**** The Official Samsung Galaxy S20 Family Thread ****

Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2006
Posts
2,277
Thought I'd give it one last chance over the weekend. It's now boxed up and ready to go back.

The final straw was when I took some photos of my cat and it was still completely smoothing his face at the expense of detail as well as adding an unnecessary amount of sharpening and contrast. I still just can't believe how they've built something that has such great photographic specs on paper but is so let down by ultra aggressive image processing even when HDR/beauty/scene enhancer are all turned off.

One final point. It sounds like Samsung are going to have a disaster with the S20 range regardless of the unfortunate launch timing. Hopefully on the other side manufacturers will realise they need to stop charging ridiculous prices too if they're going to have any real success (this was another issue I wasn't particularly happy about).

What a shame.
Did you install the recent update which included a camera update?
 
Associate
Joined
2 Jan 2012
Posts
683
Thought I'd give it one last chance over the weekend. It's now boxed up and ready to go back.

The final straw was when I took some photos of my cat and it was still completely smoothing his face at the expense of detail as well as adding an unnecessary amount of sharpening and contrast. I still just can't believe how they've built something that has such great photographic specs on paper but is so let down by ultra aggressive image processing even when HDR/beauty/scene enhancer are all turned off.

One final point. It sounds like Samsung are going to have a disaster with the S20 range regardless of the unfortunate launch timing. Hopefully on the other side manufacturers will realise they need to stop charging ridiculous prices too if they're going to have any real success (this was another issue I wasn't particularly happy about).

What a shame.

This is a bit of a shocker. I was thinking of upgrading from my galaxy s10+ but I think I will wait to see what the Note 20 is like, maybe even wait until the S21 or whatever.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Jul 2008
Posts
4,363
This is a bit of a shocker. I was thinking of upgrading from my galaxy s10+ but I think I will wait to see what the Note 20 is like, maybe even wait until the S21 or whatever.

My advice would be to go and have a play with it in store. I've been back on my S8+ all day and I can certainly live with it for a while longer. I'll miss the 120hz display which is glorious but to be honest as soon as you're 'unadjusted' to it you don't really notice.

I'll give Samsung another go next time round but there's not a chance I'll order it without trying it first.

Knowing my luck Samsung will shortly release a statement and patch which dramatically reduces the image processing ha.
 
Associate
Joined
30 May 2007
Posts
1,076
Location
London
The only downside is that the camera on the ultra seems to struggle to focus when zooming over 10x, though when it does, the images you can capture from distance are hilarious (licentiate etc).

Thanks for your thoughts. It is the camera reports on here and elsewhere that is holding me back. It's a lot of money for the S20 Ultra and I'd expect a tangible improvement over the Mate 20 Pro, and not sure that is what I would get...
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jun 2006
Posts
3,449
Location
UK
I meant licence plate.

One thing I really do prefer is the flatter screen.

The curves are far less pronounced at the edge.

So better for browsing/media.
 
Associate
Joined
28 Sep 2004
Posts
482
Location
Buckinghamshire
Was supposed to get my Buds+ delivered yesterday via Yodel...……..a completely useless company. Delivery to work as everyone thought they would be working normally. Driver ignores 2 x A3 notices on front doors saying all deliveries to the rear and Goods In, leaves a card. I update Yodel website to get delivered to home as requested, says see you tomorrow ! Today, no email about delivery from Yodel, no online tracking update. Contact them via webchat to be eventually told they have been returned to the supplier and to contact them. Update on the Yodel website suddenly changes to contact your supplier.
Emailed Samsung, not hopeful of getting a reply though considering the current situation.

Found a phone number for the claim support, called it and after a big list of options got to speak to someone who said they will send another set to my home address, so looks like Samsung are on the case quickly.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
20 Jul 2008
Posts
4,363
Final rant from me then I'm done sharing my frustrations. I'm still lost for words how absurd the image enhancing is on the S20 series. Even Instagram doesn't "enhance" photos this much with the most aggressive settings applied...

