands of dollars .
you bought a phone with a very good Camera installed, probably the one of the best on the market.....for a phone.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App

tdodd I would like to see it compared from a user and not from a review site, next to a photo from the SGS2 or from a P&S camera worth half or at max 2/3 of the Note's price.

I totally get the megapixel myth. I know very well the folly of assuming that more megapixels equals more quality. I also know the pitfalls of viewing digital images at 100%, but I don't like the output from the Note even when viewed without zooming in on my 17" laptop. It's equally unappealing on my 40" 1080p TV as well.
Unfortunately the only comparison I can make is to my DSLRs, since I don't have another phone camera worthy of the name and I hate the output from my compact camera almost as much as from the Note. What I really would like to know is how photos from the Note do compare with other phone cameras. Is it better, worse or similar? How does it compare with the new iPhone 4S, for example? Perhaps others would also like to know the answer, and since I have not seen the topic discussed, or mentioned in reviews, I thought it was worth raising.

I'm impressed with the camera and it's one of the main reasons I chose the Note (as I liked the camera on the S2) but that's because my expectations are more reasonable even though I have multiple cameras systems up to a full frame Nikon setup. For a phone camera I think it's very good, better than the Sensation's 8MP camera however it's not as good as a compact never mind a DSLR but it's always to hand whereas my compacts are not so it's handy to catch those shots that I'd otherwise miss. I was surprised how often I ended up using the S2 camera as the results were reasonable, the phone convenient and handy for uploading straight to online galleries.
You have to bear in mind the resolution doesn't really matter, the issue is the absolutely tiny camera sensor which is smaller than those used in compacts and those in compacts are far smaller than the crop DSLR/mirrorless cameras. The best of the camera phones is the Nokia N8 which boasts a sensor bigger than most compacts (up to the size of the enthusiast compacts like the LX5, S95 etc.) but it and Symbian are finished and the N9/Lumia 800 both use more conveniental camera phone sensors.
John

People! You really bought this phone for the camera? I'm sad... This phonelet (phone and tablet) has the largest screen on a phone. And some awesome specs. The camera will never be as good as a pro camera. The iphone 4s has a good camera in it. If that's the case may I suggest getting that? I think this camera is fine for a phone. I am getting this phone for its specs in general and not only the camera. Knocks the socks off most other phones in every other regard.
Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

Galaxy Note camera
I find the galaxy note camera to be quite good and very useful as a point-and-shoot. It's better than the iPhone 4 that I used to use. For images that are used for the web it is great. As a professional photographer who uses 21 megapixel full frame cameras everyday, I find this camera refreshing. It's more of a creative abstraction tool than a serious photography tool. I use it for concept and location documentation mostly.

I really cant believe you put up a cell phone camera compared with a DSLR and put the thread title "I'm not impressed"
That's literally like saying "My Honda Civic doesn't do 0-60 in 3.4 seconds like my Ferarri 458, not impressed" You didnt buy your hypothetical honda civic for it's acceleration and you didnt buy your phone to replace a dedicated DSLR camera.

tdodd said:
What I really would like to know is how photos from the Note do compare with other phone cameras. Is it better, worse or similar? How does it compare with the new iPhone 4S, for example? Perhaps others would also like to know the answer, and since I have not seen the topic discussed, or mentioned in reviews, I thought it was worth raising.
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Try this goo.gl/jy5G3 (I'm still not allowed to post links but this way should work) - it's gsmarena's article "8 megapixel mega shootout." They've compared iPhone 4S, Galaxy S II, Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S, HTC Sensation XE, Nokia N9 and HTC Titan. It's very complete article but just take Galaxy S II as Galaxy Note because the both cams I believe are almost (if not exactly) the same. And long story short:
"If we had to recommend a cameraphone, it would be the iPhone 4S. The still camera was either the best or a close second in each category we tested. Also, it stole the show when it came to video recording. It goes to show that when Apple put their hearts to it, they can quickly climb to the top (and it was a steep climb too, if you remember the cameras on the early iPhones).
In a typical Apple fashion, the 4S focused on being perfect and wouldn't care for anything less - things like 720p or lower quality setting for stills.
Even so, the things that were included are highly desirable - native HDR mode, AE/AF lock and video stabilization can certainly make a difference.
The Samsung Galaxy S II is the runner up when it comes to overall performance - its still camera and camcorder beat the others most of the time. It used to be the standard-setter for 8MP/1080p mobile cameras but after 8 long (in tech terms) months on the market, it's time to cede that title.
The HTC Sensation XE is an alternative, if you value FullHD video more than still images. The Nokia N9 is a good option for those that need high dynamic range in their photos, but we're not that impressed with its overall performance.
While the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S scored average marks among the best 8MP shooters, it's still a respectable cameraphone.
The Titan managed to surprise us. We weren't expecting much of a WP7 phone by HTC, but it offered very balanced still camera performance (with a knack for poor lighting) and solid video output (for a 720p shooter)."
Regards

