Camera comparison: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Galaxy S22 Ultra

02 February 2023
Is the 200MP camera better than the 108MP one?

Sort by:

  • A
  • Anonymous
  • XSs
  • 03 Feb 2023

TJA, 03 Feb 2023God, it's AWFUL. It's WAAAAAAY over-sharpened. Co... moreDude photos on gsm are even worse than social media. Camera is a looot better than iphone

    • B
    • B52
    • gLC
    • 03 Feb 2023

    Now I see that not only my S22U has those blurry edges.
    I also sent back my first phone as defective and got a brand new. Still the same s**t.
    It is very infuriating.

      There'a literally 0 difference other than ramping up sharpnening in exchange for clarity. In other words you get a very fake image with noise, halos and smearing.

      I'd rather they went back to the Pureview days. No thanks Samsung.

        • T
        • TJA
        • pL5
        • 03 Feb 2023

        God, it's AWFUL. It's WAAAAAAY over-sharpened. Completely over the top. I was hoping for a better camera this time round, having not particularly liked the overblown processing of the previous gen, but they've made it WORSE.

        People like this crap?! What happened to natural shots that look pleasantly balanced? Are Sony the only one's making any attempt to create a soft-but-detailed image that doesn't look awful when you blow it up any?

        Jesus.

          • E
          • Enra68
          • Ec7
          • 03 Feb 2023

          It seems that overprocessing / oversharpening of pictures is still a severe problem for S23 Ultra. Complex structures are looking muddy and clarity & brilliance is totally missing. The 50 MPixel picture is absolutely disappointing. I have thought it would have a similar quality like ProRAW with 48 MPixel in IPhone 14 Pro. But Samsung's output is really a mess. Looks like we need to wait unitl June / July 2023, to see better results after several software updates. But now that state of the camera is no reason for buying that phone.
          Greets
          Enra68

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • YWi
            • 03 Feb 2023

            What about Selfie Camera?

              I see better colour on the S23 Ultra primary camera than the S22 Ultra. But my goodness, the oversharpening effect is a complete joke! Even the iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max doesn't show that kind of oversharpening effect.

              I am, however, seriously impressed with the telephoto camera. Like the S23 Ultra primary camera, I also see better colour science than the S22 Ultra. However, I don't see any oversharpening effect on it at all. More than that, I see no noise reduction effect and more natural processing. Dare I say it, it reminds me of my old Nokia Lumia 830, and I love the photo quality of that phone.

              For someone like me who always value the need for a telephoto camera, the S23 Ultra is a welcome improvement over its predecessor. But as for the 200MP primary camera, no thanks - I take the 1" 3:2 sensor of the Sony Xperia Pro-I instead.

                Rimas2, 03 Feb 2023Yes, exactly. Why Samsung sharpens everything so much? Down... moreI agree with most of the things here. The image in the middle is quite nice, and when downscaling from 200 to let's say 24 Mpix, it looks good. But the sides and corners are still soft even after I have downsized to 10 Mpix. So clearly there is unfortunately some kind of trade-off when designing the lenses. They have focused on the center, knowing that it will be where you look first and for most of the time. Hard for me to say if that is a good or bad decision. Time will tell.

                  • R
                  • Rkm
                  • FY0
                  • 03 Feb 2023

                  Manchito, 03 Feb 2023Since when a sharp picture is worse than a blurred one? Too... moreIt isn't actually sharp though, is it? It is just textures which are visible when you push the clarity slider to 120.

                    • R
                    • Rkm
                    • FY0
                    • 03 Feb 2023

                    AnonD-731363, 03 Feb 2023Man most people will do. Dpnt know anyone who uses TV for... moreBut most people zoom way too much to see how their face look. That weird artifacts are visible here even on a phone screen when you view on 100%.

                      Nick Tegrataker, 03 Feb 2023I've already done that and I'm not very impressed... moreYes, exactly. Why Samsung sharpens everything so much? Downscaled 200->50Mpix image has plenty of details, that look great without sharpening. Lower detail is kind of expected from quad-bayer type of demosaicing, but that 200Mpix still could look better IMO. Maybe better optics, less denoising, and less sharpening are needed. It seems everyone is trying to apply AI sharpening these days. Or are they applying AI upscaling too at some point? I'd say, optics let enough information to render ~30-40Mpix quite nicely IMO.

                        Manchito, 03 Feb 2023Since when a sharp picture is worse than a blurred one? Too... moreThere is something like too much, e.g. I prefer chips with ketchup, but when you put 5 liters of it to 4 chips, well, it is too much. Same here. Some slight sharpening is fine, which makes the photo look better, but here is just as someone pushed the slider to the max, saved the photo, and pushed that slider again to the max. It just looks bad.

                          The only improvement I can see is the images are now sharp tight up to the edge. The S22 pics are very soft particularly on the left edge of the frame but overall they look much more appealing than the overshadowed S23 pics. What is going on here? A company like Samsung should really know better by now. Why can't they bring on board a photographic partner to at least oversee their tech guys. All the hardware and processing power is right there. They obviously have no clue what goes on to making a good photograph.

                            S23 really looks much better. I'll take more noise for more details.

                              Since when a sharp picture is worse than a blurred one? Too many haters around here.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 7tk
                                • 03 Feb 2023

                                It would be better to have the same image from each phone in a series so we can flick between the 2 to better notice the differences rather than going back to the preview page each time

                                  AnonD-731363, 03 Feb 2023Man most people will do. Dpnt know anyone who uses TV for... moreMost close friends or family, when we meet at dinner, we tend to show pics from vacations on TV during eating, and my GF likes to print pictures and put them in an album and not in a very small size, but I agree with you. Probably most people do not do that. Anyways, of course, it is a personal taste, but the default 12 Mpix from S23 Ultra is one if the ugliest and overprocessed photos that I have seen lately (of course not talking about cheap phones).

                                    Tann Hauser, 02 Feb 2023I...was...being...sarcastic.Yeah figured it out a bit late.... sorry mate

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-731363
                                      • SH3
                                      • 03 Feb 2023

                                      SirArtur, 03 Feb 2023Well, not everyone is looking at them only on the 6-inch screen. Man most people will do.
                                      Dpnt know anyone who uses TV for photo brownsing.
                                      Maybe laptop which is 14 to 16 inch usualy which is still small or a tablet which have from 7 to 10 inch ususally which is even smaller.

                                        AnonD-731363, 03 Feb 2023So many fuss about the camera and on a 6 inch screen photos... moreWell, not everyone is looking at them only on the 6-inch screen.