Choosing when to use either of LG’s rear cameras leads to some fascinating results.
The back of the LG G5 features a pair of cameras, which by now isn’t new information. You’ve got one 16MP “standard” camera that shoots like just about any other high-end smartphone camera out there today, and a separate 8MP “wide” camera that captures images behind a 135-degree lens. LG offers a pair of modes in the camera app that allows you to use these two cameras together, but most of the time you’ll be choosing between the two when capturing an image.
Knowing this, we decided to compare the LG G5 against itself to see which camera you’d want to use and when. Here are our results. Click any of the smaller photos for a larger look!
At the Bar
This is one of those situations where more isn’t necessarily better. The bottles are a lot less clear in the wide shot, and the lens distortion on the edges of the image make everything look a little off. Both cameras handled the relatively low light well, and the autofocus on each did a great job.
In the Brewery
The wide shot gives an impressive sense of scale here, and the lens distortion is a lot less noticeable. Unfortunately, that wide lens is really good at catching the edge of your finger if it’s hanging too far off the back of the phone. Gotta make sure you’re paying attention when shooting wide!
Overcast Flowers
The break in the rain was just enough to rush out and grab a few photos of these flowers, and in that rush you can see the autofocus on the main camera aimed a little too far back. Most of the flowers are a little blurry in that standard shot, but on the wide lens everything looks amazing. Being this close made the lens distortion all but disappear, resulting in a fantastic photo.
Don’t whiz on the electric fence
Lit only by the yellow street lamp a few feet behind the camera, you can some significant differences in these two photos. The wide show is far noisier than the standard shot, which handled the low light about as well as you can expect any high-end camera to. It’s clear low light isn’t where the wide camera is meant to be used.
What a beautiful day
Wide shots are fantastic for scenes like this, and while both cameras took exceptional photos in this set it’s clear which one is the most visually impactful. The lens distortion gives this shot an artful effect, which really makes the photo look special.
Rainy tables
As great as the wide lens was for that last photo set, it doesn’t work well in this scene. The lens distortion makes everything look odd, and the “distance” added to the tables makes the picture far less enjoyable than the standard shot. The closed courtyard here is clearly better shot in standard.
Alexandria Underground
Hallways and tunnels are one of those environments where it doesn’t matter if you’re shooting in wide or not. What really matters is the kind of photo you want to take. If your goal is to focus on how long the tunnel is, the wide shot is fantastic. If you’re goal it to capture detail and texture, like the brickwork in this underground tunnel, the standard shot is going to be what you’re looking for.
These photos were resized to better fit the web, but were otherwise unedited. You can check out the full resolution version of these photos here. When you’re done, let us know what you think of having the ability to instantly shift to shooting wide in the comments.
LG G5
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