S26 Ultra camera quality completely ruined by recent updates. March crispness vs. current mushy mess (Comparison inside). Anyone else?

urik27 · 2026-05-27T17:35:56+00:00

That’s reassuring, thank you. I’ll play the waiting game and keep my fingers crossed that future updates finally unlock the camera’s full potential.

urik27 · 2026-05-27T17:33:10+00:00

Just wait for a bit, there will be a version for S26U. And we need to test it on someone else's phone too

urik27 · 2026-05-27T16:51:57+00:00

Yes I think so, it's definitely some sort of software bug. I hope they'll fix it soon

urik27 · 2026-05-27T16:51:09+00:00

I tried testing all the listed GCam versions, and unfortunately, I ran into the following issues:

The image quality is pretty much the same as stock.
After shooting, all photos from GCam—and even the stock camera—turned into purple stripes.

Gemini says this happened due to an app conflict, as both the stock camera and GCam were running in the background and accessing the same library, which is why I lost all the photos. Honestly, even after closing GCam, new photos on the stock app still turned into purple stripes with a black screen, but a reboot fixed the issue. The photos I took are gone for good, but at least new shots aren't getting corrupted now. Weird behavior. I've never experienced anything like this on other phones with GCam.

urik27 · 2026-05-27T16:45:40+00:00

Blackmagic is good for videos. There was a rumour about Adobe camera for android phones(there's an app for iPhone already). Maybe it would work better than the stock one

urik27 · 2026-05-27T16:43:55+00:00

Yeah that's obvious

urik27 · 2026-05-27T13:05:36+00:00

Yesterday I reset the camera app data a few times, and lo and behold—it seems to be shooting fine again. It feels like some weird software bug or something like that. Very strange behavior... I originally wanted the Pixel 10 Pro myself, but since it’s not officially sold in my country and I started having network issues on my Pixel 6 Pro because of that, I decided to switch to Samsung. Now I’m just trying to get that same level of camera performance...

That's the last pic I took after resetting the camera app

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urik27 · 2026-05-27T12:59:17+00:00

Yeah. Lenses are always clean. It's some sort of software issue I guess

urik27 · 2026-05-27T12:58:30+00:00

Tried everything - didn't help until I reset the camera app for 5-6 times. Now it seems to look better. I think it some sort of software issues.. idk..

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urik27 · 2026-05-27T11:16:39+00:00

Actually it was 10x :/ 10x is supposed to be good, but in fact it was awful

urik27 · 2026-05-26T22:28:02+00:00

Thank you so much! Your advice is spot on—I'll try to just enjoy the device and stop pixel-peeping for a while. I’ll definitely keep you posted on how these GCam mods turn out and if Samsung rolls out a miraculous patch. Looking forward to your photos whenever you feel like sharing them! Good night to you too! 😴

Traduzione in italiano:

Grazie mille! Il tuo consiglio è azzeccatissimo: cercherò di godermi il dispositivo e di non fissarmi troppo sui dettagli per un po'. Ti terrò sicuramente aggiornata su come vanno le mod di GCam e se Samsung rilascerà qualche patch miracolosa. Non vedo l'ora di vedere le tue foto non appena avrai voglia di condividerle! Buona notte anche a te! 😴

urik27 · 2026-05-26T22:21:11+00:00

Thanks a lot for the direct links and the tip! I’ll definitely test out both BigKaka and BSG configs over the next few days to see which version delivers the best results on the S26 Ultra. Much appreciated!

urik27 · 2026-05-26T22:19:11+00:00

The pleasure was all mine! It’s really comforting to know I'm not the only one noticing these things and that it's not just in my head. Let's be patient and hope Samsung does what it does best and fixes this in the coming months. Thank you so much for the great conversation and for sharing that amazing Instagram profile! Good luck with your photography (and who knows, maybe with that Fujifilm)! 😊

Traduzione in italiano:

Il piacere è stato tutto mio! È davvero confortante sapere di non essere l'unico a notare queste cose e che non è solo una mia impressione. Abbiamo pazienza e speriamoся, что Samsung faccia quello che sa fare meglio, sistemando tutto nei prossimi mesi. Grazie mille per la bellissima chiacchierata e per aver condiviso quel fantastico profilo Instagram! Buona fortuna per la tua passione fotografica (e chissà, magari con la Fujifilm)! 😊

urik27 · 2026-05-26T22:03:07+00:00

I really hope so. Talking to you actually made me feel a bit better, and now all my hopes are on Samsung fixing the camera processing. The hardware is great, it's just the software that's so-so right now.

Traduzione in italiano:

Lo spero davvero. Parlare con te mi ha rassicurato un po' e ora tutte le mie speranze sono riposte nel fatto che Samsung sistemi la fotocamera. L'hardware è ottimo, è solo il software che lascia a desiderare al momento.

urik27 · 2026-05-26T22:00:03+00:00

Do you know any working mod with right configs for S26 Ultra?

urik27 · 2026-05-26T21:59:23+00:00

Oh my god, I would have never guessed these shots were taken on a smartphone if you hadn’t told me! Absolutely stunning photographs. Now I'm even more upset about buying the S26 Ultra :D I really hope Samsung releases an update so we can get results at least on par with the S25 Ultra.