I would wager the camera is the same from the galaxy s 2 which is ALMOST the same as the iPhone 4s. I have all three. I'd say the 4s is best by a hair with the other two being identical.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

neverthemore said:
Try this goo.gl/jy5G3
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Thanks for the link. That was very helpful, and that is the kind of information I was hoping to elicit from this thread. Hopefully others will find it informative too.

Here's how I tell if a camera on a phone is good:
Take a picture of a paper or hand out with lots of text on it. Make sure the paper fills the screen/picture. Zoom in and see if all the text is legible and easy to read. This his how I use my spart phone cameras. On the Note it will be particularly important since I will be able to take a picture of a paper, then zoom in and "draw" on it with the stylus.
The Camera on the iPhone 4 does a great job at this, and I hope the note is at least as good. My Flyer's camera just barely gets the job done...so meh.

zkyevolved said:
People! You really bought this phone for the camera? I'm sad... This phonelet (phone and tablet) has the largest screen on a phone. And some awesome specs. The camera will never be as good as a pro camera. The iphone 4s has a good camera in it. If that's the case may I suggest getting that? I think this camera is fine for a phone. I am getting this phone for its specs in general and not only the camera. Knocks the socks off most other phones in every other regard.
Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
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No, I didn't buy the phone for the camera nor did I say that. Pretty much all devices including phones and cameras are a matter of balance choosing what you want or need balanced against what features you're prepared to trade off. After surprising myself how often I used the S2 camera when I had a loan one the fact the Note had the same camera was a big plus combined with the incredible screen, fast processor etc.
I don't expect my phone camera to match the quality of my professional cameras as even compacts and crop DSLRs cannot do that but at the same time I don't expect my professional cameras to fit in my pocket and weigh in at much under a kilogram either. If I was buying a phone purely for the camera, it would the N8 which has a sensor unlikely to be matched in a mainstream phone for a long time if at all.
John

tdodd said:
Thanks for the link. That was very helpful, and that is the kind of information I was hoping to elicit from this thread. Hopefully others will find it informative too.
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Oh? You said you thought the Notes camera was crap compared to a DSLR and It looked more like you wanted people to join in on that opinion.

Xaddict said:
Oh? You said you thought the Notes camera was crap compared to a DSLR and It looked more like you wanted people to join in on that opinion.
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Well I'm sorry if that's the impression I gave. My concerns were raised before I even took the side by side photos for comparison. I only shot those as an illustration to others rather than simply moaning without supporting evidence.
There are several reasons I upgraded to the Note. The screen was the main one, then the processing power, but also the camera. Since my previous phone was the Orange San Francisco, with 3.2 megapixels (yes, I know, means sh!t), no flash, and almost universal condemnation for the IQ, I really wanted the camera part to be a significant step up - something I really could make use of as an alternative to a compact for impromptu shooting. All I was saying is that I find the camera disappointing. It's an improvement on my previous phone without doubt, but combined with awkward ergonomics of the phone as a camera, it is not a feature I will use as much as I had hoped.
If others are happy then that's fine, but for me it has not provided the solution I was hoping for. I just wondered what other people thought. Now I know.

