I do e-commerce photography for a living. With an actual, full manual camera. I don't do auto on my settings and i don't do software auto post processing. With all this said i do have the confidence to say i do know what im do doing with a camera.
"Upgraded" from 2018 HUAWEI p20Pro to 2024 s24 ultra. My SiL has s23 ultra, so i did have some realistic experience (and expectations) of how bad this camera is going to be. I did sell my p20pro and don't think i should have. 60 MP 6 y.o. camera took 10000% better photos then 12 MP s23 and s24 combined. And if HUAWEI had access to Google the phone i would have paid 1800€ for would have been Pura 70 ultra if we are talking cameras. I did consider Pixel and Sony, but as i wanted the overall brick design shape of the s24 and was aware of the camera problems, decided to risk it.
I got my s24 on 28th of February and i have not taken a single picture with it that i have not been mad about. Its gotten to a point where i don't use te camera at all. All software is up to date.
Of the top of my head:
1) post processing CAN NOT be turned off no matter what you do. A normal (not perfect, not beautiful, just average normal) picture turns into an absolute garbage 10 seconds after its taken. Over sharpening, over exposure, blown out highs. 12 mp will prevent some of it happening but not all. Not a single picture on focus.
2) Night photos are NIGHT photos, i don't want anything i have taken at 3am in a dark back alley to look like its 7pm bright pre dusk sky on a well lit main street.
3) Color correction is abysmal. Bad is not a word i can use because its way too mild. We did a treck through this beautiful forest last month. Wooden bridges, waterfalls, slow rivers, amazing forest scenery. I was not carrying my camera so i used my phone. BIG mistake. Green is all yellow tinted. Everything looks like its early autumn and nothing is actually bright beautiful green. I did realize it at one point (because i knew my phone by then) and switched to the pro mode, but it's a hike, i don't want to be tinkering with my phone for 5 min before every picture. I'm currently lasering off one my tattoos and i can't even keep track of the process because the pictures are absolutely nothing even close to realistic. My light gray 20 y.o., 2 laser off sessions tattoo, looks darker than the day i got it in almost all pictures. If i manage to avoid the color correction, the picture looks soft and not on focus.
Pro mode is a crutch at best. It skips the processing but doesn't have any stability at all.
I'm going to say that I'm not using the phone for pictures otherwise i would have returned the thing after tha first week. Not to mention the fact that its an absolute disappointment to see software crippling hardware in such a way.
If you are taking selfies all day or shutting people and you want the artificial, fake, filtered, smooth, warm, overly processed look that it is soo trending this days, this is the perfect phone and the perfect camera for you. Otherwise - no.
I will maybe see if Pixel will fallow and make their phones a little bit more brick like so i can switch out of this massive waste of money.
PS: i do know all the settings and i do know what is on and what does what in the basic camera and in the software provided by Samsung. Tried ever single mode, including RAW to its fullest functionality. I do have the Camera Assistant and i have gone through the whole thing 259712 times because every time i see the picture i have just taken, i always think that i might have left something ON and that is the reason.
