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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liteon163 - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
More evidence to be used against LG when upgrading from my V30 when it breaks...MananDedhia - Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - link
I currently use a V20 and feel exactly the same.rocketman122 - Friday, May 3, 2019 - link
I have a V20 and the reason I never upgraded was no swappable batteries.for those whove never tried it, you should. you go from 5% to 100% in 1 minute. I carry no extra charging cable or charger, I slip an extra battery in my wallet and always have my screen brightness at 100%. never worried about battery draining.
at home the phone is never connected to any cable. I simply charge the other battery in the cradle
LG has massive issues with their phones imo. the g4 bootloop I went through. issues with the camera glass breaking on my v20 and aftermarket batteries dont work well as well.
unfortunately im getting a 2nd v20 to have because of the swapping batteries. huge plus for me.
amosbatto - Saturday, May 11, 2019 - link
For the life of me, I can't figure out why at least one phone manufacturer doesn't offer a decent phone with a removable battery. All the phone makers have decided that we want to throw away our phones after using them for 2 years, because the batteries no longer hold a decent charge.For the love of God, give us a phone that is designed to survive a drop or two. Making phones with glass backs, no bezels for protection and curved edges where the screen is higher than the bezel is insane. It really bothers me that this review had no evaluation of how well the LG G8 will survive a drop, but it spends so much time talking about its 0.6 mm increase in the thickness, as if anyone cares. The LG V20 was the last decent phone that LG made because it had a removable battery and was designed to survive normal drops.
HTC, Motorola/Lenovo, LG and Sony are losing millions of dollars every quarter trying to sell phones, but none of them have figured out that maybe they should off something different, like a durable phone that is not based on planned obsolescence. The reviewers like Frumusanu would tell us how horrible it feels to hold a phone with a polycarbonate case, compared to a glass case, and how thick the bezels are, and how we simply can't live without IP68 rating, but those of us who care about the longevity and lasting value of our phones would buy it in droves.
I have gotten so disgusted with the planned obsolescence in the phone industry and the monetization of my data and the collection of my data to train AIs, that I have decided to crowdfund the Purism Librem 5. I am willing to accept a lousy processor (NXP i.MX 8M), low screen resolution (720p), and a low camera quality, just to get a phone that is designed to last 5 years, protects my personal data, respects my digital rights and allows me to unlock the bootloader and install any operating system that I want (PureOS, Linux+KDE Plasma Mobile, UBports, LineageOS or PostmarketOS).
Here is what a phone should have, but is is impossible to buy such a phone:
1. Removable battery
2. Plastic or metal case with thick enough bezels to protect the screen
3. MicroSD slot
4. 3.5 mm audio jack
5. Dual front facing speakers
6. Unlockable bootloader
7. Designed to be opened using a Phillips screwdriver, so it can be repaired, not pried apart using a heat gun, suction cups and plastic spudgers, and I shouldn't have to reglue the f*ing thing.
jifarina - Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - link
Maybe add an IR blaster ;). I love my v20.Vitor - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
LG and its crazy colors...I would feel disappointed the day their displays are not a disappointement. It always deliveries the lulz.PeachNCream - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Non-flagship phone...Starting at $620...
It should be a real pleasure to take that one up the financial backside. I hope LG includes some sort of lubricant with the higher end V50 since the price is likely in the $1K range given how they price out the supposedly more affordable G8. I did just buy an LG, but it was a refurb Rebel 3 from Tracfone for $10 - 5 inch screen, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, removable battery (oddly absent from anything high end), and if it lives the next couple of years, I'll have sunk a total of $345 into two years of mobile service plus the cost of the handset (300 for airtime, 10 for the phone, 35 for a case, screen protector, and possibly a fresh battery after a year). It's balls out stupid to pay anything more than that for a phone when you could be tossing that money into some sort of interest bearing investment or workplace-funded retirement account so it can compound for you over the coming years. Every little bit makes a considerable difference over a long time horizon.
Bulat Ziganshin - Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - link
poor americans. here in russia i have 100 Mbit landline, 400 min voice + unlim 4G on smartphone - all that for $5/monthNicko_ - Thursday, May 2, 2019 - link
Here in france, you can have unlimited voice/sms/rcs/mms & 60gigs of data (in 4g+/LTE) for just 9.99 bucks (or unlimited data for 15.99€ it depends). So when I look for google fi or other I just fell in apple so much that is expensive xDPeachNCream - Thursday, May 2, 2019 - link
Eh, there's nothing I can do to change the costs associated with living in the US.