GSMArena have just published their, compared to that of PhoneArena's previous review, really detailed review. (Link takes directly to the camera review page)
Camera-wise, the G2 seems to be excellent. The only problems it has:
- you can only save 1 Mpixel stills while shooting video. Even the iPhone 5 was better in this respect (direct 16:9 FHD, that is, 2 Mpixel framegrabs), let alone the SG4, which allows for full-res images
- the effective framerate in 1080p60 mode is around 58 fps only.
- panorama sizes, when using the built-in pano shooter app, are only 5 Mpixel ones. (For comparison: the one-year-old iPhone 5 is capable of around 14 Mpixel panos using its built in pano mode and the SG4 even a whopping 40 Mpixel). That is, you'll want to use third-party apps for pano shooting.
Otherwise, the camera seems to be GREAT. The video quality is even better than that of the SG4: "In terms of resolved detail, color accuracy and contrast it beats even the Galaxy S4 in good light. In low light, the two are pretty much even."
Stills quality
The review doesn't directly elaborate on the still quality of the G2 to that of the SG4. As you may know, effective resoution has always been considerably better with the SG4 than those of the, up until now, other smartphones (incl. the iPhone 5 and the Lumia 920), also according to DPReview's own test I've very often linked to. This is why I'm talking about the SG4 and not any other camera it's always been THE phone other phones with a 13 Mpixel sensor have been compared to.
Fortunately, at least effective resolution, is quite easy to be evaluated now, thanks to the extended ISO 12233 tests. (Extended means double-resolution ISO 12233. As opposed to DPReview's double-resolution ISO 12233 image see http://www.dpreview.com/news/2005/10/14/newreschart -, GSMArena only has a double-resolution area in the lower center of the image, right below the original 1...20 vertical test lines.)
I've uploaded a crop of the GSM Arena double-vertical resolution (10...40, as opposed to the default, abov-mentioned original 1...20) area.
With the LG G2, the near-horizontal lines start to be indistinguisable at around mark 28, while, with the SG4, at around 32. That is, the SG4 delivers considerably higher effective resolution from the same 13 Mpixel resolution.
HOWEVER! If you consult the SG4 results, you'll see the better effective resolution is definitely the product of he much weaker AA low-pass filter in front of the sensor. As usual with all cameras with (very) weak or non-existing AA filters, there is quite a lot of noise moiré in the image; here, between marks 26 and 36. There's absolutely no color moiré in the G2's shot, thanks to the much stronger AA filter.
I've created a crop showing both the difference of the effective resolution and the moiré. As with most my previous resolution comparison shots, I used a red, vertical line outside the semi-horizontal, original lines to denote the extinction of detail:
(full-quality image: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3543595?post=52123629&image=0 )
Camera-wise, the G2 seems to be excellent. The only problems it has:
- you can only save 1 Mpixel stills while shooting video. Even the iPhone 5 was better in this respect (direct 16:9 FHD, that is, 2 Mpixel framegrabs), let alone the SG4, which allows for full-res images
- the effective framerate in 1080p60 mode is around 58 fps only.
- panorama sizes, when using the built-in pano shooter app, are only 5 Mpixel ones. (For comparison: the one-year-old iPhone 5 is capable of around 14 Mpixel panos using its built in pano mode and the SG4 even a whopping 40 Mpixel). That is, you'll want to use third-party apps for pano shooting.
Otherwise, the camera seems to be GREAT. The video quality is even better than that of the SG4: "In terms of resolved detail, color accuracy and contrast it beats even the Galaxy S4 in good light. In low light, the two are pretty much even."
Stills quality
The review doesn't directly elaborate on the still quality of the G2 to that of the SG4. As you may know, effective resoution has always been considerably better with the SG4 than those of the, up until now, other smartphones (incl. the iPhone 5 and the Lumia 920), also according to DPReview's own test I've very often linked to. This is why I'm talking about the SG4 and not any other camera it's always been THE phone other phones with a 13 Mpixel sensor have been compared to.
Fortunately, at least effective resolution, is quite easy to be evaluated now, thanks to the extended ISO 12233 tests. (Extended means double-resolution ISO 12233. As opposed to DPReview's double-resolution ISO 12233 image see http://www.dpreview.com/news/2005/10/14/newreschart -, GSMArena only has a double-resolution area in the lower center of the image, right below the original 1...20 vertical test lines.)
I've uploaded a crop of the GSM Arena double-vertical resolution (10...40, as opposed to the default, abov-mentioned original 1...20) area.
With the LG G2, the near-horizontal lines start to be indistinguisable at around mark 28, while, with the SG4, at around 32. That is, the SG4 delivers considerably higher effective resolution from the same 13 Mpixel resolution.
HOWEVER! If you consult the SG4 results, you'll see the better effective resolution is definitely the product of he much weaker AA low-pass filter in front of the sensor. As usual with all cameras with (very) weak or non-existing AA filters, there is quite a lot of noise moiré in the image; here, between marks 26 and 36. There's absolutely no color moiré in the G2's shot, thanks to the much stronger AA filter.
I've created a crop showing both the difference of the effective resolution and the moiré. As with most my previous resolution comparison shots, I used a red, vertical line outside the semi-horizontal, original lines to denote the extinction of detail:
(full-quality image: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3543595?post=52123629&image=0 )