I don't know how you can even compare a photo from a phone, to that of even the cheapest SLR.
You are talking a pinhole size sensor, versus something that is almost if not bigger than a postage stamp.
The smaller the sensor, and, the more "megapixels" you have, the worse the signal to noise ratio will be, which results in a "grainy" or noisy photo.
At 100% resolution, most modern camera-phones produce a descent photo in good light, but, if you zoom in to 400%, expect a LOT of noise. It's simple physics.
You cannot cram enough "light gathering" sensors on such a small surface, without getting noise.

From U11 to Honor Play - worth it?

I am on the P20 pro, and one of my family members is on the Htc U11 - for those of you unfamiliar with the phone, it's a snapdragon 835, 4 gigs of ram, waterproof with quite a good camera and quite a bad screen.
They enjoy notch like phones, and they are on a budget. I am thinking of getting them the Honor Play - I feel the battery will be better, so will the screen. The proc is more or less the same; I guess what worries me the most is the camera, or anything else I might not have thought of.
Anyone here can advise with cons and pros? Thanks

Everything other than the front camera is amazing....
Front camera just white washes everything, basically contrast is non existent... And if you are not a white, you will look like an... Em..... irish black person (pale brownish color or something)
Front camera has good quality images but color reproduction is simply subpar... Its a software issue as the same camera is used in Honor 9n n it produces 10x better results!
Overall front camera is 1/10...(compared it with a 2013 galaxy phone n it had better color reproduction than play)
Everything else is 9/10

Well, in my opinion, I go for an exchange for the U11, yes Honor Play is very good at nearly everything, fast and never laggy, I really love the screen, even not being Amoled contrast is really fair, it's a beautiful piece of hardware and software, but 2 essentials points for me : camera quality is really lower, and it's not waterproof at all (a friend had his Honor Play felt into water for like 3 seconds and sound died + screen flashing now). For the price it's very good, but not sure it worth it to change from U11 which is, still in my opinion. But yes battery is good with some easy tips, it can survive easily a good day, and before the last update I was at 2 days for average usage.
Based on what I saw, U11 and G6 were at pretty same level in camera (but U11 much expensive, it's why I didn't take it), and I can say I often regret my G6, so now if waterproof and picture quality is not that much important, go for it with no doubt

There is no waterproof smartphones out there in the market. There are only water resistant phones and that shouldn't be an issue if you are not IP67 -69 enthusiast. The camera might not be on per with the best out there but the quality is not that bad. Indeed, I get good results from it during the day .
In my view I would go for Honor Play as the first choice and it's new compared to U11.

Question How will the S21 Ultra camera stack up compared to Pixel 5?

Last summer I purchased an Xperia 1 II which I really liked for a lot of reasons - the screen, form factor and feel were all great. Unfortunately, the camera was not up to much and really struggled in low light conditions as well as capturing moving objects. As a camera is one of the top priorities for me in a phone, I made the switch and got the Pixel 5. The camera on the Pixel is brilliant and I am happy enough with the phone for now but the small screen and medium-range specs are definitely a shame.
Having seen some brilliant reviews of the S21 Ultra, my interest has been piqued and I am considering pre-ordering. I am also conscious though that reviews often don't really give a thorough, in-depth review of camera capabilities in different everyday situations (often just focusing on headline specs and flashy new features). Having read the S20 Ultra forum, I noticed a lot of negativity around autofocus, images in low light conditions, images of moving subjects and video quality. This goes back a way but having previously had S6 & S7, I thought the cameras were OK but often a little unnatural/beautified.
Does the S21 Ultra appear to be rectifying these issues and will the camera/video quality be on a par with the likes of Pixel 5 & iPhone 12 Pro Max? For the price of the phone, I would really expect it to be very top end.

It is hard to tell as this is something that very few reviewers focus on, people and pets in mixed light remains Samsung’s kryponite and it is clearly not a hardware issue.
The Pixel sensor is showing it’s age a little but still if I want to pick up a phone take a picture and be confident I’ll get a decent shot then I would currently only really trust the Pixels and iPhone 11/12 line.

