The LG G4 Review
by Joshua Ho on July 30, 2015 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Qualcomm
- LG
- Mobile
- Snapdragon 808
- LG G4
Video Performance
Along the same lines as still image performance, video performance is evaluated by using relative comparisons with various smartphones. However, unlike still image testing we attempt to more strongly emphasize the need for effective image stabilization, whether through digital or optical means. As we lack a standardized testing rig for various types of motion, these tests are purely relative and should only be used to compare between two different devices that are recording at the same time.
There are also a number of factors that affect image quality here, as there is both a need to meet real time latency targets and keep spatial resolution as high as possible. As a result, there is a stronger emphasis on ISP performance as digital image stabilization, sensor correction, lens correction, demosaicing, and other compute tasks must be done at rates as high as 480 FPS depending upon the device, with resolutions reaching as high as 2160p for output.
Looking at the stats for 1080p30 video, we see that the LG G4 uses 17Mbps high profile H.264 and 96Kbps AAC at 48KHz stereo audio, which is pretty much par for the course for high-end smartphones as far as I can tell. Comparing it to the Galaxy S6 shows that contrast is a bit lower, but dynamic range appears to be higher as well. Detail is also pretty much comparable, although the high contrast of the Galaxy S6 seems to help with improving edge contrast in certain scenarios.
The big differences are in audio quality and stabilization, where the G4 appears to reset often and is less able to dampen significant motion while the GS6 manages to avoid resetting the OIS as often and appears to have a greater maximum angle before the OIS reaches a travel limit. The G4 also has sharper wind noise, although the difference isn't enormous there, and in general noises seem to be a bit louder on the G4's video here. The color balance here is also slightly too cold for some reason.
In the interest of trying to add some more comparison points I also added the iPhone 6, which has noticeably more natural stabilization than either the G4 or the GS6. The tighter crop of the iPhone 6 also helps with improving detail, as I suspect all three are pretty much limited by the 1080p resolution rather than encode settings. The G4 also ends up noticeably louder relative to the iPhone 6, which is closer to the GS6 in terms of sound profile.
Unfortunately, there's no 1080p60 sample because for some reason I couldn't find the option to enable it in the G4's camera application, which feels like a pretty significant omission as any sort of movement would benefit greatly from greater temporal resolution. However, LG does have 4K30 recording, which has the same settings as 1080p30 but with a 30Mbps bit rate for video. Once again, the Galaxy S6 and G4 are incredibly close here in terms of detail, but the G4 avoids excessively high contrast and seems to expose to allow for much more shadow detail. OIS continues to reset more often, and noise tends to not be suppressed as well as it is on the Galaxy S6.
Moving on to slow motion, the G4 supports a maximum of 720p120 played back at 30 FPS, with 24Mbps baseline H.264, with identical audio to the other two video modes. Comparing this mode to the Galaxy S6, it's clear that the Galaxy S6 has much better detail and less obvious pixelation/blockiness throughout the video. As a result, it's also not as good as the iPhone 6 at slow motion video at 720p120. Neither the Galaxy S6 nor the G4 support 720p240, so the iPhone 6 definitely stands alone there as well.
Overall, video quality is acceptable, but slightly trails the Galaxy S6 due to slightly worse noise cancellation, worse slow motion video capture, and the lack of 1080p60 video mode. The slightly more obvious OIS might also be a negative, but this is somewhat subjective as it's basically up to the end user to decide whether they want to see large resets of the OIS somewhat rarely or smaller resets that happen more often. I personally would rather see simple dampening of motion rather than completely compensating for it, as in cases where it's almost impossible to completely defeat the motion with OIS video will appear unnatural and strange, to say the least. If the G4 has a downfall in camera, it's in video quality.
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bleached - Sunday, August 2, 2015 - link
http://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Column-right/Mobile...Arcetnathon - Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - link
You point something really strange.Each review of tech website published month after release is worst than first tests.
Maybe big company doesn't play fair and send very specific smartphone that will never be in store...
akdj - Thursday, August 6, 2015 - link
As an owner of three of the top 5; S6, Note 4, & indeed... The iPhone 6+, which raps the 'top 5' "Apples is (sic) 'rate' in the top five'The 6+ is indeed produced by Apple ...my subjective feelings are almost identical to Josh's. S6 Edge is an incredible camera. I love it. My Note 4 always has been, with micro SD it makes shooting 4k practical, but my low light shots are pretty sad in comparison to the 6+, as well as 'action' or fast moving shots. S6 shoots 4k, excellent 1080p, but the video stabilization and 60fps-240fps adjustments on the iPhone tump the other two, and I'm just realizing I've placed my response after the wrong reply of your dxo link.
