[LG V30 Guides, News, & Discussion] koboltzz:
Hello to all :)

Since I currently own both a Samsung Galaxy S8 and an LG V30, I thought I'd make a camera comparison.

Let's start directly with the facts.

LG V30 (H930): 16 MP, f/1.6, 1/3.0", 1.0µm, dxomark 87 points

Samsung S8 (SM-G950): 12 MP, f/1.7, 1/2.5", 1.4µm, dxomark 88 points

As we all (should) know, the data speak for S8, because:

Fewer megapixels, larger sensor = less noise. In addition to that is has a larger pixel size.

In order for the comparison to be a comparison, the following requirements must be met:

Both devices have the latest software

Both devices took their photos at the same time under the same circumstances

Both devices use the same mode in direct comparison (HDR/Auto/Pro etc.)

Both camera lenses are clean ;)

All pictures are here unedited from my site, not recompressed and 100% crops

Okay, check that.

Let's begin...

First object, a car model, indoor:

Samsung S8 - auto mode - 1/131s f/1.7 ISO40

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

LG V30 - auto mode - denoise ON - 1/115s f/1.6 ISO50

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: Samsung can reach ISO40, LG can't. And Samsung has a better shutterspeed. BUT: If you look closely at both pictures, you can clearly see that the LG photo is sharper and does not artificially emphasize the writing "Highway Patrol" with increased contrast.

Same motive, both HDR modes in comparison:

Samsung S8 - auto mode - HDR - 1/300s f/1.7 ISO40

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

LG V30 - auto mode - HDR - denoise ON - 1/109s f/1.6 ISO50

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: Both HDR modes are not really comparable to Google's HDR algorithm (which is truly black magic), but LG manages to better brighten up the dark rear end of the car.

Same motif, the test par excellence: RAW comparison, jpeg conversion without further processing with "Photoshop Express" under Android.

Samsung S8 - RAW 1/140s f/1.7 ISO40

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

LG V30 - RAW - 1/110s f/1.6 ISO50

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: Both photos look much better, because they look more natural than if the postprocessing of Samsung/LG runs over them.

If you take a closer look...

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

...it is noticeable that even the S8 uses ISO40, it has more noise than the V30 at ISO50, which raises some questions due to the technical data :rolleyes:

Here are some LG V30 specific pictures:

LG V30 - auto mode - AI enabled - denoise ON - 1/113s f/1.6 ISO50

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

LG V30 - manual mode - denoise OFF - 1/100s f/1.6 ISO50

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: AI does not change anything groundbreaking in the photo and even if it changes something, they are "only" filters. Deactivated noise reduction in daylight does not introduce any visible change.

Next motif: Bush from above, outside

Samsung S8 - auto mode - 1/684s f/1.7 ISO40

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

LG V30 - auto mode - denoise ON - 1/423s f/1.6 ISO50

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: It's confirmed, Samsung gets more light into the camera, but Samsung's postprocessing is really bad. So go directly to RAW:

Same motif, RAW (converted same way as above)

Samsung S8 - RAW - 1/680s f/1.7 ISO40

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

LG V30 - RAW - 1/420s f/1.6 ISO50

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: Again, both cameras clearly benefit from not being spoiled by postprocessing, but the "more" megapixels and the slightly smaller view angle contribute to the fact that this crop of the V30 is much more usable. S8 appears blurry.

Next and last photo motif: bedside lamp, extremely darkened room

This time the other way around, first RAW comparison.

Samsung S8 - RAW - 1/10s f/1.7 ISO800

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

LG V30 - RAW - 1/13s f/1.6 ISO1800

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: Woooot, LG increases the ISO level considerably more than the S8, the image is extremely noisy, even difficult to recover with Photoshop Express (I tried it). By the way, the S8 really seems to like ISO800 and stays on the level as long as it's not pitch-dark. But it's not the end, what about postprocessing?

Same motive

Samsung S8 - auto mode - 1/10s f/1.7 ISO800

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

LG V30 - manual mode - denoise OFF - 1/13s f/1.6 ISO1800

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: Woooot again. LG V30's photo looks terrible. Let's activate the noise suppression:

LG V30 - manual mode - denoise ON - 1/13s f/1.6 ISO1800

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion2: Okay... LG V30 has won again. Noise is gone and look at the grey something in the lower left image area. This is a pillow with 3D texture, the S8 has decided to remove this completely :D

Matchball: Short little mini video test. Maximum settings. Also means Cine-Log+Color Grading for the V30.

LG V30: Video: h264 (High), yuvj420p, 3840x2160, 52000 kb/s, SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9, 24.01 fps

Audio: PCM, 2304 Kbps, 48.0 KHz, 24 bits

Samsung S8: Video: h264 (High), yuv420p(tv, bt709), 3840x2160, 47863 kb/s, SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9, 29.91 fps

Audio: AAC, 256 Kbps, 48.0 KHz

Thumbnail:

Full picture:

Conclusion: For my taste the S8 is a bit oversharpened and the LG a bit too soft. Both can be adjusted during post-processing, but I doubt that I can achieve a similarly good color yield with the S8. For my taste, LG V30 wins.

After all we have learned, as a V30 user, use RAW+an app to develop it for light-rich situations, use manual+denoise on for pitch-dark situations, don't believe to much in technical data or some reviewers like dxomark ;)

Also, I am not a big fan of gcam port since it can be buggy and slow and won't match RAW quality after all.