Below are a selection of photos I took yesterday from the LG G5 with some commentary. To view the full size, click on photo and select original or full size.
The above shot of Foggintor Quarry is superb. I have taken many shots with different phones of this place, but the wide angled lens of the G5 captured the walls too. Edited in snapseed with HDRScape filter.
Above is the quarry with the normal 16mp lens. You can see my 3 dogs just before they jumped in for a swim. This is not edited in any way. In the past I used panoramic mode to capture the inside of this quarry, but the wide lens does a much better job.
Take my local church and shoot it with the wide lens again. The effect is dramatic.
Same church taken the day before but using the normal lens to give you an idea of the difference. This was the very first shot from the LG G5.
So I tried some action shots with my dogs. Above is George. This is a cropped shot. Having 16mp worth of detail is great for something like this.
Again another action shot using burst mode. But with the wide angle lens. Note how the clouds look as if they are moving inwards.
National Park Visitor Centre. Normal lens. Crisp and a good quality shot.
That wide angle lens on the G5 is something else. Look how much more was captured in the frame. Now this shot did curve the buildings more than shown, so using VSCO Cam app on the G5, I made a few adjustments and then edited in snapseed using HDRScape.
Using both lenses to create the above shot. Not that excited about this mode.
High quality shot using the normal lens of Fury. I like this one.
Cropped close up of Tiggy. This photo was originally too dark, so I had to raise the brightness and shadows.
So above is a small selection of the photos that I have snapped over the last couple of days. I found the wide angle lens to be wonderful. Not only that but the 8mp wide angle lens actually had a lot more detail than expected with file sizes around the 4mb. The Normal 16mp lens produced file sizes around 7mb.
Based on the full range of photos I have taken with the G5, I am able to write up my views on this camera versus the Samsung Galaxy S7 camera. This hopefully will be live tomorrow. But all I will say at this point is the G5 and S7 are so different its actually great news for consumers to have such choices.
The first 2 photos I took with my retail LG G5 are above and below. HDR got triggered automatically as I was shooting partially at the sun.
The shot above is the standard shot from the G5 using the normal 16mp lens. And below is the wide angled shot.
How do I feel about the wide angle shot. Blew my socks off wonderful. I have snapped my local church hundreds of times and this shot ranks as one of my favourite versions. I love the way its draws you into the church.
Now I already have lots to say about this phone. You’ll have to wait until Monday. But just to quench some rumours and clear some facts up:
1. Build quality on my gold finished G5 is excellent.
2. It is a damn load more comfortable and easier to hold than my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
3. Camera – more tests required but very pleased so far
4. Loudspeaker – much louder than S7 Edge
5. Headphone Output – rumoured to be quiet. Significantly louder than my S7 Edge with 4 pairs of headphones.
6. Bluetooth Audio – Better than anything I have heard so far
7. G5 home launcher with no app drawer. Piece of cake to manage with and actually is easier to use. See previous post with all 150 apps on one page.
Are there some annoyances. Yes. Those will be revealed on Monday along with everything else discovered by Sunday night.
All the HTC 10 reviews have appeared from a number of tech websites. My HTC 10 is due shortly and likely at the same time as the Huawei P9. However, my first focus will be putting my LG G5 retail unit through its paces, now that this has now arrived.
I have a special treat for the G5 camera (weather permitting) so stay tuned.
So the reviews from Engadget, Pocketnow. Mobilegeeks, Android Authority and many more all seem to summarise that they really like the HTC 10. Clearly there is some love left for the company.
HTC have just released the HTC 10, its new flagship. The main focus was world class cameras. Both the front and rear cameras have optical image stabilisation.
So what are the photos like? Well Grryo in conjunction with HTC, got a load of photographers to use the HTC 10 and snap a range of photos.
All the photos seem ok. Nothing dramatic but nothing wrong with them either.
Obviously pro photographers were used, so the shot should look good as well.
Low light is shown and again this looks reasonable.
I will be receiving my HTC 10 shortly so will put this through its paces. If you want to see more of these shots then head over to Grryo.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge camera only has a 12mp rear camera, but it comes with the fastest focusing speed in the house. And sometimes, this is the only point that matters. Lots more detail is irrelevant if you miss the moment.
I have loads of examples to prove this point but below are 3 shots snapped last night.
First up my 2 female labradors, Fury and Tiggy. They were running at the time. I slightly cropped the photo to bring the dogs more in to the frame.
Next up is George. Looks like a selfie but actually he was running at full force. I was able to crop this shot slightly to focus more on George and lose more of Tiggy’s body on the right.
And lastly just to prove how fast the S7 camera is, Fury photobombed this macro. The camera still got her chin and tongue. This shot was completely untouched.
HTC announced their new flagship the HTC 10. Full specs can be found on HTC’s website – click HERE.
Firstly, I thought HTC did a rather clever job of announcing the new flagship without a big live event. In fact, at 1pm UK time, all the content just appeared on HTC’s website along with a 13 min introduction video to the new flagship and what makes it special.
At the same time, all the major website also released all their content on the HTC 10 along with first impressions. Full reviews are likely to follow soon as well.
So instead of reproducing the same content as every other website, I am going to discuss the high and low points of the HTC 10 and then provide my thoughts re the competition.
