The LG G8 Review: Solid, But Not Great
by Andrei Frumusanu on April 30, 2019 1:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- LG
- Smartphones
- LG G8
- LG G8 ThinQ
Camera - Daylight Evaluation
We move on to the G8’s camera. Again this is a controversial topic as it was one of the areas where the G7 last year failed quite terribly, particularly on the matter of post-processing where the phone’s camera kept applying needless noise-reduction filters which blurred out details and made things look like watercolour paintings.
The G8 needs to redeem itself not only in this regard, but also needs to compete with excellent new cameras from the competition.
Among the differenes between the G7 and G8 is that the new 12MP sensor and f/1.5 aperture lens module comes with a slightly wider viewing angle on the main camera. Also it will be interesting to see the differences between the V40 and G8 as both have the same module, but different SoCs which will impact processing results.
For this review, I’ll also be taking a better look at LG’s AI Cam mode as since the V40 this capture mode is more balanced in terms of the results and overall I’ve deemed it to be an overall benefit to the camera.
[ G8 ] - [ G7 ]
[ V40 ] - [ P30 Pro ]
[ P30 ] - [ P20 Pro ]
[ P20 ] - [ Mate 20 Pro ]
[ S10+ (S) ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S9+ (S) ]
[ View20 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
Starting off with the main camera, we see in this first scene that the G8 produces much better results than the G7 with significantly better dynamic range and detail. LG seems to have toned down the noise reduction in subsequent firmware updates to the G7 which was one of its worst behaviours.
The AI mode helps the a tad darker and unsaturated result of the Auto mode on the G8, but for this scene it’s not as dramatic a difference as seen on the V40. I actually like the V40’s AI mode here as it’s a better representation of the scene under a cloud-free sky with the bright sun. Both the G8 and V40 in this mode have nearly the same exposure time yet the V40’s processing brings out better dynamic range and contrast.
The G8’s competition here is clearly the Galaxy S10. The LG device has better saturations, however Samsung is able to bring out more shadow details, especially on the shadow-cast wall in the middle of the scene.
While LG has improved its usage of noise reduction, the G8 still evidently uses some, along with a combination of a sharpening filter. On some parts of the scene this works ok, but for example in the middle left trees this gives an unnatural sharpening to the foliage compared to the Galaxy S10.
Wide-angle shots on the G7 could be pretty terrible, and this is one scene where the G8 again improves dramatically in this regard, having much better colours, details and dynamic range.
Oddly enough, again the G8’s AI mode doesn’t produce as nearly nice results as the V40’s, which although lacks detail, has excellent colours and dynamic range contrast.
[ G8 ] - [ G7 ]
[ V40 ] - [ P30 Pro ]
[ P30 ] - [ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ]
[ Mate 20 Pro ] - [ S10+ (S) ] - [ S10+ (E) ]
[ S9+ (S) ] - [ View20 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
The next scene the difference between the G7 and G8 is night and day. The former phone’s histogram in this picture is just sad too look at as it avoids the last 10% completely while having most content dynamic range in the 5-50% levels, which is absurd considering this picture is captured in broad daylight. The G8 is just much better in capturing the proper highlights while still maintaining shadows correctly.
The AI mode brightens things even a little bit further, in an even better representation of the bright scene. I would say I prefer the G8’s shot here over the V40 as the latter compresses things a bit too much.
Again the G8 here competes with the S10, although again in terms of details it lags behind as its noise reduction and sharpening is too aggressive, losing out details such as the roof tiles in the first building from the bottom.
The wide-angle lens is again a major step-up compared to what we see on the G7. Unfortunately when it comes to detail on the wide angle, LG still very much lags behind Huawei and now Samsung.
[ G8 ] - [ G7 ]
[ V40 ] - [ P30 Pro ]
[ P30 ] - [ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ]
[ Mate 20 Pro ] - [ S10+ (S) ] - [ S10+ (E) ]
[ S9+ (S) ] - [ View20 ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
Although the G8 has less resolution than the G7, its camera actually has the better spatial resolution when it comes to details, and in this scene it’s evident that it’s not just a matter of the post-processing.
The differences between the G8 and V40 are more nuanced, and I like the new phone’s better preservation of highlights. The G8 is ahead in terms of colours and exposure, however it again lags behind in detail to the Galaxy S10.
In terms of the wide angle, this shot wasn’t great for any of the LG phones. Particularly the texture of the pavement on the G8 is quite terrible when compared to what Huawei and Samsung are producing.
