Terrible Camera Quality On My S25 Ultra

[brotz68]

About 4 days ago, I received my brand new Galaxy S25 Ultra. Everything has been wonderful, except for the camera performance. I have an S24 Ultra that I've been doing camera comparisons with, and in almost every scenario, my S24 Ultra wins by a long shot. It's almost like I can't take a single good picture with my S25 Ultra. 

The areas that look the worst are low-light photos. In low light, the S25 Ultra overprocesses pictures like crazy, which often results in a "smeared" look, with crazy artifacts everywhere. Low light photos consistently look like oil paintings with how aggressive the processing is. There were a few shots I took in very low light in my backyard that had some awful artifacting in the sky. The images have strange patterns, and only cover the very top of the pictures.

Most shots in normal lighting are extremely grainy, dark, and often times blurry and less detailed than my S24 Ultra. This is massively disappointing for a phone worth the price of a good gaming computer. 

I'm genuinely concerned as to whether or not this issue is software related, or it's a hardware problem, specific to my unit. If there's anyone who can help me here, please, feel free to let me know. I'll provide some pictures to give examples. 

[Helenna]

Hi brotz68,

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. We understand how frustrating it can be to expect an upgrade in camera performance, only to see unexpected results.

Based on your description, it sounds like the aggressive processing, particularly in low-light conditions, could be a software-related issue. Samsung often fine-tunes camera performance through updates after launch, so we recommend checking for any available software updates under Settings > Software Update > Download and Install.

Troubleshooting Steps:

Reset Camera Settings – Go to Camera Settings > Reset Settings and test again.
Turn Off Scene Optimizer – This can sometimes cause excessive processing.
Use Expert RAW – Try capturing low-light shots in Expert RAW mode to see if the results are better.
Check Camera Firmware – Settings > Apps > Camera > Camera Settings to see if an update is available.
Test Safe Mode – Restart your device in Safe Mode (Press and hold power > Tap & hold "Power Off" > Select "Safe Mode") to see if third-party apps are affecting camera performance.

We appreciate your feedback and will pass this along to the team. Please keep us updated!

[brotz68]

Hi there,
I did attempt most of what you suggested to possibly resolve the issues I've been having. I've tried checking for software updates, camera firmware updates, resetting camera settings, trying Expert RAW, turning off scene optimizer, and trying a third-party camera application. The only "fix" I seem to have found is turning off scene optimizer. With scene optimizer off, pictures are cleaner, less grainy, and more natural. Without scene optimizer, though, pictures often lack extra processing to fix darkened areas or excessive grain, and it's a feature that I expect Samsung to fix and restore its intended functionality. Expert RAW also has its own set of issues, with even more aggressive processing in low-light situations, and worse artifacting in extremely low-light conditions. Expert RAW also shows strange grid-like lines around brighter lights, particularly coloured lights, like LED strip lights, standing light bars, etc. So far, I've resorted to staying away from scene optimizer, not using night mode, only using Expert RAW in medium low-light conditions, and avoiding Expert RAW in very bright light, as well as very low light. These are areas that I expect Samsung to fix soon. I did brace myself for launch issues with software, as any new generation devices usually experience. Thank you for reaching out to help resolve these issues.

[Tallman]

How about if you turn off Super HDR under Advanced features, is it still the same? I have not test the night photography yet. But this looks like over exposure. Is photo took in auto mide or night mode?

[brotz68]

Specifically taken in night mode, not auto. Images produced in auto result in the same strange issues. I turned off Super HDR, as well as any other sharpening or enhancements.

[vikirules]

I am facing same issue. See thread: https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/galaxy-s25-series/camera-has-horizontal-and-vertical-lines-in-lo...

I have started the return for the device.

[brotz68]

Many users are reporting this issue, and it does look to be a hardware fault. However, I've noticed that there's inconsistencies. Taking low-light images without scene optimizer on and or night mode does not present this problem. I have noticed that the only lens producing the issue is the main wide 200MP camera. I have not noticed any banding in good lighting when taking pictures on my S25 Ultra. I do personally believe that this is software related. If it were hardware related, this issue would present itself always, regardless of lighting conditions. Take these shots, for example, which have no signs of banding or artifacting. You can definitely return your unit, as it guarantees Samsung's time and focus into the issue. Again, something to take into consideration is how many other individuals are experiencing the exact same issue. It's extremely improbable that Samsung would ship countless devices that suffer from the exact same hardware fault. I think I'm going to wait it out until Samsung addresses the issue, because of two possible outcomes: One, Samsung releases a software patch for the issues, or two, Samsung offers replacement devices to those who are affected.

[TheaM]

The photo of the room clearly shows very unsightly errors and artifacts. Take a look at the ceiling of the room... the color artifacts are very creepy and you can also see them in daylight sky photos. You just have to edit such a photo a bit, e.g. with Snapseed, and then it becomes even clearer. This is absolutely unacceptable for such a device.

[brotz68]

You are right that there are some errors on the ceiling, and in the backyard, I did notice that the fence is far too dark. The main thing here is that the artifacts vary. If each image produced the same errors, it would be clear that there is a hardware fault at play. However, every picture is different. The best results turn out in Expert RAW. Daytime shots in Expert RAW show far less artifacts, errors, colour correction issues, etc. It's truly unacceptable to have to use a separate application just to take pictures with the quality that Samsung advertises. My point regarding these images is how they don't suffer from the lines people (like myself) are reporting, as well as the strange patterns that appear in astrophotography.

[Tsandoval]

I usually take pictures of the moon with my S22 ultra. Yesterday I have tried the S5 ultra after receiving it and try a couple of shots...the patterns you mention are extremely visible due to processing, the problem is that for moon shots is almost impossible to deactivate this...to be honest not even against my old S22 ultra I think the S25 ultra is a big improvement 

 

 

[brotz68]

Coming from an S24 Ultra, it's very hard seeing these issues present themselves in images that would otherwise look phenomenal, but don't on my S25 Ultra. Your moon shot showcases exactly what I mentioned before, having artifacts plague the image. The picture still looks really good, but it would definitely look better without the horrible artifacting. Many users seem to believe that this problem has to do with the actual camera sensors themselves being defective, but it doesn't make any sense. The 200MP wide sensor on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is exactly the same as the sensor on the S24 Ultra. The only hardware change in the camera department on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the ultra-wide sensor, which has been upgraded to 50MP, providing a substantial increase in detail. Given this information, it's very, very doubtful that the S25 Ultra is suffering from a mass hardware defect. The processes to manufacture and assemble these devices has not changed since the S24 Ultra's release, which means that, unless someone is sabotaging camera batches, or there's a machining fault somewhere in the production process, these cameras cannot be defective. There aren't many reports that I could find on this issue, but it's definitely there on thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of Galaxy S25 Ultra units. Samsung is currently in the process of rolling out a 24GB firmware update for the S25 Ultra, which we should hopefully see before launch day on February 7th. Keep a look out.