If the No. 1 thing you care about in a smartphone is the camera, you'll probably want to buy an LG G4.
The new smartphone, which LG showed off for the first time on Tuesday, has the makings of a revolutionary camera.
Warning: It's nerd stat time. The G4's 16-megapixel camera can snap photos in 0.276 seconds, and the camera app launches in just 0.6 seconds. It has a Laser autofocus. It's got a color spectrum sensor that helps the phone sense what the photo will look like before you take it. And it has a three-axis image stabilization so you can take smooth shots while driving over potholes.
Most impressively, it has an aperture of ƒ/1.8 (lower is better, since it lets in more light). The average smartphone has an aperture of ƒ/2.4. The iPhone 6 has an aperture of ƒ/2.2 and the Galaxy S6 is ƒ/1.9. Combined with an image sensor that's 40% larger than the average phone, and you've got yourself a pretty nice camera.
LG showed off some stunning photographs taken with the G4, illustrating how well the camera performed even in some of the lowest-light situations. The company says its camera takes photos that are 49% brighter than the competition.
The trouble with smartphone cameras is that they're pretty limited in the settings department. They let you adjust some items, such as the focus and flash, but that's about it.
The G4 gives you full control over the camera, as if you were using a digital SLR. Shutter speed, ISO light sensitivity and white balance are all adjustable, allowing you to take professional-grade photos (if you know what you're doing).
The phone even lets you save raw images instead of converting them to compressed JPEG files (caution: this will eat up your storage very quickly). For photographers who are more skilled than the average point-and-shoot camera user, that's a nice option for desktop photo editing.
The company didn't get cheap with the selfie camera like some other smartphone makers do. The G4 has an 8 MP front camera, and you can wave at the camera to snap a photo (no selfie stick required).
Since the camera is the G4's most outstanding feature, the smartphone lets you get to the camera app quickly: just double-click the volume down button to open the app, and click it again to snap a photo. The double click option is neat -- but it only works if the phone screen is locked.
If you're in another app or on the homescreen, you'll have to tap on the camera app. It's not a huge deal, but the Motorola Moto X, Samsung Galaxy S6 and all Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) phones have gestures and button taps that open the camera no matter what state your phone is in.
The giant 3,000 milliampere-hour battery is a nice touch too. The company says it will last you more than a day on a single charge -- which is helpful if you're constantly snapping battery-draining photos.
LG hasn't yet said how much the G4 will cost or when it will go on sale. But if you're a photographer, you should stay tuned.
If the No. 1 thing you care about in a smartphone is the camera, you'll probably want to buy an LG G4.
The new smartphone, which LG showed off for the first time on Tuesday, has the makings of a revolutionary camera.
The new smartphone, which LG showed off for the first time on Tuesday, has the makings of a revolutionary camera.
Warning: It's nerd stat time. The G4's 16-megapixel camera can snap photos in 0.276 seconds, and the camera app launches in just 0.6 seconds. It has a Laser autofocus. It's got a color spectrum sensor that helps the phone sense what the photo will look like before you take it. And it has a three-axis image stabilization so you can take smooth shots while driving over potholes.
Most impressively, it has an aperture of ƒ/1.8 (lower is better, since it lets in more light). The average smartphone has an aperture of ƒ/2.4. The iPhone 6 has an aperture of ƒ/2.2 and the Galaxy S6 is ƒ/1.9. Combined with an image sensor that's 40% larger than the average phone, and you've got yourself a pretty nice camera.
LG showed off some stunning photographs taken with the G4, illustrating how well the camera performed even in some of the lowest-light situations. The company says its camera takes photos that are 49% brighter than the competition.
The trouble with smartphone cameras is that they're pretty limited in the settings department. They let you adjust some items, such as the focus and flash, but that's about it.
The G4 gives you full control over the camera, as if you were using a digital SLR. Shutter speed, ISO light sensitivity and white balance are all adjustable, allowing you to take professional-grade photos (if you know what you're doing).
The phone even lets you save raw images instead of converting them to compressed JPEG files (caution: this will eat up your storage very quickly). For photographers who are more skilled than the average point-and-shoot camera user, that's a nice option for desktop photo editing.
The company didn't get cheap with the selfie camera like some other smartphone makers do. The G4 has an 8 MP front camera, and you can wave at the camera to snap a photo (no selfie stick required).
