LG G5

Review

Multimedia

When it comes to multimedia the smartphone is equipped with a necessary set of components and the software. For playing music we have the “Music” app signed by LG, we can sort songs according to artists, albums or music genres, we can create playlists and use the equalizer, we have a recorder which saves files to .3GP format. We can create voice notes in it, with events and location, we have an FM radio with RDS, unfortunately we cannot record broadcasts.

I must add a few words about the sound that comes out of the external speaker on the lower edge of the smartphone. It is rather loud and rather decent, though it cannot compete with what HTC can do in its smartphones. We will hear the sound of the alarm or the ringtone without any problems, but when listening to music we are left unsatisfied (the sound is flat, there is no bass).

The most interesting feature in this device is the presence of two lenses. The first one, 16-megapixel, offers a lens with a standard angle of 78 degrees. The second camera is slightly weaker, it has an 8-megapixel matrix, but it offers a 135 degrees wide lens. Switching between these two lenses is simple and it only takes a moment – we simply need to touch an appropriate icon in the camera interface.

Though when it comes to the quality, the wide lens camera is weaker than the standard one, in my opinion it is still a great solution – it offers a greater flexibility when taking photos and videos, and thanks to it we can achieve unusual perspectives, especially when taking photos of the landscape. With its help we can record videos (up to 4K resolution) as well. The laser auto-focus works effectively and without delays – but it is not as good in a weaker lighting. In addition, both cameras have image stabilization and allow taking photos in the RAW format (we have to switch to the manual mode).

The application itself is visually minimalistic, but it has an impressive functionality. Thanks to it we can switch between cameras and changing modes of photos or movies and their format in a clear and a simple way. With a single icon we can switch to the manual mode. There is an automatic HDR, timer, voice-triggering the shutter and selecting where we would like to save photos, and a slide-out menu through which we can instantly share photos. We have an auto mode, panorama, slow-motion and time-lapse. Modes that use both cameras are interesting as well: Popout or Multi-view.

And how it is with the quality? We can see it on examples below – in my opinion photos are good, with a nice contrast and great colours – especially in the daylight. Unfortunately even with a small close up we can see that cameras cannot deal with noises – their level is too high and the sharpness and the detail level suffer from it. Here are results of the photography from both cameras in different lighting conditions (you can see them in full resolution – and many more – on the phone's page):

And here we can see sample videos:

At the front we have an 8-megapixel camera for selfies, supported with a mode that retouches the photographed face (a rather aggressive smoothing). The wide lens allows capturing a lot of space around the photographed person.

For browsing photos and playing videos we have “Gallery” – it ensures the basic functionality, it covers, for example, sharing and editing photos, and when it comes to files with movies it is possible to display subtitles, change the screen ratio, crop videos and add multiple effects.

Source: GSMchoice.com

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