Tmel14 said:
Last summer I purchased an Xperia 1 II which I really liked for a lot of reasons - the screen, form factor and feel were all great. Unfortunately, the camera was not up to much and really struggled in low light conditions as well as capturing moving objects. As a camera is one of the top priorities for me in a phone, I made the switch and got the Pixel 5. The camera on the Pixel is brilliant and I am happy enough with the phone for now but the small screen and medium-range specs are definitely a shame.
Having seen some brilliant reviews of the S21 Ultra, my interest has been piqued and I am considering pre-ordering. I am also conscious though that reviews often don't really give a thorough, in-depth review of camera capabilities in different everyday situations (often just focusing on headline specs and flashy new features). Having read the S20 Ultra forum, I noticed a lot of negativity around autofocus, images in low light conditions, images of moving subjects and video quality. This goes back a way but having previously had S6 & S7, I thought the cameras were OK but often a little unnatural/beautified.
Does the S21 Ultra appear to be rectifying these issues and will the camera/video quality be on a par with the likes of Pixel 5 & iPhone 12 Pro Max? For the price of the phone, I would really expect it to be very top end.
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Over all it feels me pixel 5 is still
King

I am particularly interested to know how the portrait mode stacks up as this is something I use a lot and has been a real flaw in previous Samsungs. It's going to be a key factor in my decision between S21 Ultra vs Pro Max 12...

Question How will the S21 Ultra camera stack up vs iPone 12 Pro Max / Pixel 5?

Last summer I purchased an Xperia 1 II which I really liked for a lot of reasons - the screen, form factor and feel were all great. Unfortunately, the camera was not up to much and really struggled in low light conditions as well as capturing moving objects. As a camera is one of the top priorities for me in a phone, I made the switch and got the Pixel 5. The camera on the Pixel is brilliant and I am happy enough with the phone for now but the small screen and medium-range specs are definitely a shame.
Having seen some brilliant reviews of the S21 Ultra, my interest has been piqued and I am considering pre-ordering. I am also conscious though that reviews often don't really give a thorough, in-depth review of camera capabilities in different everyday situations (often just focusing on headline specs and flashy new features). Having read the S20 Ultra forum, I noticed a lot of negativity around autofocus, images in low light conditions, images of moving subjects and video quality. This goes back a way but having previously had S6 & S7, I thought the cameras were OK but often a little unnatural/beautified.
Does the S21 Ultra appear to be rectifying these issues and will the camera/video quality be on a par with the likes of Pixel 5 & iPhone 12 Pro Max? For the price of the phone, I would really expect it to be very top end.

Tmel14 said:
...
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I know this is very rude of me, but I didn't read, too long of a message lol, and I'm so tired rn. But if you want good camera reviews, you can check DxOMark.
It's my reference for cameras.
Here's the S21 Article

I've read/watched a ton of reviews, many of which offered direct comparisons to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and a few also included the Pixel 5 (not as many, as it's not considered a top tier phone any more). They all seem to be very capable. If I were to try to average all the reviews and build a consensus, I appears they are very comparable in standard everyday shots. They trade blows here and there, but generally very similar. The iPhone still wins in portrait shots. It also seems to have a slight edge in video. Night shots are tougher to judge, some had the iPhone ahead, some the S21. The S21 was the CLEAR winner in macro and zoom, as well as features. It seemed they generally gave the overall win to the S21, because the categories where the S21 won it did so with greater margins than the iPhone, where it's wins were tighter. And also because the wider range of capabilities made it a more flexible camera. But if the extreme close and extreme far don't fall into your typical usage, the iPhone would probably come out ahead.
It's also probably worth mentioning that Apple is generally pretty polished, and the iPhone 12 has been out for a bit. It's not unusual for Samsung to be a bit rough at release, and take several updates to tweak things. The two phones probably aren't at equal levels of maturity. Being an S20U owner, I can confirm there were definitely some improvements over time. The S20U camera setup was a complete change from the previous generation, while the S21U is more of a refinement on that. So it may not have as much room for improvement as the S20 did. But there's probably a decent chance that it might close some gaps where the iPhone wins, and/or increase some leads where the iPhone loses.