Since the camera is the G4's most outstanding feature, the smartphone lets you get to the camera app quickly: just double-click the volume down button to open the app, and click it again to snap a photo. The double click option is neat -- but it only works if the phone screen is locked.
If you're in another app or on the homescreen, you'll have to tap on the camera app. It's not a huge deal, but the Motorola Moto X, Samsung Galaxy S6 and all Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) phones have gestures and button taps that open the camera no matter what state your phone is in.
The giant 3,000 milliampere-hour battery is a nice touch too. The company says it will last you more than a day on a single charge -- which is helpful if you're constantly snapping battery-draining photos.
LG hasn't yet said how much the G4 will cost or when it will go on sale. But if you're a photographer, you should stay tuned.
If the No. 1 thing you care about in a smartphone is the camera, you'll probably want to buy an LG G4.
The new smartphone, which LG showed off for the first time on Tuesday, has the makings of a revolutionary camera.
Most impressively, it has an aperture of ƒ/1.8 (lower is better, since it lets in more light). The average smartphone has an aperture of ƒ/2.4. The iPhone 6 has an aperture of ƒ/2.2 and the Galaxy S6 is ƒ/1.9. Combined with an image sensor that's 40% larger than the average phone, and you've got yourself a pretty nice camera.
LG showed off some stunning photographs taken with the G4, illustrating how well the camera performed even in some of the lowest-light situations. The company says its camera takes photos that are 49% brighter than the competition.
The trouble with smartphone cameras is that they're pretty limited in the settings department. They let you adjust some items, such as the focus and flash, but that's about it.
The G4 gives you full control over the camera, as if you were using a digital SLR. Shutter speed, ISO light sensitivity and white balance are all adjustable, allowing you to take professional-grade photos (if you know what you're doing).
The phone even lets you save raw images instead of converting them to compressed JPEG files (caution: this will eat up your storage very quickly). For photographers who are more skilled than the average point-and-shoot camera user, that's a nice option for desktop photo editing.
The company didn't get cheap with the selfie camera like some other smartphone makers do. The G4 has an 8 MP front camera, and you can wave at the camera to snap a photo (no selfie stick required).
Since the camera is the G4's most outstanding feature, the smartphone lets you get to the camera app quickly: just double-click the volume down button to open the app, and click it again to snap a photo. The double click option is neat -- but it only works if the phone screen is locked.
If you're in another app or on the homescreen, you'll have to tap on the camera app. It's not a huge deal, but the Motorola Moto X, Samsung Galaxy S6 and all Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) phones have gestures and button taps that open the camera no matter what state your phone is in.
The giant 3,000 milliampere-hour battery is a nice touch too. The company says it will last you more than a day on a single charge -- which is helpful if you're constantly snapping battery-draining photos.
LG hasn't yet said how much the G4 will cost or when it will go on sale. But if you're a photographer, you should stay tuned.
On paper LG has already beaten the Galaxy S6 camera. Still, reality can be very different from theory, so here is everything we know about the exciting LG G4 camera ahead of the phone’s launch tomorrow…
That f/1.8 Lens
It’s clear that one aspect of which the company is most proud is the G4’s main lens. Its f/1.8 aperture is currently the brightest on any smartphone and is a massive improvement on the f/2.4 lens found on the current G3 model. Perhaps more importantly it just pips Samsung’s excellent f/1.9 Galaxy S6 camera at the post- and LG is milking this for all it’s worth in the form of multiple teaser videos such as the one below, based almost entirely on the f/1.8 aperture.
In this second video below, professional photographer Colby Brown takes the G4 for a spin, being sure to mention how “Even a small difference of a F0.1 aperture becomes incredibly important”. This can only be another direct swipe at Samsung, probably timed so as to delay those considering purchasing a Galaxy S6 until after LG has had a chance to show off the G4.
That f/1.8 Lens
It’s clear that one aspect of which the company is most proud is the G4’s main lens. Its f/1.8 aperture is currently the brightest on any smartphone and is a massive improvement on the f/2.4 lens found on the current G3 model. Perhaps more importantly it just pips Samsung’s excellent f/1.9 Galaxy S6 camera at the post- and LG is milking this for all it’s worth in the form of multiple teaser videos such as the one below, based almost entirely on the f/1.8 aperture.