S20 Pro Mode shot in DNG (except for the sky being too blue this is fairly faithful to what the scene looks like in real life, proving the hardware is actually very capable)


S20 in standard Photo mode. HDR off, image enhancers off, beauty mode off.


Finally just to give you a comparison this is the S8+. Bit of sharpening and enhancing going on, but acceptable to most tastes and shows just how aggressive it is on the S20.


Now I understand the middle S20 image may appeal to some but IMO this is not usable. If you want to make your images look like a cartoon you can do that in Photoshop or Instagram. This should not be the standard way the phone renders JPGs.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2006
Posts
2,277
So my EE pre-order just arrived - I didn't get round to cancelling it. It does feel like a nice bit of kit thus far.

They seem to be sending unlocked and unbranded devices - just tested a 3 simcard which worked - how do I tell whether this device is actually the same as Samsung are selling from their website? EE's website states that every device they sell are locked.
 
Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2006
Posts
2,277
Final rant from me then I'm done sharing my frustrations. I'm still lost for words how absurd the image enhancing is on the S20 series.

S20 Pro Mode shot in DNG (this is exactly what the scene looks like in real life, proving the hardware is actually very capable)


S20 in standard Photo mode. HDR off, image enhancers off, beauty mode off.


Finally just to give you a comparison this is the S8+. Bit of sharpening and enhancing going on, but acceptable to most tastes and shows just how aggressive it is on the S20.

Very nice garden!

Are you keeping the device then buddy?
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Jul 2008
Posts
4,363
So my EE pre-order just arrived - I didn't get round to cancelling it. It does feel like a nice bit of kit thus far.

They seem to be sending unlocked and unbranded devices - just tested a 3 simcard which worked - how do I tell whether this device is actually the same as Samsung are selling from their website? EE's website states that every device they sell are locked.

I'm sure I remember reading somewhere they lock to the network of the first sim you put in.

I ordered my "locked" S8+ from O2 several years ago yet popped my Vodafone sim in and it worked with no issues.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Jul 2008
Posts
4,363
Very nice garden!

Are you keeping the device then buddy?

Honestly, I really 'really' wanted to keep this phone as the display is stunning but I just cannot live with that camera. Every single photo I take just screams out at me, even if it's a silly selfie or snap of something to send on WhatsApp. It might be I'm a keen photographer so I'm more sensitive to photos that have been artificially sharpened or over-saturated but I can't live with it. I also can't see a scenario where they'll acknowledge it and turn it down a few notches as I imagine most consumers won't even notice how fake the photos are.

I thought about accepting it and just using Pro mode all the time but for me that completely defeats the point of having a state of the art phone with a supposedly reliable point and shoot camera.

DPD picking it up today :(
 
Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2006
Posts
2,277
I'm sure I remember reading somewhere they lock to the network of the first sim you put in.

I ordered my "locked" S8+ from O2 several years ago yet popped my Vodafone sim in and it worked with no issues.
I popped the 3 SIM card in and then EE - worked find. EE have been having stock issues thus, maybe they just purchased a load of BTU models?
 
Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2006
Posts
2,277
Honestly, I really 'really' wanted to keep this phone as the display is stunning but I just cannot live with that camera. Every single photo I take just screams out at me, even if it's a silly selfie or snap of something to send on WhatsApp. It might be I'm a keen photographer so I'm more sensitive to photos that have been artificially sharpened or over-saturated but I can't live with it. I also can't see a scenario where they'll acknowledge it and turn it down a few notches as I imagine most consumers won't even notice how fake the photos are.

I thought about accepting it and just using Pro mode all the time but for me that completely defeats the point of having a state of the art phone with a supposedly reliable point and shoot camera.

DPD picking it up today :(

Bit of a shame, because as you same, in RAW the camera is competent - hopefully an update might fix it?
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Jul 2008
Posts
4,363
Bit of a shame, because as you same, in RAW the camera is competent - hopefully an update might fix it?

