Is it time to upgrade? All I care about is the camera. (from S21Ultra)

413x · 27 Jul 2024 at 22:12

So I've had my S21Ultra from second hand refurb for a while now.

Phones have gotten to the point where I don't need anything else.

But. I'm always interested in camera performance deltas from my phone.

I mainly use the 0.6, 1 and sometimes 3x modes.

10x is used mainly as a tool (is that person really naked in their window?...) because the photos are terrible.

Ideally I wouldn't move away from Samsung as it's just easier not to.

Opinions?

radderfire · 27 Jul 2024 at 22:20

Seeing that we're now on the S24 Ultra, which is 3 years of technology advancement, I expect the cameras will have improved quite substantially.

413x · 27 Jul 2024 at 22:35

radderfire said:
Seeing that we're now on the S24 Ultra, which is 3 years of technology advancement, I expect the cameras will have improved quite substantially.

On paper not much. (ie tech specs) obviously I know there's a hell of a lot in post processing. But really.. I'm not sure it's worth the cost.

I looked at a refurb s23 ultra. But with the trade in on s24 ultra, it's barely any different for the 1TB s24 ultra brand new vs s23 ultra refurb!

Looks like you get..
1350 (phone cost)
310 off for trade in
150 cashback
5 percent cashback

Basically brings it down to 850.
I paid 500 for my s21 ultra today refurb.

Sin_Chase · 29 Jul 2024 at 14:10

Im on a S21 Ultra and would not change to a S24 just for camera improvements. There are improvements (some more subjective than others) but I dont think its worth the cash.

There are quite a few youtube videos that compare performance when you search for s24 vs s21 camera for example.

throwaway4372 · 29 Jul 2024 at 14:13

not remotely close to worth doing imo, your phone is still great.

I recently moved from samsung to google pixel, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of bloat, I'd recommend going google pixel for your next phone. Photos weren't important to me, but pixels get praised for photo quality, so look into that. 7 years of updates too, putting your personal finance hat on you can do a lot better than samsung flagships in terms of value for money.

Rob_B · 29 Jul 2024 at 14:58

I was on an S21U, went to an S23U a few months ago (cost me £530 refurb but was minty mint). The general day to day camera performance is the same but the 10X on the S23U is noticably better, it may just be processing but I put them side by side and can easy tell.

If that's worth the cost to upgrade?..There are obviously other changes but only you can answer that.

413x · 29 Jul 2024 at 17:42

Thanks guys. Just checking as if I was gonna do it I was going to do it before holiday.

But I don't care about anything else at all. So I'll just keep it.

kona786 · 29 Jul 2024 at 19:11

throwaway4372 said:
not remotely close to worth doing imo, your phone is still great.

I recently moved from samsung to google pixel, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of bloat, I'd recommend going google pixel for your next phone. Photos weren't important to me, but pixels get praised for photo quality, so look into that. 7 years of updates too, putting your personal finance hat on you can do a lot better than samsung flagships in terms of value for money.

Ssshhhh... We don't want everyone having pixels now with great cameras. It's nice knowing our pics come out better than theirs.

413x · 1 Aug 2024 at 23:15

throwaway4372 said:
not remotely close to worth doing imo, your phone is still great.

I recently moved from samsung to google pixel, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of bloat, I'd recommend going google pixel for your next phone. Photos weren't important to me, but pixels get praised for photo quality, so look into that. 7 years of updates too, putting your personal finance hat on you can do a lot better than samsung flagships in terms of value for money.

I quite like the Samsung look. I like the slightly saturated colours. To date I've never really been keen on the comparisons with the pixels.