GSMArena.com GSMArena.com

Tip us

1.5m
109k
RSS

EV

Merch

Log in

Login

I forgot my password
Sign up
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Featured
  • Phone Finder
  • Deals
  • MerchNew
  • Coverage
  • Contact
ADVERTISEMENTS
GSMArena team, 16 November 2018

LG V40 ThinQ review

  • Comments (125)
  • User reviews
  • V40 ThinQ
  • 4.3

6. Photo image quality
  1. 1. Introduction, specs, unboxing
  2. 2. Design, 360-degree spin
  3. 3. Lab tests - display, battery life, loudspeaker, audio quality
  4. 4. User interface, performance
  5. 5. Camera architecture, app UI
  6. 6. Photo image quality
  7. 7. Video recording
  8. 8. Alternatives, pros and cons, verdict
  9.  
  10. LG V40 ThinQ specification
  11. User opinions and reviews
  12. Review comments (125)

LG Android

Image quality

In daylight, the primary cam of the V40 takes pleasing shots with great colors and contrast. We are not really thrilled about the dynamic range, however, particularly in the shadows, where we often ended up with black areas.

Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/1754s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/4000s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/2703s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Camera samples, normal camera

Absolute resolved detail is good, but not stunning, and we can't help but think a lot of that is due to the ultra-fast lens which robs the images of critical sharpness.

Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/5556s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/2703s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/2564s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/4348s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/6250s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/195s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Camera samples, normal camera

As for the ultra wide angle camera - it won't surprise you with image quality when you zoom in, but it's really good enough. And then you'll be more than satisfied with the exaggerated perspective it lends and also impressed with the very low distortion (*for such a wide angle lens on a smartphone - there, we can do disclaimers, too).

Camera samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, ISO 50, 1/806s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, ISO 50, 1/1786s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, ISO 50, 1/1299s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Camera samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, ISO 50, 1/2174s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, ISO 50, 1/1136s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, ISO 50, 1/2778s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Camera samples, ultra wide angle camera

We've zoomed out, now let's zoom in, for the first time with an LG phone. It's a solid first effort from LG, producing sharp and detailed photos with similar quality to the ones from competing offers from Apple and Samsung (which, don't quote us on this, but are likely using the same hardware).

Camera samples, telephoto camera - f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/654s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, telephoto camera - f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/769s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, telephoto camera - f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/565s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Camera samples, telephoto camera - f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/1408s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, telephoto camera - f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/617s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, telephoto camera - f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/1724s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Camera samples, telephoto camera

For the sake of thoroughness, we also took comparison photos with the AI camera engaged, if for no other reason than to remind ourselves why we normally steer clear of AI modes. Predictably, those have higher color saturation, though even that can't save the drab brown late Fall scenes. We're also observing a further drop in sharpness.

Camera samples, AI Cam - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/2703s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, AI Cam - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/4348s - LG V40 ThinQ review Camera samples, AI Cam - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/6250s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Camera samples, AI Cam

Moving on to low light, the V40 surprised us a bit, and we mean that in a good way. It captures sharp and detailed night shots, without much desaturation. Okay, not strictly true colors in the highlights, where the HDR algorithms could struggle a bit with the recovery and try to come up with color where it should reasonably be blown out highlights.

Low-light samples, normal camera - f/1.5, 1/11s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, normal camera - f/1.5, 1/11s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, normal camera - f/1.5, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, normal camera - f/1.5, ISO 400, 1/17s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Low-light samples, normal camera

The ultra wide cam works reasonably well in lowlight too, if you can look past the noise, which you should. The telephoto cam is put to rest in low light and the main cam takes over, as is typically the case. Refrain from pixel peeping in both instances, and you'll be perfectly happy with the results.

Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, 1/13s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera - f/1.9, 1/13s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera

Low-light samples, telephoto camera - f/1.5, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, telephoto camera - f/1.5, 1/17s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, telephoto camera - f/1.5, 1/12s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, telephoto camera - f/1.5, ISO 350, 1/17s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Low-light samples, telephoto camera

AI cam's rendition of the same night scenes delivers predictable results - higher saturation, slightly less detail and definition.

Low-light samples, normal camera, AI cam - f/1.5, 1/11s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, normal camera, AI cam - f/1.5, 1/11s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, normal camera, AI cam - f/1.5, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples, normal camera, AI cam - f/1.5, ISO 400, 1/17s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Low-light samples, normal camera, AI cam

There's one more option for taking night-time shots on the V40 - the Super Bright Camera. It can only work under certain (very low) lighting - you can't really force it on just any scene, and it can be set to activate automatically or just ping you to engage it when it's dark enough.

It does do what it promises - brighten up the darkest of shadows, but it's nowhere near the 'wow' effect you'd get by looking at the Pixel's Night Sight and Huawei's Night Shot images.

