Galaxy S25 vs. Xiaomi Redmi 10 - CAMERA quality

[ValB50]

Today I did the focus chart test and compared the S25 camera to the Xiaomi Redmi 10, a phone released in August 2021 for around 200€. I can’t stress enough how bad the S25’s photos look compared to the Redmi 10, especially the 0.6x ultrawide camera on the Redmi 10 looks much better and clearer compared to the S25’s 0.6x ultrawide. This can’t be true, right? What the hell is wrong with the S25’s camera??? 😟😧

I'm also concerned because I noticed in GSMArena's review of the Galaxy S25 that their unit was plagued by some kind of lens misalignment issue as also noted on their YouTube video.

This is a follow up of my testing comparing the Galaxy S25 to the Huawei Mate 9. Discussions and photo tests were also conducted on the other Samsung community forum post.

[Star_girl]

Hi.
Problem is, 2021 phones were not doing so much AI photo processing that 2024 and 2025 phones do, even Chinese ones. Even on my S20U I feel they are sharper albeit less colourful compared to 2024 and 2025 phone which process pictures, also widely documented in tech literature nowadays.
Nowadays with back in the day camera phones are all strong cameras even for today's standard, difference is in the software.

GSM Arena misaligned lenses, they may have got a faulty phone, I have not seen this as being a widely reported issue, so I guess most phones are properly made.

Also you are free to purchase whichever phone you like, customer satisfaction is objective.

[arianwen27]

Out of interest, do you have camera assistant set to prioritise focus over speed? Samsung phones will take an unfocused pic to be fast. That setting makes the phone only take pics when it's confident it has focus.

Also should say, the main camera on the s25 isn't too good at close up shots. It's more optimised for a little further away as most people don't take pictures 30cm from an object, then inspect the corners.

The ultra has a camera designed for close up shots

[ValB50]

I have the phone setting set to prioritize quality. I know you can choose from three options: prioritize quality, balance speed and quality, prioritize speed. Trust me, I checked every setting...

[Star_girl]

Hi arianwen27.
My suggestion is, I believe the camera is well equipped enough to take good closed up picture if person is able to stay really still, unless they have focus over speed enabled, as you said, in which case the phone will chose the best frame for the best sharp picture. It's a flagship after all.

[Star_girl]

I believe the camera needs some time to calibrate, I noticed this with Samsung phone or maybe even every phone.

[ValB50]

Yes, GSMArena may have received a faulty phone and it was a navy blue 256GB model, which happens to be the same as mine. I also did some photo tests comparing the main S25 50MP camera to a 9-year-old Huawei Mate 9 phone with a 20MP camera, and the Mate 9 produced clearer photos, especially at the edges of the photo where the S25 made them blurry. I don't know if the 2016 Mate 9 also uses AI for photos, but as tests show, it does a much better job.

[ValB50]

Sorry, this is something I've never heard of before and it sounds like snake oil....‌‌😅 Maybe we should tell the editors at GSMArena that their phone might not actually be faulty and just need time to calibrate.

How would you then explain the difference when the S25's ultrawide camera was compared to the S25+? Was the S25+ camera "calibrated"?

[Star_girl]

There is only one way to find our if your lenses are misaligned, take it to a Samsung shop or to Currys, or other phone shop and ask them to have a look. If not, I suspect blurry pictures are because of AI. Nothing wrong to inspect your camera with diagnostics and tests. This is a flagship phone and I really don't understand what it wouldn't deliver unless it's faulty. Other people are happy with the camera on their S25.

[Star_girl]

Misaligned lenses really sounds like faulty phone, not a question about getting the calibrated camera since it's faulty right away.
I've just found this from GSM Arena themselves. I hope this will help you with your problem as they compare the camera on both phones in this article.
https://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s25_vs_samsung_galaxy_s25_plus_review_battery_camera_price_com...