Camera test: S21 Ultra vs. Note20 Ultra

15 February 2021


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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • 0p}
  • 16 Feb 2021

Nick Tegrataker, 16 Feb 2021Except a simple crop from the 12MP image won't have an... moreI know that crop from main camera does not solve the issue.
My comment was to explain that few brands choose to do it because their " zoom" cameras have hardware weak even for daylight.

This move is done because the higher capacity to grab light.

I agree it is bad idea, because you lose quality.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • JNI
    • 16 Feb 2021

    I think you missed a crucial thing when comparing.
    Are you sure you didn't compare a snapdragon Note20 against a Exynos S21?

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      • Neutral
      • tZ0
      • 16 Feb 2021

      Anonymous, 16 Feb 2021This night video mode of mi11 is horrible. I saw samples w... moreIf the Mi 11 night mode video is terrible, the S21 Ultra's video in the dark is just plain unusable. Let's not forget that the Mi 11 is just the starting model of the series while S21 Ultra is the fully-specced model of the S21 series. There is still the Mi 11 Pro and possibly Mi 11 Ultra to improve on the Mi 11.

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        • Neph
        • dM8
        • 16 Feb 2021

        I'd love to see similar comparison between the S21 Ultra vs the S21/S21+.
        How much would people get by purchasing the Ultra model. What would they lose by purchasing the vanilla S21.

          Anonymous, 16 Feb 2021This night video mode of mi11 is horrible. I saw samples w... moreIt's not horrible at all... where many phones struggle in pitch dark conditions and give dark unusable video, this one lights up everything.
          If this was just using higher iso values, this feature would have existed on previous flagships as well.

          This is like gcam, but for videos.

          It's only unlocked because of the image processing capabilities of the Snapdragon 888 chip.
          Probably the reason why they omitted it out at Exynos ISP might not be supporting it.

            Nick Tegrataker, 16 Feb 2021While I'm glad that this year Samsung turned down the ... moreSince 2017 there was dozens of phones with cameras better than s9+

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              • Shui8
              • KZK
              • 16 Feb 2021

              Anonymous, 16 Feb 2021My Sony mirrorless camera gives terrible skin tones.In actual camera world, Sony are the worse when it comes to color science, except a7siii & a1.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • vjX
                • 16 Feb 2021

                Anonymous, 16 Feb 2021Xenon flash is better than LED. It is gonna help have bet... moreMy Sony mirrorless camera gives terrible skin tones.

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                  • Andrew
                  • m9E
                  • 16 Feb 2021

                  I have the Note 20 Ultra and am totally satisfied with its performance.

                    Shui8, 16 Feb 2021Note 20 Ultra image processing looks more matured, but the ... moreWhile I'm glad that this year Samsung turned down the saturation even further on S21U, it's also worth noting that they now mess up colours in finer textures - their newer flagship is blending yellows and green of grass together + coloured patterns in a distance seem a bit greyish, and the same trait shows up in GSMA's image quality comparison chart as well. I'm assuming that too much chroma noise reduction is being applied, which is completely unnecessary given how Note's image was already chroma-noise-free no matter the lighting condition.

                    I wholeheartedly agree with you on oversharpening and noise, though. Apart from more neutral colour rendition, S21U does everything worse than Note (All right, the FFC image quality and video stabilisation are a tad better, but they aren't significant enough to make up for the rest of shortcomings) where the newer hardware isn't involved. All those issues should be fixable in software update, but they shouldn't have been greenlighted in the first place.

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                      • Love my camera
                      • HkL
                      • 16 Feb 2021

                      Nick Tegrataker, 16 Feb 2021How could you tell if it is horrible or not when you have n... moreI was planning on moving away from Samsung this year, refusing to upgrade since 2017. I looked at the new Sony and the ROG . But I couldn't find a camera to match my s9plus. I now have an s21 ultra and absolutely love the photos I get on my new phone. I only use my phone as a phone and camera, but love the 21 ultra. I am so glad I purchased it ☺

                        Anonymous, 16 Feb 2021This night video mode of mi11 is horrible. I saw samples w... moreHow could you tell if it is horrible or not when you have no idea how other phones perform in the same situation? Heck, we don't even know how dark this scene actually have been, and you're already complaining about the video quality? Some people just can't stop being overcritical of anything, can they..

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                          • Alex
                          • qC@
                          • 16 Feb 2021

                          Anonymous, 15 Feb 2021Note 20 pictures look definitely better. way to go samsungTotally agree. And way to go, Arena. You put inferior pictures of S21 side by side with Note20 and claim S21 is a better choice!?
                          I should have stopped paying attention to promotional GSMA Verdict sections a long time ago. (While still being grateful to Arena for publishing samples.)

                            Anonymous, 16 Feb 2021Many phones do it just because of night photos. This sill... moreExcept a simple crop from the 12MP image won't have an edge in image quality even in a poorly lit environment. Go check out the low light section of GSMArena's recent camera comparison article, iPhone 12 Pro and Mate 40 Pro almost always show better textures and edge preservation than Note 20 Ultra at 2.5x zoom level while maintaining lower noise level.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • 0p}
                              • 16 Feb 2021

                              Android--Master, 16 Feb 2021That can be easily done in the default app for choosing col... more
                              People try all profiles, nothing changes.
                              You will never be able to make galaxy display similar colours seen on any oled tv.
                              Warms tones do not go away.
                              The "cold" is still warmer than the " neutral" of other phones.

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                                • Anonymous
                                • Lj$
                                • 16 Feb 2021

                                AnonD-973296, 16 Feb 2021ok but answer me this- does it not usually come down to the... moreXenon flash is better than LED.
                                It is gonna help have better colour accuracy at night.
                                But it requires much more space.

                                The very wrong white balance provided by phones like Galaxy and Iphones is choice of these makers.
                                This could easily be adressed if they wanted too.
                                Just lack of interest.

                                  Anonymous, 16 Feb 2021They should do same to screen. Get rid of punchy tones. That can be easily done in the default app for choosing color profile.

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                                    • AnonD-973296
                                    • GYi
                                    • 16 Feb 2021

                                    SEUL8TR, 16 Feb 2021I'd take Carl-Zeiss optics with Xneon flash over softw... moreok but answer me this- does it not usually come down to the sensor and software modifications in the photo processing pipeline (i dont have much knowledge in cameras i want to learn how they work)

                                      It seems that in terms of photo quality both severely overpriced Galaxies aren't good enough to replace my "old" $250 Pixel 4. Well, lets wait see what Xperia 1 III and Pixel 6 will offer.

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 0p}
                                        • 16 Feb 2021

                                        i0S.-.Never.-.Again, 16 Feb 2021Samsung also failed to utilize the capabilities of the sens... moreThis night video mode of mi11 is horrible.
                                        I saw samples while ago.
                                        Extremely soft, huge sign of boosted ISO.

                                        Check here : www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBQG1lrKSzw&feature=youtu.be

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