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Sprint LG Optimus G Camera

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phillydoug

Member
Hey all,

I'm getting ready to make a decision on a new phone within the next month or so. I'm going with the LTEvo or the Optimus G. The reason I'm leaning towards the LTEvo is because of the better camera. From what I've read, the LGOG's camera seems to be lacking quite a bit. For me the camera is important. I have a kid that's about to turn 1 and the shutter lag on my OG EVO is horrible. Rarely do I capture a good pic. I usually have to take about 5-10 pictures. Yes I want everything else these phones have, but a fast shutter with high quality pics is a must.

Has anyone tried both cameras out to offer a comparison? I'm curious about the shutter lag. I need the lag to be minimal. All the reviews I've seen compare the LGOG to the SGS3 or Note 2. I feel like a really want the LGOG for the processing power, display and gorilla glass 2, but the camera is really holding me back. Any thoughts? Is the camera really that bad?

Cheers!
Doug
 
The OG reviews are really missing the mark on the camera. The camera is superb, and even better, the screen is amazing so the photos look just great on the phone. I remember first seeing the new retina iphone screen photos and I was stunned at how crystal clear the photos looked on the phone. Well, on the OG the photos look just as great, sharp and crystal clear. I use the camera a lot, mainly for landscape shots and it does not disappoint.

Many reviews slam the camera for whatever reason, mostly based on horrible photos taken inside an office setting (of course flourescent lighting looks bad). The one thing that upset a lot of reviewers I saw was the auto-focus. When you pull up the camera, the green focus box auto focuses often in and out, and when in focus it stays green, but only for a moment before reverting back to retrying to focus. This means you have to time it right to get the shot in focus. Most reviewers were upset at this, failing to time it right. They failed to realize that when you touch the screen to focus, the focus point sticks and does not move. So it really isn't a problem at all.

The camera has a "time catch" feature, where it captures multiple photos just before you press the shutter. However that's possible, I don't know. But I haven't really messed around with it.

The camera also has your basic continuous 6-shot burst which is excellent. Anyone with a dslr knows that burst is the only way to go to weed out any movement.

I can't compare it to the EVO 4g LTE though, since i've never used the phone. Back when it came out I wanted it bad, but when I needed a new phone a few weeks ago, the EVO no longer made sense to get.

Hopefully I can post some photos later on when I transfer them to my computer. But overall, the camera is superb.
 
Not to mention setting your shutter to "Tone 4" is a great laugh! I have it on that setting and people love it.

Also forgot to mention it has HDR and Panorama mode. HDR is very nice and produces the best images, but you need to be still. The Panaroma mode works flawlessly, but I can only get it to work in landscape mode (i.e., holding the phone horizontally).
 
Toadie said:
The OG reviews are really missing the mark on the camera. The camera is superb, and even better, the screen is amazing so the photos look just great on the phone. I remember first seeing the new retina iphone screen photos and I was stunned at how crystal clear the photos looked on the phone. Well, on the OG the photos look just as great, sharp and crystal clear. I use the camera a lot, mainly for landscape shots and it does not disappoint.

Many reviews slam the camera for whatever reason, mostly based on horrible photos taken inside an office setting (of course flourescent lighting looks bad). The one thing that upset a lot of reviewers I saw was the auto-focus. When you pull up the camera, the green focus box auto focuses often in and out, and when in focus it stays green, but only for a moment before reverting back to retrying to focus. This means you have to time it right to get the shot in focus. Most reviewers were upset at this, failing to time it right. They failed to realize that when you touch the screen to focus, the focus point sticks and does not move. So it really isn't a problem at all.

The camera has a "time catch" feature, where it captures multiple photos just before you press the shutter. However that's possible, I don't know. But I haven't really messed around with it.

The camera also has your basic continuous 6-shot burst which is excellent. Anyone with a dslr knows that burst is the only way to go to weed out any movement.

I can't compare it to the EVO 4g LTE though, since i've never used the phone. Back when it came out I wanted it bad, but when I needed a new phone a few weeks ago, the EVO no longer made sense to get.

