For the past decade or so, my primary criteria for choosing a smartphone has been its camera capabilities. For numerous years after the Nokia Lumia 1020 was released, there was no innovation in smartphone camera capabilities. Happily we've finally reached a point where smartphone cameras are better than ever, and here's my current favorite.
We've got four mobile photography tips for you in the video below, which will definitely help you take your imagery to the next (or to a decent) level.
Does the "mainstream" G6 camera now compete against the "pro" V20? Here's a closer look at photo and video performance in our LG G6 Real Camera Review!
We love seeing companies improve their products. The Kodak Pixpro SP360 was one of the first cameras to properly support 360 degree horizontal video, but only in a vertical half dome. The next camera fixed that, but only if you bought two cameras and bolted them together, but now we arrive at the Orbit 360 4K. Properly including two twenty megapickle image sensors, each with an ultra wide angle lens, capable of producing fully spherical 4K videos.
The standard set of tricks is of course included. NFC pairing, with Bluetooth and wifi radios to pair with android and iOS devices. Micro SD card support for up to 128GB cards, and the Orbit will have a mic input and HDMI output, adding quite a bit of flexiblilty to the built in hardware and phone based app control. Kodak will also be selling an optional Bluetooth controller which can be mounted to Steadicam mounts or selfie sticks.
What separates phone cameras from more professional cameras? At this point, largely surface area, where DSLRs have much larger image sensors. Those sensors take up a lot more space, and as sensor size increases, so does lens size.
And we have flirted with larger sensors on phones, as many in our audience might remember the Lumia 1020 and its Oreo disc back. This phone’s sensor is roughly 3 times larger than the sensor in the iPhone 7, but compared to an entry level DSLR, it’s one seventh the size. Those larger DSLR sensors allow proper cameras to use larger pixels and soak up more light to create more photographic images. DSLR’s also benefit from the ability to swap lenses, customizing the camera for specific photo situations.
How can we get around these space limitations on our phones? The newest camera trend for 2016 is including multiple camera sensors, but not all systems are equal. The three examples we’ll focus on for this video are the iPhone 7 Plus, The Huawei Mate 9, and the LG V20. What are the differences? Which might be best for you? Let’s dig in.
Dual Smartphone Cameras Explained: The best photo fit for you?
Just when we thought we were all wrapped up shooting samples and writing a review script for our Mate 9 camera review, Huawei threw us a curve ball. Days ago publishing an update for this monster phone, and wouldn’t you know it, tackling some of our issues with low light camera performance while also updating the zoom feature. The more we compared samples from before the update to after the update, the more we felt it was appropriate to re-shoot most of this video.
And so we did.
New samples including, photos, RAW, wide aperture mode, color boost mode, HDR, low light, OIS test, and gigabytes of UHD video. It’s all fresh from this phablet for your enjoyment.
Dual camera sensors are hot. They’re a novel way to work around some of the space limitations on our mobile gadgets. Huawei’s approach is unique. Instead of simulating a zoom like Apple and LG, the Mate 9 features the second generation Leica sensor combo. Both cameras have the same field of view, but one captures color and the other captures light and detail in monochrome. Merging the two images together produces photos unlike anything we’ve seen from a phone, and the pair of sensors delivers the best software background blur we’ve ever seen.
In our second installment of “Big Phones, Dual Cameras” we’re moving to the real showdown.
Android 7 Nougat vs Android 7 Nougat. LG’s software skin vs Huawei EMUI. A large 5.9″ 1080p screen against a big 5.7″ 1440p display. The Qualcomm 820 chipset vs the Kirin 960 octa-core cpu. These two phones pair up well against each other, delivering high end hardware, premium build quality, gobs of custom software, and some incredible photography features.
Huawei has been impressing lately. The Mate 9 is a formidable foe, so it only makes sense to pit it against one of our favorite multimedia smartphones of the year. LG now faces the second generation Leica dual camera system. Will its incredible headphone performance and durable build quality eke out the victory?
It’s time for a showdown! Which phone wins? You decide in our viewer poll!
Huawei Mate 9 vs LG V20: Big Phones Dual Cameras (pt.2)
The LG V20 has some pretty big shoes to fill. The V10 which came before it was one of our favorite cameras of last year, mostly for the insane amount of control it offered. This new LG phablet also arrives at a time when more companies are experimenting with dual camera systems, like the zoom on the iPhone 7 Plus, or the light manipulation of the Leica inspired Huawei P9.New for this year, the V20 adopts the wide angle shooter found on the LG G5, though with a different aspect ratio for the sensor. LG ...
Hot off of Google’s keynote unveiling the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, immediately we’re curious to see how this hardware team might have optimized the photography experience.Now a keynote isn’t really the place to get an even-handed look at a new gadget, this is an opportunity to promote and hype, to whip up a fan base with feel-good “metrics” and bold claims. Google did lean on one tech outlet however to promote this new imaging system.The DXOMark Score?“Pixel received a rating of 89. That’s the highest rating ever for a smartphone… Let me just put that score into ...