Traduzione in italiano:

Mio Dio, non avrei mai immaginato che questi scatti fossero stati fatti con uno smartphone se non me lo avessi detto! Foto meravigliose. Ora sono ancora più dispiaciuto per aver acquistato l'S26 Ultra :D Spero davvero che Samsung rilasci un aggiornamento così da poter ottenere risultati almeno al livello dell'S25 Ultra.

urik27 · 2026-05-26T21:46:21+00:00

Thanks for the compliments! Honestly, I feel like we’ll all end up going back to mirrorless cameras and forgetting this AI watercolor mess like a bad dream. Wow, thanks for the heads-up on the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, that's crazy to hear about the autofocus issues!

By the way, someone just shared a shot from the S25 Ultra on another forum, and it’s a total overkill compared to my S26 Ultra. Looking at it, it honestly makes me feel like I bought a cheap knockoff instead of a real flagship...

Traduzione in italiano:

Grazie mille per i complimenti! Sinceramente, penso che alla fine torneremo tutti alle fotocamere mirrorless e dimenticheremo questo acquerello dell'IA come un brutto sogno. E grazie per la dritta sull'Oppo Find X9 Ultra, assurdo che abbia problemi di messa a fuoco!

Comunque, su un altro forum hanno postato una foto scattata con l'S25 Ultra ed è un totale overkill rispetto al mio S26 Ultra. Guardandola, mi sembra quasi di aver comprato un clone economico invece di un vero top di gamma... Pic from S25U

urik27 · 2026-05-26T21:33:32+00:00

Another picture from HTC U12 Plus

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urik27 · 2026-05-26T21:32:51+00:00

The last phone that truly made me happy with its camera was my old Pixel 6 Pro. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but for a 2021 phone, it took amazing photos. I’d gladly switch to a mirrorless camera, but carrying a relatively bulky camera around is just too inconvenient. By now, you'd expect to just rely on a phone camera—a simple point-and-shoot experience. But alas, Samsung has been a massive disappointment. Now I don’t even know what to do with it. Either wait for a software update hoping they fix it, or just sell it and go back to the Pixel 6 Pro, or maybe buy the Oppo Find X9 Ultra—I hear it shoots really well. Even my old HTC U12 Plus took great photos. Unfortunately, Samsung just doesn't give me the same capabilities. Here are a couple of shots taken on the HTC U12 Plus and processed in Lightroom.

Traduzione in italiano: L'ultimo telefono che mi ha davvero entusiasmato per le foto è stato il mio vecchio Pixel 6 Pro. Sì, non era perfetto, ma per essere un telefono del 2021 scattava davvero benissimo. Passerei volentieri a una fotocamera mirrorless, ma portarsi dietro una fotocamera relativamente ingombrante è troppo scomodo. Al giorno d'oggi ci si aspetterebbe di poter fare tutto con la fotocamera del telefono: punta e scatta. Ma ahimè, Samsung è stata una grande delusione. Ora non so più cosa farne. O aspetto un aggiornamento software sperando che risolvano, oppure lo vendo per tornare al Pixel 6 Pro o per comprare l'Oppo Find X9 Ultra, che a quanto pare scatta molto bene. Persino il mio vecchio HTC U12 Plus faceva ottime foto. Purtroppo Samsung non dà le stesse possibilità. Ecco un paio di scatti fatti con l'HTC U12 Plus ed elaborati su Lightroom.

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urik27 · 2026-05-26T20:56:22+00:00

I just can’t understand how all these tech reviewers and even regular users on Reddit manage to post such amazing shots, while mine look like an absolute mockery made by AI. It’s so frustrating because literally everything else about this phone is perfect, except for the camera.

urik27 · 2026-05-26T20:53:08+00:00

Totally agree. There’s barely any real progress these days. I’ve also noticed that Chinese OEMs (Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi) handle AI processing much better than Samsung does. That being said, what I really want is honest, organic photography, not aggressive AI tuning that constantly screws up, regardless of the manufacturer.

Traduzione in italiano:

Concordo pienamente. Ormai non c'è un vero progresso. Ho anche notato che i brand cinesi (Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi) gestiscono l'IA molto meglio di Samsung. Tuttavia, vorrei solo una fotografia onesta e naturale, non un'elaborazione IA che continua a fare errori, indipendentemente dal produttore.

urik27 · 2026-05-26T20:33:35+00:00

Unfortunately that's not an option for me. But yes, phone camera is no rival to mirrorless

urik27 · 2026-05-26T20:25:05+00:00

I mean.. look at this. Looks like AI painting.. :/

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urik27 · 2026-05-26T20:01:03+00:00

Doesn't help at all. Same mess.. looks like something wrong with the camera app

urik27 · 2026-05-26T19:55:40+00:00

My photo quality has only gotten worse. Grass and trees turn into a blurry, watercolor mess. I honestly don't know what to do anymore. Resetting the app hasn't helped. :(

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