In this second video below, professional photographer Colby Brown takes the G4 for a spin, being sure to mention how “Even a small difference of a F0.1 aperture becomes incredibly important”. This can only be another direct swipe at Samsung, probably timed so as to delay those considering purchasing a Galaxy S6 until after LG has had a chance to show off the G4.
In this second video below, professional photographer Colby Brown takes the G4 for a spin, being sure to mention how “Even a small difference of a F0.1 aperture becomes incredibly important”. This can only be another direct swipe at Samsung, probably timed so as to delay those considering purchasing a Galaxy S6 until after LG has had a chance to show off the G4.
Manual control
More important to photography enthusiasts is the welcome inclusion of manual control over shutter speed, ISO and white balance, which Brown goes on to demonstrate in a later section of the video. This includes long exposures of up to 30sec used to capture light trails, and smooth milky waterfalls.
Long exposure apps can help to achieve similar effects on other smartphones, but these often require using tricks such as combining video frames into a still image, resulting in a significant loss of resolution.
The fact that the G4 can do this with the built in app gives me hope that the camera might support Google GOOGL -0.31%’s camera2 API which would also pave the way for raw image capture, although this is not mentioned in the video.
However, it’s the automatic mode which is likely to be used most often and the quality of auto-mode snaps are what will ultimately determine the better camera for the vast majority of owners. Apple AAPL -1.77% and now Samsung are extremely good at creating a pleasing automatic snapshot and it remains to be seen how well LG can compete with the G4.
The video also suggests that the G4 offers superior ability to capture colour and that the sensor is able to recognise whether you’re shooting indoors or outside. The latter function sounds rather like regular auto white balance to me, but time will tell.
Handling and start-up time
While the Galaxy S6 boasts what is certainly one of the best smartphone cameras I have ever used, the phone’s ultra-thin, glass-coated body makes for terrible handling when taking photos. It’s incredibly fast to switch into camera mode, but you’ll be slowed down by the fact that you have to be so careful when holding the phone – there’s just nowhere to grip it.
By contrast, the G4 (barring the entry-level model) comes with a leather finish, which I imagine will be much less prone to slipping through the fingers.
The Galaxy S6 is also extremely quick when it comes to launching the camera and taking a photo. A Double-tap of the Home button brings up the camera app right away from wherever you happen to be in the user interface and can get you shots other phones will miss.
In another teaser video below, LG demonstrates the G4’s Quick Shot feature which takes a photo immediately on a double-tap of the phone’s rear button. This looks potentially quicker to get a shot, but without access to the controls and settings you would be able to reach via the camera app.
Removable Battery and Storage
Of the few disadvantages to Samsung’s otherwise almost universally acclaimed Galaxy S6, its non-removable battery and lack of SD card support perhaps stand out the most. Both of these features look like they will be supported by the G4: According to information from renowned leaker Evan Blass, the LG G4 will come with 3000mAh removable battery and the familiar microSD slot.
These features could be a boon for smartphone photographers who want to make extended use of that energy-sapping screen as well as the convenience of adding a potentially unlimited amount of storage to the phone, and may well capture the attention of those who have resisted upgrading from the Galaxy S5 in order to retain these functions. If you already have a pricey 200GB microSD card in your current phone, the G4 will give you somewhere to put it.
More Megapixels
While some speculated that the G4 might sport a 13 megapixel camera, Blass’s leaked information claims the new LG model will come with a 16 megapixel sensor, equalling the resolution of the Galaxy S6. It’s also set to retain the optical image stabilsation and laser-assisted focus of its predecessor. Selfie fans can expect a big front camera boost to 8 megapixels, up from 2.1 on the G3.
Cheaper, and yet also more expensive, than the Galaxy S6
Of course, pricing will be a major factor in how well the G4 sells and according to a report in Phone Arena the 32GB model, without the fancy leather exterior, is set to undercut its Samsung counterpart by around ten to twenty Euros. The price difference tips the other way, however, when you step up to the premium LG model which is said to cost 730 Euros (which is still less than the price of the Galaxy S6 Edge).
What questions remain?
Despite the wealth of pre-launch information, we still don’t know much about video, raw capture support or, more importantly, whether it reliably takes good photos. With any luck, these questions will be answered tomorrow, along with whether or not LG has managed to create a credible alternative to Samsung.
These early details look very promising, but the the Galaxy S6 is a very tough act to follow and it will definitely take more than just an f/1.8 lens to pull it off.