The differencies are minimal. Really. It is like chicken soup vs tomato soup. I did buy S21 Ultra due to the pen. S21U has clearly better camera than P30Pro. But S21U vs i12pro/i13pro vs Pixel 5/6 ... c'mon. If you like to have the best possible photos buy Vivo x70Pro+

I have S21U and wife has Iphone 13PM. Both has pros and cons. From my day to day experience, this is what I found, comparing S21U and the iPhone:
iPhone pros:
- Very fast shutter speed on camera.
- Sharper video overall, especially for night videos.
- camera app very optimized. Everything feels so smooth.
- better camera focus for indoor photos.
iPhone cons:
- white balance is so bad. Every photos turn yellowish, white sometimes turn into blue.
- too much post photo processing, especially true in clouds. Normal cloudy days turn into storm looking clouds.
- over sharpening. Took a photo of wall calendar on the wall, everything else seems bit blurry but the numbers are sharp (not in a good way, like a Photoshop overshaperning).
- portrait photos not as capable as S21U. Hardly take a clear portrait photo of moving kids (1 clear shots out of 6 shots).
- lens flare. Haven't tried night shots yet with the main cam, but the selfie does has this issue.
- no zoom 10x. Once you have this, you will want them on your phone.
- very dimmed videos at night.
- stabilization not as good, very noticeable on 3x lens.
S21U Pros:
- very versatile camera system with 3x, 10x zoom lens.
- white balance most of the time is correct - true to life
- 108 MP shots are a great option to capture extra details
- top notch stabilization on videos and photos even for zoom lens
- portrait photos are better than the iPhone, capture less shaky photos for moving objects with a better blurring object identification.
S21u cons:
- slower shutter speed. Not very usable when taking moving objects indoor
- indoor focus sometimes off, need to click the screen to focus the object.
- camera app not as smooth as iPhone
- color sometimes can be not as true as real life
Those are what I have found so far on my daily basis.

Question Terrible camera quality

I'm so disappointed in the photos from the telephoto lenses of this camera. Even at 1x, there is so much noise in every photo, even in outdoors on a sunny day everything looks like an oil painting. Did they give me a faulty device because I got a student discount (costed $1360 AUD 256GB) is this a common issue? Pretty disappointed with the camera of this "flagship" phone...
The photos are 1x, 1x cropped, 10x and 19x zoom.

I'm not seeing an issue.
The last one looks like cam shake and/or a bad AF lock.

The thing is even when holding still taking photos the post processing always oversharpens it and makes it noisy

Tristan17 said:
The thing is even when holding still taking photos the post processing always oversharpens it and makes it noisy
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Digital zoom sucks but look at the size of the optics. It's no L70-200 f/2.8 IS telephoto!
Shooting RAW will get rid of that... or at least you can with post editing.
Samsung doesn't have good photo editing tools, that pisses me.
My stupid S4 had a better photo editor than my 10+ which has none. WTF?
Maybe I'm missing something... probably not

That's fair but I wish they didn't oversharpen every photo, it would look much better like gcam does a way better job

Tristan17 said:
That's fair but I wish they didn't oversharpen every photo, it would look much better like gcam does a way better job
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That cam should be better than my 10+.
The 10+ does an excellent job, but digital zoom is not one of them.
Close the distance. Know the limitations of the camera; see the world as it does and your photos will improve immensely.
Even with pro equipment this is true.
Look at the stunning photos grabbed over a century plus ago with very limited technology.
A good camera helps but in the end it's more about who's shooting.

True thanks

Relax and enjoy it...
Try wide angle on a brick house or a picket fence and see how it does. Two of my favorite test subjects after people.
Don't enable vivid in screen mode if that's an option as it blows out colors.

Yeah I've got my screen set to amoled photo and I have gotten some good photos already thanks for the feedback

Tristan17 said:
View attachment 5429491
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Nice to see another Orient here...

Wow nice man it's a great watch haha

Yall old timers!
P. S. Just kiddin, the older ones look superb!