Hopefully I can post some photos later on when I transfer them to my computer. But overall, the camera is superb.
Click to expand...
Thanks Toadie! I appreciate your feedback and really wanted to find out from an actual user/owner of the phone how the camera is instead of relying on the reviews that are out there. I figure you are probably using it more than them!

So as far as the shutter lag goes, when you press capture button does it instantaneously take the photo? That's probably my main concern. I can definitely see how the shutter burst mode would be very helpful when trying to capture a fast moving toddler! Also, I know on the OG EVO my pictures were much better after making some adjustments in the settings. Have you tweaked the settings at all?

Let's see those photos! :)

Cheers!
Doug
 
I've only been able to take low-light photos, and they come out alright, not great. The autofocus irritant is present; pressing to manually focus only holds the focus for a few seconds before the camera reverts to continuous focus. Not a huge concern, but it basically means you better be quick about taking the perfect shot.

I haven't taken pics with an Evo 4G LTE, but it uses the same lens as the One X, which is known to have a pretty great camera. I had a One V before the OG, and I can say that HTC's camera UI is generally much better than LG's, at least in my opinion.

The shutter lag isn't too bad, probably around a second.

Most reviews have sample shots, and this might help you in your decision. I'll try and take some myself to upload at some point.

HTC EVO 4G LTE first sample shots
HTC EVO 4G LTE Review - Camera and Multimedia
LG Optimus G 13-megapixel sample pictures | Android Central
An indoor test of the Sprint Optimus G camera | Android Central
 
I've noticed in low light, the flash gives the pictures a bit of a yellow tint.

In normal light, the pictures look GREAT

Wonder what I can do to help with these low light pics being yellow-tinted...?
 
Thanks for the links. I think the quality of the EVO pictures are better. To me anyway, they look less washed out and sharper. The autofocus issue is a bit concerning. I'm assuming this is purely software related and using a different camera app, like Camera 360, will alleviate that issue. Can anyone confirm?
 
It seems to only be related to stock camera. I tried using the Camera ZOOM FX app and had no auto-focusing issues. I bought this app a long time ago and never use it though, but thought I'd test it out.
 
I use Camera ZOOM FX and have had absolutely no issues with the camera except one: when you have a lot of concentrated red, it saturates the hell out of it. I've tried to fix this in Photoshop and can't. Any other issues I've been able to tweak out with Photoshop and the results are superb for a phone, day and night. The night surprised me, but you obviously need to have enough light. It won't take good photos of things far away at night however I wouldn't expect a dinky lens to do so. Camera phones are camera phones, if you're expecting Nikkor quality get a real camera.

If you're worried about this phone because of the camera, your worries are unfounded. My wife has this phone and uses the stock camera and is happy with the results. I don't use most of the crap on Camera ZOOM FX, but I like that it gives you a little more control than the stock camera.

By the way, I was also going to get the LTEvo because the screen and camera are incredible. Then I learned about the various problems with that phone and skipped it - I think you'd make a mistake buying it. Even if it didn't have those problems, it's behind the tech curve at this point.

My wife was going to get a SG3, then saw the OG and decided to get the OG like me. We both love the phone, it's fantastic.
 
I hate to choose sides on this one because I've really enjoyed both devices. If just considering the camera the EVO LTE has the leg up. The camera on the Optimus is good but I've noticed it doesn't focus as well. Still high quality pictures but I was spoiled by the EVO.
 
sramse05 said:
I hate to choose sides on this one because I've really enjoyed both devices. If just considering the camera the EVO LTE has the leg up. The camera on the Optimus is good but I've noticed it doesn't focus as well. Still high quality pictures but I was spoiled by the EVO.
Click to expand...

I know someone else mentioned it and I'm not excusing the stock app at all, but for $1.49, camera zoomFX takes care of the autofocus issue.
Also, you mentioned the yellow tint with the flash in use, have you messed around with white balance to see if that helps. Maybe using one of the manual modes instead of auto? Just a thought.
 
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