Smartphone camera shoot-out

LG V20 - for the widest possible angle

The LG V20's 10mm camera delivers an ultra wide-angle or "fish-eye" type of image.
The LG V20's 10mm camera delivers an ultra wide-angle or "fish-eye" type of image. PHOTO: LG

LG V20's dual-camera system is designed for those who want the widest possible angle.

It consists of a 16-megapixel 28mm wide-angle camera and an 8-megapixel 10mm camera.

This 10mm camera delivers an ultra wide-angle or "fish-eye" type of image.

The fish-eye effect looks dramatic and will certainly garner plenty of likes on social media.

But the edges look visibly grainy with loss of details, although only upon close scrutiny.

  • TECH SPECS

  • PRICE: $998 (without contract)

    REAR CAMERA: 16-megapixel 28mm f/1.8; 8-megapixel 10mm f/2.4

    FRONT CAMERA: 5-megapixel f/1.9

This is not a problem when shooting in normal wide-angle mode. Images are much sharper, edge to edge, when shot using the normal wide-angle camera.

The dynamic range could be better when compared with the likes of Apple iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.

For night landscape shots, the V20 measures the exposure using the night sky and thus overexposed the lights of buildings. But you could see the nice clouds in the night sky, though.

The V20 took the best selfies in this round-up. It automatically smoothens the subject's skin without making it look too fake, while exposure involving the environment is spot on. The front-facing camera also has a wide coverage of 120 degrees, so you can squeeze more people in for a big wefie.

Under indoor incandescent lighting, the results look similar to those of the iPhone 7 Plus without flash - a tad too warm.

When shot using flash, skin tones look slightly more natural.

Trevor Tan

• Verdict: The LG V20's camera is great for selfies and ultra-wide landscape shots.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 21, 2016, with the headline LG V20 - for the widest possible angle. Subscribe