I totally agree with the OP, the S21U camera is definitely not a 2021 flagship camera. 10x zoom softens the image like crazy (everything becomes hazy & lacks of contrast) and the noise in all cameras is too much, especially in low light conditions.

blackhawk said:
Digital zoom sucks but look at the size of the optics. It's no L70-200 f/2.8 IS telephoto!
Shooting RAW will get rid of that... or at least you can with post editing.
Samsung doesn't have good photo editing tools, that pisses me.
My stupid S4 had a better photo editor than my 10+ which has none. WTF?
Maybe I'm missing something... probably not
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I recommend you try Snapseed app (free, owned by Google), have look on YouTube for videos on Snapseed and you'll see how good it is at editing photos

Snapseed is indeed a great editor!
And all of you guys who are hating on the ZOOM cameras of the phone, ya'll just don't understand how lenses and cameras work in general, that's why the s21U cams annoy you. Especially in low light... It is absolutely normal and it is still better than anything else at this size and functionality.
The fact that you have this kinda photo power in a phone in 2021 is in it self amazing.

In general I think that S21 Ultra have most versatile camera setup in market (at least at the moment when I've ordered phone), but sometimes I've had that feeling that details are not the best e.g. when zooming some photos. I guess it's exynos thing, because details are better on snapdragon versions.
BTW I'm happy to see so many Orient owners.

I did a video comparing the S20u vs S21u cameras and it's VERY subjective. Some of the shots on the S20u are better, some on the S21u are better, but all in all, they both don't compare to an actual camera, yet still blow away any other phone by comparison.
The biggest downfall I see is when people bash on the zoom lens, saying it's grainy.. and it's like.. yeah.. can any other phone out there even come close to a focal range this thing has? It's still a further reach zoom than anything else regardless of quality which is only improving between the S20u and S21u when it comes to zoom.
Which you can see that the image processing on the zoom lens out of the box on the S21u is worse than the S20u, but the clarity at further reach on the s21u pulls ahead over the s20u

babyboy3265 said:
Snapseed is indeed a great editor!
And all of you guys who are hating on the ZOOM cameras of the phone, ya'll just don't understand how lenses and cameras work in general, that's why the s21U cams annoy you. Especially in low light... It is absolutely normal and it is still better than anything else at this size and functionality.
The fact that you have this kinda photo power in a phone in 2021 is in it self amazing.
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Sorry, but I strongly disagree with you. I have been shooting with slrs and dslrs for decades, also owning numerous lenses, so I guess I know a bit about photography hardware. Yet again, I am not comparing apples to oranges, namely dslr quality with S21U quality, but instead comparing S21U quality with my 2020 p40 pro photos and believe me there is a HUGE gap over there. The p40 pro was a 2020 flagship and it's photo quality is miles ahead the S21U in various aspects, the most important being low light performance in all cameras, as well as zoom quality etc. Had the p40 pro not been a deal breaker due to no GMS (huawei USA ban etc), I would not change the device for the S21U. I did know though that there would of been a small downgrade in photo quality when I decided to switch to S21U, yet hoped for a good trade off with the 10x zoom instead of 5x, as well as a true uw lens, as compared to the merely uw on the p40 pro (18mm only), but we are talking about a huge difference over here in terms of quality,i mean, even my previous p20 pro which was a 2018 device was capturing much more detail in low light, yet still noise free.

thanito said:
Sorry, but I strongly disagree with you. I have been shooting with slrs and dslrs for decades, also owning numerous lenses, so I guess I know a bit about photography hardware. Yet again, I am not comparing apples to oranges, namely dslr quality with S21U quality, but instead comparing S21U quality with my 2020 p40 pro photos and believe me there is a HUGE gap over there. The p40 pro was a 2020 flagship and it's photo quality is miles ahead the S21U in various aspects, the most important being low light performance in all cameras, as well as zoom quality etc. Had the p40 pro not been a deal breaker due to no GMS (huawei USA ban etc), I would not change the device for the S21U. I did know though that there would of been a small downgrade in photo quality when I decided to switch to S21U, yet hoped for a good trade off with the 10x zoom instead of 5x, as well as a true uw lens, as compared to the merely uw on the p40 pro (18mm only), but we are talking about a huge difference over here in terms of quality,i mean, even my previous p20 pro which was a 2018 device was capturing much more detail in low light, yet still noise free.
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When I spoke of cameras and lenses, it is because I too have such tech and like photography.
And honestly, the Huawei just seems to have a different post-processing. Which amps up the "structure" a bit and makes things appeared deeper and more detailed. But that's just my 2 cents. Maybe I am wrong.