It's saying damn near what Josh concluded. DxoMark is specific to still photography, heavy on resolution and to those ends the sensors in the S6, N4 & G4 indeed play in the same field as the iPhone ...and in some cases beat it. That said, for simplicity point and shoot and nearly every time get an excellent shot without latency or buffering, the iPhone is hard to beat. Without G4 experience I'll hold judgement, but for video, the iPhone is it. For stills, I'm partial now to my S6 and the Note 4 has always been phenomenal
Apple opening their 'souls' a bit with the ability to interact with the SoC ala their native apps, there are plenty of manual control, high resolution shooters (using the 8 megapixel, 4K sensor and its speed) as well as slow motion and video editing tools --- probably the biggest weight in the iphone's favor is the App Store, it's amazing selection of editing and shooting tools as well as continuous updates might just top the subjective list of top 5.
*i don't own a 4K TV but I've got the ability to playback 4K on my MacBook Pro -- looks amazing but it's limited in length of time you can shoot and heats the camera up nice and warm. The S6, all around, my favorite for everything and now my go to camera in most situations. It's smaller and easier to shoot --- but for video capture, my son playing baseball, or last weeks Mötley Crüe show, the iPhone and it's incredible stabilization, video processing and iCloud uploading, ....see where I'm going?
I own a business, have for two decades and with a dozen employees equipped with their choice, I pay for them ...and have iPhone as a personal - S6 personal and Note4 business only. Primarily the stylus and autographs for credit cards has a cool vibe with clientele. You mileage may vary but dxo mark scores in the mid 80s rivals and defeats many point and shoot cams under $300. A point or two difference isn't real world, nor the bible on what to buy. Iphone is ranked 5 & 6 (+ & standard) - can't seem to find the Experia in America and their separation of a couple points in the mid 80as -- without considering motion at all, I'm not sure ANY is the wrong choice and for many that don't want manual control, the iPhone with HDR is hands down the layman's favorite. Android, I'm with the S6, double tap home button to pop the cam and it's rare even as a DSLR shooter that I'm adjusting settings, modes or manually selecting ISO, Aperture or shutter speed
S6 Edge, I love it. 6+, love it. Note 4, still awesome - bit heavier but easily used now with experience and the right case
Take motion into the equation and the limitations on 4K, post processing there of and playback ...I think this is the reason Apple has put this much effort into their sensor as it's the perfect 'size' for non cropped, full sensor 4K shooting
Maybe I'm confused, but I'm ambidextrous, love both and have owned both since 07/08. Dxomark is a silly geek site for resolution of serious optics. Those scores and their differential is hardly a 'win' for any flagship mentioned
J
Pissedoffyouth - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
How does the handoff between clusters cope compared to the 810? Does it scale from 2>4 cores when stepping down, averaging the load across the A53 cluster?nikaldro - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
The S808 throttles about as much as the exynos 7420.nikaldro - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
The S808 throttles about as much as the exynos 7420.grayson_carr - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
My God. I thought this review would never come. I already lusted after the G4, bought the G4, owned the G4 for a while, and then bought a Nexus 6 to replace it haha. Still, it will be good to know the Snapdragon 808 lowdown seeing as the Moto X 2015 and Nexus 5 2015 will make use of it.ThisIsChrisKim - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
I bought the G4 and I'm really liking it--camera is just superb. UI is meh, but not annoying enough for me to get something else.Nice seeing this review, nonetheless!
grayson_carr - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
I liked the G4 (maybe even more than the Galaxy S6 I owned before it), but there were a couple minor annoyances that ultimately led me to buy a Nexus 6. I found that the G4 performed well most of the time, but as mentioned in the review, in some apps it would drop frames more often than the previous two phones I owned (Nexus 5 and Galaxy S6). Also, the touchscreen seemed to be less responsive than the previous phones I owned, which started to get on my nerves. Finally, there were a couple software annoyances like the inability to expand notifications in some circumstances, that were bothering me. I did like the screen on the G4 better than the Galaxy S6 and Nexus 6, and the manual camera controls were boss, but ultimately I prefer the Nexus software experience.Fitnesspro - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
Grayson. You are right. Speed and battery count. I liked the G4 specs but was disappointed when tried the phone out at T Mobile. Has a snag and the actual screen id not