LG G5 review: A flexible smartphone, but usurped by newer models

£500
Price when reviewed

LG G5 review: Cameras

The LG G5’s other big innovation, and one destined to be a little more useful, is its new-fangled rear camera arrangement. Not satisfied with just one snapper, LG has chosen to mount two cameras on the back of the LG G5: one standard camera, one wide-angle. At the front is another 8-megapixel module.

The former is a 16-megapixel shooter with a 75-degree field of view and it grabs excellent quality snaps. Its bright f/1.8 aperture, “laser autofocus” and three-axis optical image stabilisation should lead to good image quality in low light. In testing, that proved to be the case.LG G5 fingerprint reader

It isn’t as good as the Samsung Galaxy S7’s camera, or the Nexus 6P. Photographs look slightly noisier, and that’s mainly because in similar conditions the camera tends to choose a higher ISO level.

However, in good conditions, there’s little to choose between the LG G5’s camera and most other modern smartphone cameras. It can capture very good quality video at resolutions up to 4K, and there’s a host of different modes and effects to play around with, including a highly effective HDR mode, slow motion, and time-lapse video, plus a selection of frivolous effects that allow you to produce collages and picture-in-picture images that use all three cameras in quick succession.LG G5 camera sample low lightlg-g5-camera-sample-non-widelg-g5-sample-wide-angle

The secondary camera is the most interesting aspect of the G5’s camera array. It has a 135-degree wide-angle lens with a resolution of eight megapixels, an aperture of f/2.4, and it captures a much broader view of a scene than the main camera. In the picture of the pizza below I held the camera at the same distance in each shot, which should give you a good idea of the difference this makes (the wide angle shot is on the right).LG G5 wide-angle vs normal camera

Switching between the two cameras is easy: you can pinch in or out quickly in the camera app, tap the selector icons, and in third party apps such as Instagram, Facebook or Twitter tapping the switch that normally cycles you between front-facing and rear-facing cameras also does the trick.

The downside of the wide-angle camera is that the edges of the image suffer from significant barrel distortion. If you’ve ever used a GoPro camera in “ultrawide” mode, or squinted through a front-door spy hole you’ll be familiar with the look.

The upside is that the quality is exceptional, but more than this, having such a broad field of view makes the camera ideal for capturing dramatic scenery, large groups of people and cityscapes. It’s a doddle to point and shoot, and you don’t even have to frame your shot particularly carefully either.

I love shooting with cameras like this and found myself making more use of the wide-angle lens more than I did the standard camera. It’s such fun that it makes me wonder why more smartphone manufacturers haven’t tried it before.

LG G5 specifications

ProcessorQuad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
RAM4GB
Screen size5.3in
Screen resolution2,560 x 1,440
Screen typeIPS Quantum
Front camera8 megapixels
Rear camera16 + 8 megapixels
FlashLED
GPSYes
CompassYes
Storage (free)32GB (23.5GB)
Memory card slot (supplied)microSD
Wi-Fi802.11ac
BluetoothBluetooth 4.2
NFCYes
Wireless data4G
Size149 x 7.7 x 74mm
Weight159g
Operating systemAndroid 6.0.1
Battery size2,800mAh
Price on contract (inc VAT)Free on £32-per-month contract
Prepay price (inc VAT)£460
SIM-free supplierwww.carphonewarehouse.com
Contract/prepay supplierwww.o2.co.uk
Detailswww.lg.com/uk
Part codeLG-H850

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