Low-light samples: Auto - f/1.5, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples: Super Bright Camera - f/1.5, 1/6s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples: Auto - f/1.5, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Low-light samples: Super Bright Camera - f/1.5, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples: Auto - f/1.5, 1/10s - LG V40 ThinQ review Low-light samples: Super Bright Camera - f/1.5, 1/6s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Low-light samples: Auto • Super Bright Camera

You're always welcome to check out how the V40 stacks up against the competition in rendering our test charts. The Galaxy S9+ and Mate 20 Pro will be there when you follow the links below, but you can swap them out for any other two phones.

Photo Compare Tool Photo Compare Tool Photo Compare Tool
LG V40 ThinQ against the Galaxy S9+ and the Mate 20 Pro in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

In a departure from industry standards, the LG V40 takes portrait shots with its normal camera, despite having a telephoto one. That leaves us conflicted because on the one hand it means higher-quality portraits in all light, but especially in low light, while on the other hand it shortens the distance to the subject to what could be uncomfortable for them.

If you're on familiar terms with your subjects (or at least past calling them subjects), you're in for some pretty good portraits. Separation is excellent, blur is convincing, and colors are very... human.

Portrait samples - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/100s - LG V40 ThinQ review Portrait samples - f/1.5, ISO 100, 1/40s - LG V40 ThinQ review Portrait samples - f/1.5, ISO 200, 1/30s - LG V40 ThinQ review Portrait samples - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/629s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Portrait samples

Portrait samples, non-human subjects - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/1724s - LG V40 ThinQ review Portrait samples, non-human subjects - f/1.5, ISO 100, 1/30s - LG V40 ThinQ review Portrait samples, non-human subjects - f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/120s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Portrait samples, non-human subjects

Selfies

Selfies haven't been LG's forte, on the flagships at least. And just because there are two front-facing cameras, doesn't mean that's changed dramatically. Photos from either cam turn out pretty noisy and grainy. Colors are nice, though, and the increased coverage from the wider cam is appreciated. Now if only there were extra pixels to resolve detail in that extra coverage.

Selfie samples: Normal - f/1.9, ISO 50, 1/120s - LG V40 ThinQ review Selfie samples: Wide angle - f/2.2, ISO 50, 1/60s - LG V40 ThinQ review Selfie samples: Normal - f/1.9, ISO 100, 1/30s - LG V40 ThinQ review Selfie samples: Wide angle - f/2.2, ISO 100, 1/30s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Selfie samples: Normal • Wide angle

Selfie portraits are also an option, a viable one if you absolutely insist on seeing yourself while framing. We'd go for rear camera self portraits instead.

Selfie portraits - f/1.9, ISO 50, 1/120s - LG V40 ThinQ review Selfie portraits - f/1.9, ISO 100, 1/30s - LG V40 ThinQ review
Selfie portraits

Next Page » 7. Video recording
6. Photo image quality
  1. 1. Introduction, specs, unboxing
  2. 2. Design, 360-degree spin
  3. 3. Lab tests - display, battery life, loudspeaker, audio quality
  4. 4. User interface, performance
  5. 5. Camera architecture, app UI
  6. 6. Photo image quality
  7. 7. Video recording
  8. 8. Alternatives, pros and cons, verdict
  9.  
  10. LG V40 ThinQ specification
  11. User opinions and reviews
  12. Review comments (125)

Reviews LG V40 ThinQ reviewPage 6
  • Comments (125)
  • User reviews
  • V40 ThinQ

Phone finder

  • Samsung
  • Apple
  • Huawei
  • Nokia
  • Sony
  • LG
  • HTC
  • Motorola
  • Lenovo
  • Xiaomi
  • Google
  • Honor
  • Oppo
  • Realme
  • OnePlus
  • vivo
  • Meizu
  • BlackBerry
  • Asus
  • Alcatel
  • ZTE
  • Microsoft
  • Vodafone
  • Energizer
  • Cat
  • Sharp
  • Micromax
  • Infinix
  • TCL
  • Ulefone
  • Tecno
  • BLU
  • Blackview
  • Acer
  • Panasonic
  • Plum

All brands Rumor mill

ADVERTISEMENTS

Related articles

  • LG Ultra Tab announced with 10” LCD and SD 680
  • LG V50 ThinQ 5G is now receiving its Android 12 update
  • “LG IMS” Bug was causing some LG phones on T-Mobile to go offline
  • Flashback: LG V40 ThinQ, the first penta-camera phone, aimed to lift the company's fortunes
ADVERTISEMENTS

Popular reviews

Apple iOS 14 review

Apple iOS 14 review
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

TAG Heuer Connect Calibre E4 Porsche Edition smartwatch can control your Taycan TAG Heuer Connect Calibre E4 Porsche Edition smartwatch can control your Taycan Rivian and others trying to secure tax credits for customersHyundai Ioniq 5 N spotted wearing new production bodywork
ADVERTISEMENTS

Home News Reviews Compare Coverage Glossary FAQ RSS feed Youtube Facebook Twitter Instagram

© 2000-2022 GSMArena.com Mobile version Android app Tools Contact us Merch store Privacy Terms of use Change Ad Consent Do not sell my data