LG V30 camera review

LG V30 camera review

LG V30 camera review

The LG V30 is the Korean manufacturer's latest flagship smartphone and offers a dual-camera setup that combines the primary camera with a 71-degree angle of view with a secondary 120-degree super-wide angle lens. On the main camera, a Sony IMX 351 1/3.1" sensor is coupled with a high-speed F1.6 lens.

The super-wide-angle lens, by contrast, comes with a smaller Samsung sensor that features a 13MP resolution and 1.0um pixel size. There is an F1.9 aperture but no OIS, which is easier to live without on a super-wide-angle anyhow.

The V30 sets itself apart from the competition with a comprehensive video mode that provides manual control over shutter speed and sound recording levels, among many other parameters. You can also choose from 15 new Cine Effect color presets that are based on film genres and the Point Zoom mode allows for stable zooming into a target in the frame rather than the center.

Images and videos can be viewed on the phone's 6" QHD+ OLED HDR FullVision display with an 18:9 aspect ratio that occupies almost the entire front of the device's dust and water sealed metal body. Read on to find out how the V30's impressive specs translate into real-life camera performance.

LG V30 camera review

Key Photographic / Video Specifications

Dual-camera with 70-degree main camera and 120 degrees super wide angle
Main camera: 16MP 1/3.1" Sony IMX351 CMOS sensor, F1.6 aperture, OIS
Super-wide-angle: 13MP Samsung sensor with 1.0um pixel size, F1.9 aperture
4K video
720p slow-motion at 120 fps
Manual photo and video control
5MP F2.2 front camera

Other Specifications

6" QHD+ (1440 x 2880) OLED FullVision display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset
64/128GB storage, 4GB RAM
microSD card slot
3,300mAh battery with quick charging

LG V30 camera review

With its screen covering almost the entire front of the device, a full-metal body and rounded edges the LG V30 looks and feels like a real premium device, especially in the black color our test device comes in. The back plate is a little prone to fingerprint smearing but that's the price you'll have to pay for a shiny phone. On the plus side, IP68 certification means the V30 is water- and dust-proof, allowing for risk-free use at the beach or in a rain shower.

In typical LG fashion, the volume rockers on the right edge are accompanied by a power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader on the rear, just below the dual-camera lenses. A USB Type-connector at the bottom edge offers to charge and data transfer capabilities. At the top, the LG V30 still offers, in contrast to many other high-end smartphones, a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The layout and structure of the camera app are very similar to what we've seen on the G6 earlier this year. Two icons at the top-center of the screen allow you to switch between the standard and wide-angle lenses. You can also seamlessly zoom using the pinch-gesture or an on-screen slider. There is a slight jump when the camera switches from one lens to the other but it's less noticeable and smoother than on the G5, which introduced this feature.


A bunch of settings can be accessed via an icon column on the left edge. The mode screen is where you'll find the individual modes, including a manual mode which offers manual shutter speeds up to 30 seconds, manual video and the new Cine Video mode.

In auto mode, the combined focus and exposure target can be set by tapping anywhere on the preview image. Once the target has been set, on the right, an exposure compensation slider appears for further fine-tuning. A video button right above the shutter allows for video recording directly from the main screen.

The V30 comes with a comprehensive and versatile manual mode. An AF-point display shows the currently active focus points, and you also get a virtual horizon and mini RGB-live-histogram. All essential shooting parameters can be adjusted manually via a virtual pop-up slider.

LG V30 camera review

LG is also one of the very few smartphone makers to offer manual controls in video mode. Manual Video allows you to set video shutter speeds and ISO, along with the ability to change bit rates and recording volume. In combination with a selection of formats and frame rates, this makes the V30 an excellent option for mobile video capture.

The LG V30 comes with a comprehensive selection of imaging features and unique modes, most of which can be accessed from the mode screen. Unlike most dual-cam equipped phones the LG does not offer a Bokeh or Portrait mode.

However, it features some dual-cam specific functions, such as Match Shot which helps you recreate an already existing image or the Popout collage mode. We've had a closer look at those in our G5 and G6 reviews. On this page, we take a closer look at some of the other more useful unique modes.

Dual-cam zoom

LG's combination of a standard lens with a super-wide-angle is still unusual among dual-camera smartphones but makes the V30 an excellent option for those who gravitate more toward wide angles than zoom in their photography.

At 120 degrees the super-wide-angle offers a slightly narrower field of view than on the G6, and the 70-degree main camera is a little narrower than the main cameras on most other high-end smartphones. However, put together the two lenses make for an advantageous combination.

LG V30 camera review

The camera switches automatically between lenses when zooming, but unlike some other dual-camera zooms, the system does not appear to use any image fusion technology. This means if you are using the wide-angle lens and zoom into your scene, digital zoom is applied to the wide-angle image until the angle of view of the second lens is reached. At this point, the camera app switches to the latter.

As you see in the sample below zooming in further applies digital zoom to the main camera, leading to a noticeable loss of detail, even at 2x magnification.

Panorama mode

The V30's panorama feature is selected on the mode screen and works in the same way as before. A panorama is captured by slowly panning the camera and staying within the framing guidelines that appear on the screen. You can capture full 360-degree circles or stop anytime by hitting the shutter button.

LG V30 camera review

Panoramas can be shot with both lenses but the super-wide-angle tends to produce more immersive images. The mode deals well with changes of brightness and moving subjects in a scene, but when viewed at 100% magnification panorama images shot on the super-wide-angle are noticeably softer than the main-camera counterparts.