[ G8 ] - [ G7 ]
[ V40 ] [ P30 Pro ] - [ P30 ]
[ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ]
[ Mate 20 Pro ] - [ S10+ (S) ] - [ S10+ (E) ]
[ S9+ (S) ] - [ View20 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
On the main camera, the G8’s AI mode here happens to capture a nearly identical composition to the S10 even though the latter’s exposure is twice as long because of the f/2.4 aperture in bright scenarios. I like the G8’s colours more, however details again seem to go to Samsung.
This is again as scene where the V40’s HDR processing is a lot more aggressive which results in toned down highlights, while the G8 preserves them better.
Exposure on the wide angle is very good on the G8 however again can’t compete in terms of detail to Huawei and Samsung.
[ G8 ] - [ G7 ]
[ V40 ] [ P30 Pro ]
[ P30 ] - [ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ]
[ Mate 20 Pro ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ S10+ (E) ] - [ S9+ (S) ] - [ View20 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
This shot is quite hard on the cameras as it’s captured against the sun. Nevertheless, some phones manage to produce good results, however the LG phones all fail at the scene. The G8 isn’t able to maintain a black point and has no levels at all below 30% which results in a washed out image lacking contrast.
We see a similar issue on the wide-angle, with no levels below ~15%. Both the G8 and V40 showcase almost identical lens flares, pointing out to lesser quality optics and anti-reflection coatings on the lenses than say Huawei’s wide angle modules.
[ G8 ] - [ G7 ]
[ V40 ] [ P30 Pro ] - [ P30 ]
[ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ] - [ Mate 20 Pro ]
[ S10+ (S) ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S9+ (S) ]
[ View20 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
In the last scene here again the G8 represents big improvements over both the G7 and V40, with better details and dynamic range and accurate colour balance.
The wide angle yet again is good in terms of its composition, however the details are still only about as good as a camera half of its resolution.
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WildW - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
It looks the same as my G6. Maybe the screen and CPU are different but blah, it's a glass rectangle. I'm so bored of phones.Lord of the Bored - Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - link
My first pocket computer was an HTC Evo 3D. The purple one, at that. I still miss the little guy.It was distinct even at the time, and the asymmetrical design made it easy to tell which end was up when grabbing it. And the purple looked REALLY GOOD in person.
...
I got zero usage out of the 3D screen. Neat idea, but being limited to a single model of dataslab meant that there was no software for it beyond the inbuilt camera. Even HTC didn't want to waste time on it.
nikon133 - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Considering how well G7 actually works for me in real life - with all the observed shortcomings - I am pretty sure I'd find G8 equally good. Only if LG would make an effort of updating phones.I can accept their reluctance to quickly release new OS... as someone said here before, better stable old OS than unstable, buggy new OS... but I cannot accept that my G7 still has only October 2018 security patch, and nothing after it. At least model for NZ/AU/HK/China market.
Wardrive86 - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Yeah I love my G7, amazing device. The lack of updates is surprising but not a big deal to me.andrewaggb - Friday, May 3, 2019 - link
I went from a Note 5 to an S7 edge, to a G7. Overall I think the S7 edge was a nicer screen and the Note 5 had the best camera. I don't like the G7 camera at all, though otherwise I think the phone is completely fine. Next phone will probably be Samsung again, maybe a Pixel if Samsung hasn't gotten their low light figured out by then.zeeBomb - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
My goodness...that display is just pitiful.Saxyboy - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Haha. The display miles aheaf of my samsung s8 display. I went to the store to upgrade to an s10 but came out with a G8 instead. The s10 screen looks washed out compared to the g8.Saxyboy - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Haha. The display is miles ahead of my samsung S8 display. I went to the store to upgrade to an S10 but walked out with a G8. The S10 screen looks washed out compared to the G8. I thought it was my eyes deceiving me but two reviewers on youtube confirmed same.zeeBomb - Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - link
You could always change the display mode in settings, Natural mode helps best or simply use Vivid and change the white balance. I personally love screens with OLED, when calibrated right too, but I never disliked the display on my previous G device (I think the 6?) with its crisp, sharp display. Enjoy it Saxy!cthunder67 - Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - link
Lol! You are out your damn mind if you think that display is pitiful. Even negative reviews on the G8 praise the display. Better yet go look at the different reviews comparing the Samsung S10E and S10.