HTC 10 – My First Impressions
A typical unibody slab of metal from HTC which will help it feel and look premium in the hand. The effort HTC’s went to task to simplify the software with Google will mean this phone will be super fast to use. However, for some and probably me included this could also mean a boring phone with no added extra software perks. The next stand out feature is the Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Headphones. This is for playback and recording via the microphones. This is really excellent if you like your music. The loudspeaker setup is a tweeter at top and bass/subwoofer at the rear. This should sound reasonable. 12mp rear camera f/1.8 1.55 microns pixel size, with OIS, two tone flash and laser auto focus. To me this sounds like the Nexus 6P rear camera but with OIS. Expect good photos. The front 5mp camera has OIS too. The rest of the specs are all run of the mill for a flagship phone. Apart from Airplay support built in. Unusual for an android phone. Due to all the software optimisations with Google, battery life should be one day. Handy Quick Charge 3 is included. Another claim to fame is the HTC 10 holding the top rating for its camera with DxOmark. I also liked that the HTC 10 had adoptable storage.
HTC 10 vs The Competition
Nexus 6P – I would pick the HTC 10 over the Nexus 6P. That is unless you wanted to ensure fast and quick firmware updates directly from Google. The HTC 10 should have better cameras and audio.
Samsung Galaxy S7 – Whilst the HTC 10 has larger pixels in its rear camera, the S7 has a f/1.7 vs a f/1.8 for the HTC 10. Both rear cameras are 12mp. Personally the S7 would be my choice for camera due to its incredibly fast focus. The S7 is also water and dust resistant. If selfies are your thing, then maybe the HTC 10 would be a better option. The HTC 10 gets the thumbs up from me on the audio front and the fact it has adoptable storage. On paper I still think the S7 Edge looks more premium. It also has a better screen and battery. Whilst Samsung include lots of extra apps, some are really useful and add extra functionality.
Xiaomi Mi 5 – HTC 10 has the camera and audio edge. The Mi 5 features an IR blaster and is a lot cheaper. But it is not as readily available world wide.
LG G5 – I still think the 16mp rear camera on the G5 is my preferred choice over the 12mp HTC 10. Whilst the G5 doesn’t offer a front camera with OIS it does offer a higher resolution at 8mp. The 8mp wide angled rear camera is unique. Audio quality will be better on the HTC 10, even with the G5’s DAC module potentially. However, bluetooth audio on the G5 should be better than the HTC 10 due to the G5 supporting APT-X High Definition codec. The G5’s modules offer something different to the HTC 10. The HTC 10 is far more premium looking. An IR Blaster is still included with the G5 and not present on the HTC 10.
Huawei P9 – I think the P9 will have a tough time competing against the HTC 10 except for the fact the P9 at launch will be £100 less in price. The P9 also has a unique dual rear camera lens setup. But these lenses do not feature OIS meaning blurrier shots will happen more frequently.
iPhone 6S – Apart from the iOS vs android debate, I really think the HTC 10 beats the iPhone in audio and camera, at least from a specs point of view.
Microsoft Lumia 950 – Whilst the camera on the 950 may be respectable I believe the HTC 10 would be a better all around option.
Conclusion
It is worth remembering these are my initial thoughts. I have yet to see the HTC 10 in person and like everything the specs may look good, the promotional material may shine, but does the phone deliver on what it promises! Time will tell but it really does look like HTC have delivered a decent offering this year.
If you order directly from HTC there are discount codes available as follows –
– USA – Code – HTC1008 – Saves $100 – Price reduced to $599 from $699
– Canada – Code HTCCA1008 -Saves $100 – Price reduced to $899 from $999
– UK – Code – HTC10 – Takes 10% off. New price is £512.99 from £569.99 – Also selecting Express Shipping instead of standard, makes shipping free.
Above is the full sized version photo from the LG G5, using the wide angled lens. Thanks to Richard Yates for permission to use photo for this article and for taking such a smashing shot!
I really love the super wide shots from the G5. They seem to add such a different dynamic and wrap you into the the whole scene really well.
However, not everyone will like the warped walls so what can you do about it?
Well using either Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop on the mac or PC you can spend a little time and adjust the photos perspectives with relative ease. If you want to try and adjust the perspective on your mobile phone apps like SKRWT and VSCO Cam on iOS and android allow you to adjust the perspectives.
However, I do find the best adjustments are made using professional apps like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop. Anyway, I imported the photo into Adobe Lightroom for mac and made a few quick adjustments are created the new version below. I also tweaked the photo just a tad more to make it stand out further.
Now which version do you prefer. I am leaning towards the edited photo, but I must admit to liking the original too.
At 1pm today, HTC will officially reveal its new flagship the HTC 10. However, why wait until 1pm!
Below are the specifications are full product video.
Specifications –
– Processor – Snapdragon 820, Adreno 530
– 32 Storage, 4gb ram
– 3000 mAh battery
– 5.15 inch Amoled QHD display with 570 PPI
– Gorilla Glass 4
– USB Type C
– 12mp Ultrapixel Rear Camera with OIS f/1.9 26mm, laser autofocus, dual tone flash, a 5mp front camera with OIS
– Micro SD Card support up to 200gb
– Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
– Bluetooth 4.1, APT-X
– Boomsound speakers
– Fingerprint sensor
– Quick Charge 3
And below is the full product video. So is this enough for you to consider this as your main phone?
Below are a selection of photos that were my favourite from this week. All were snapped on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. If you want to view the full size, click on photo and select full size.
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