The thing is they'll have done focus groups on this and decided that most people prefer the blown out, artificially enhanced images.

Sadly, I think Samsung are behind the curve. People want their Instagram posts and social media content to have that 'professional look'. Yet professional images are shot on proper cameras and are usually very controlled images - rarely do you see toxic green grass or cobalt blue skies. Nothing looks more amateur than cranking up the saturation and contrast to 100 - sadly Samsung give you no choice in the matter as the phone does it for you.

Fingers crossed they'll get more feedback on this (a lot of professional reviews have complained about it) and tone it down for the next generation. Some of my posts come across quite strongly but at the end of the day I've been a loyal Samsung fan for years so I don't have anything against them, I'm just bitterly disappointed at how marketing-led they've become.

The simple solution would be to have all this image enhancing nonsense turned on by default "for the masses" and have an option hidden away in settings to turn it off completely for those who want to.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Apr 2007
Posts
5,255
Sadly, I think Samsung are behind the curve. People want their Instagram posts and social media content to have that 'professional look'. Yet professional images are shot on proper cameras and are usually very controlled images - rarely do you see toxic green grass or cobalt blue skies. Nothing looks more amateur than cranking up the saturation and contrast to 100 - sadly Samsung give you no choice in the matter as the phone does it for you.

This is a wider subject than just the S20 of course, but every single professional photo I see has been modified in software and the colours are always exaggerated for impact rather than being altered so that they're washed out. I also read an article recently from a pro photographer where he compared the Pixel 4 to his DSLR and every single one of his photos was adjusted in software after he took them and he stated that many of them took hours of work to get where he was happy with them. This idea that a professional takes a photo and accepts it as done doesn't reflect my (admittedly limited) experience in how photographers work.

As you say, I'm sure Samsung have done their homework on this, though that doesn't necessarily mean they're right or wrong. They're just giving what they think the majority of their customers are looking for.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Jul 2008
Posts
4,363
This is a wider subject than just the S20 of course, but every single professional photo I see has been modified in software and the colours are always exaggerated for impact rather than being altered so that they're washed out. I also read an article recently from a pro photographer where he compared the Pixel 4 to his DSLR and every single one of his photos was adjusted in software after he took them and he stated that many of them took hours of work to get where he was happy with them. This idea that a professional takes a photo and accepts it as done doesn't reflect my (admittedly limited) experience in how photographers work.

As you say, I'm sure Samsung have done their homework on this, though that doesn't necessarily mean they're right or wrong. They're just giving what they think the majority of their customers are looking for.

I don't disagree with you. When I shoot in RAW with my Fuji I'll often spend long periods of time in Lightroom processing. The key point though is that it's a unique process for each image, it's not a blanket 'crank up the contrast and saturation to 100' approach. Furthermore, the source file from my camera is usually fairly faithful to the scene, the camera is not making decisions or pre-enhancing the image for me.

Whilst I don't necessarily want to go through that lengthy process with my phone. I do expect to be able to snap a JPEG and have something that is fairly representative and faithful of the scene. I can then easily crank up the colours or sharpness should I wish. My frustration is the S20+ robs me of that choice and produces JPEGs which are frankly god-awful.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Aug 2006
Posts
8,317
Galaxy buds arrived today. I like the idea of wireless bud headphones but as suspected the sound quality isn't a patch on my Focal Sphear wired earphones, so I think I'll move them on.

Out of interest does anyone have any wireless headphones they'd recommend with better sound quality?
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2007
Posts
21,758
Location
Downtown
Galaxy buds arrived today. I like the idea of wireless bud headphones but as suspected the sound quality isn't a patch on my Focal Sphear wired earphones, so I think I'll move them on.

Out of interest does anyone have any wireless headphones they'd recommend with better sound quality?

Jaybird Vista. I have them and find them great for fit, design and sound quality.

If you want the sound quality over all features the wait for the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 2, due out from tomorrow.
 
Back
Top Bottom