S24U, S23U, S22U, S21U...camera. Anyone with multiples of these.. Are. Any of them stand out vs prior ones?

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Starting to get peed off with the camera damage on my s21u (water ingress causing a reflection in top corner).

But the price of s24u is just too much at the moment.

I know cameras don't improve linearly across models. And (as example) s22u might be much better than s21u and s23u basically same as S22U.

So if anyone has tried all these.. Is there a sweet spot?

Don't care about any other features.
 
I went S21U to S23U, definitely some noticeable changes in camera for the better. 10x lens for example is a clearer more detailed image.

It's gonna depend on the price difference between models but I'm happy with the upgrade.
 
Same as above, I went from S21U to S23U and it was a solid enough upgrade from camera point of view.

Saying that I always found main camera to be too bright so constantly drag exposure slide down, S24U and S25U will use the same sensor as far as rumours go.

Ultrawide was identical between S23U and S24U I believe and x10 sensor got switched for x5 with better F stop, some people still argue if that was an upgrade.

Seeing how next model isn't bringing anything exciting to the table apart from new ultrawide sensor, I'm almost getting tempted by Pixel 9 line now that battery life has been significantly improved.
 
Thanks all.
If sensors are same (5x/10x being of least use) then s23u might be best

95 percent of my photos/videos are 1x/0.6x

Same as above, I went from S21U to S23U and it was a solid enough upgrade from camera point of view.

Saying that I always found main camera to be too bright so constantly drag exposure slide down, S24U and S25U will use the same sensor as far as rumours go.

Ultrawide was identical between S23U and S24U I believe and x10 sensor got switched for x5 with better F stop, some people still argue if that was an upgrade.

Seeing how next model isn't bringing anything exciting to the table apart from new ultrawide sensor, I'm almost getting tempted by Pixel 9 line now that battery life has been significantly improved.

Yeah. The video looks better on pixel I have to say. Pics are more blow for blow between top Google and top Samsung.

It'll probably be something I never care about after buying.
 
I skipped the S21 series, but did go from S10e to S20 5G > S22U > S23U > S24U > Pixel 9 Pro XL.

One thing about Pixel camera is that the HDR+ processing is considerably better in low and complex light vs S24 Ultra. The computational processing is just much more matured on Pixel here. Will Samsung update it for S26 or in One UI 7 as rumoured? Remains to be seen.

Video recording on the 24U is still leading though as 4K 660fps is more stable with H-panning motions, though the HDR processing again is better on Pixel. In normal lighting both are neck and neck in general scenes but again in complex scenes I feel the Pixel 9 edges it and the ultrawide camera on the Pixel is just better than S24U, there's very little variance in switching between ultra wide, wide and zoom on the Pixels whereas the exposure shift and white balance is very clear when recording on the S24 which again highlights Google's more matured computational processing.

Stepping away from camera though, I think in my 19cm hand the Pixel feels much more ergonomic than the S24U, especially the curved corners which i did not think I would appreciate this much.
 
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There were no deals this black friday on phones that were special

Still rocking s21u

Tempted by s23u refurb as new cameras seem to be marginal at best.
Also tempted by pixel9 xl pro.
But will wait for a deal.
 
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The S24U is a better camera than the S23U for ref, the video recording is also better with higher quality and framerates at 4K as well as lens switching during recording etc.
 
The S24U is a better camera than the S23U for ref, the video recording is also better with higher quality and framerates at 4K as well as lens switching during recording etc.

Better enough to be worth it?

You've tried a lot of these. (pixel 9 xl Pro, last few Samsung ultras). Any particular preference?

I know I like the slightly more vibrant Samsung look. I tend to find reality is somewhere between. The flatter colours of the pixel and the slight over saturated Samsung.. But prefer the latter.
 
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For the camera it will ultimately be down to what features of the camera you use the most, for me it was video recording and the dynamic range which offers me the most versatility to then process my photos using my own Lightroom custom presets like I do on desktop. The S24U camera seemed to have the better dynamic range although I am sure Samsung could have added that to the 23U as well if they wanted given what Google have been doing for years on Pixel. But some hardware features like the 4k 60fps recording and being able to swap lenses whilst recording at that rate was a bit selling point to warrant the upgrade as well for me.

The OLED vibrancy was a non issue for me as I put all of them in the natural colour mode for the most accurate colours. Everything else is much of a muchness as the top end of phones are so close in performance and OS that it will be a decider based on feel in the hand, aesthetics etc.
 
For the camera it will ultimately be down to what features of the camera you use the most, for me it was video recording and the dynamic range which offers me the most versatility to then process my photos using my own Lightroom custom presets like I do on desktop. The S24U camera seemed to have the better dynamic range although I am sure Samsung could have added that to the 23U as well if they wanted given what Google have been doing for years on Pixel. But some hardware features like the 4k 60fps recording and being able to swap lenses whilst recording at that rate was a bit selling point to warrant the upgrade as well for me.

The OLED vibrancy was a non issue for me as I put all of them in the natural colour mode for the most accurate colours. Everything else is much of a muchness as the top end of phones are so close in performance and OS that it will be a decider based on feel in the hand, aesthetics etc.

Thanks. Yeah I will probably just got for the better deal.
Didn't really think of the in hand feel. As I look at my s21 it's more rounded than the newer ultras.

May end up just going with the best deal in the end. Although I'm not a fan of the pixel phone colours. Know it Sounds silly but I like a nice colour phone.
 
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