Category Archives: Tech News

Samsung Gear 360 2017 – First Impressions on iOS & mac

Apple, Photography, Reviews, Tech News,

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Samsung Gear 360 (2017). First Impressions.

First up it’s new design over last years ball style is vastly improved in terms of holding it instantly.

The Samsung Gear 360 (2017) is currently only compatible with a number of Samsung flagship and Samsung A series along with the iPhone. Other android phones don’t work with this. I will cover off more of the what does and doesn’t in my full review.

There are 2 apps for the MacBook to install. One is a gallery photo and video app that stitches the media on your MacBook. Samsung recommend a core i7 processor. Then there is the Samsung Gear 360 iOS app.

At this stage everything worked well, from the mac software to the iOS app. No bugs. There are limitations on a few features that are available with the Samsung Galaxy S8 but not via the iPhone 7 Plus.

These currently include –

– Live broadcast (only available using mac not iPhone )
– No live video feed
– Resolution is reduced when stitching slightly on iPhone. Full resolution can be maintained using mac software.

Then menu system is a breeze to use and there are a few tweaks to be had to improve the results.

If you have any questions on this please let me know for the full review.

NB. Photo shot in portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Useful Links

Latest pricing on Samsung Gear 360 2017 on Amazon

I’m an iPhone 7 Plus – So LG G6, Samsung S8+ & Huawei P10 Plus – This is my camera prowess – by Ellie

Apple, Tech News,

The iPhone 7 Plus is a beast of a phone with its dual rear cameras and it might be over 6 months old now yet it can still can hold its own up against the competition, often winning. These are the same shots taken at the same time as the previous days posts covering the Huawei P10, S8+ and LG G6.

Macro shots.

Some lovely natural details and colours.

Mainly good focus. Some shots were out of focus.

Quality is as good as the competition.

Normal lens. A really good shot of the church. Colours are well balanced. I could have used the 2 x optical zoom lens too.

Overall, the iPhone 7 Plus holds its own ground against the competition. It also has the second lens for portrait mode and 2 x optical zoom. Then there are numerous third party apps that work really well to create silky water, night trails and star lights. Then there is Live Photos and super smooth 4K video.

So have a look at the shots on the previous posts from the LG G6, Huawei P10 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S8, and ask yourself, which ones do you prefer?

LG G6 – Camera Showdown – Can the LG G6 beat the Samsung Galaxy S8+?

Android, Tech News,

So today it is the time to show you some more photos from the LG G6. Seriously, I thought the S8+ photos were fantastic, but I think the LG G6 marginally improves over the S8+.

First shot is a panoramic shot. Looks good.

Below are some macro shots. The detail is fantastic.

I took the same macro shots with several phones, and IMO the G6 nailed these the best.

The macro below is wonderful.

The yellow is nicely captured here.

Now for some wide vs normal shots. Below the wide angle lens does it job really well.

Below, standing in the same position, but using the normal lens.

How about a panoramic shot using the wide angle lens. Yep, no problem. This was taken standing in the same spot as the panoramic photo at the start of this post.

Let’s not forget the action shot with George. Superb detail.

All in all the LG G6 not only takes great photos, but it is fun to use. It has a wealth of additional modes that use its wide angle lens too. One thing I have seen it just how close all the photos are from the different cameras.

The only difference really is if the phones have a second lens that adds some extra trick shots. Do you agree ?

Samsung Galaxy S8+ – Just how good is the camera? – by Ellie

Android, Tech News

Yesterday was the turn of the Huawei P10 plus and now it is the turn of the Samsung Galaxy S8+. So just how good is the camera? Well it takes photos just like any other phone which is the harsh reality, but is it any better than last years S7 or the current competition. If you scroll back you will see similar shots on from the Huawei P10 Plus and over the next 2 days you will see how well the LG G6 and iPhone 7 Plus fared.

The first shot above is panoramic mode. Looks good.

Below are some macro shots. Sometimes, the focus point is missed. Easily done, but when spot on, the macro shots are fab.

Colours and bokeh look superb.

Some of the detail is exceptional.

If you like macros, the S8+ doesn’t disappoint.

Fast action is easy with the S8+.

All the shades of green were accurately captured here.

Lots of saturation, but nonetheless a lovely punchy shot.

One for the road.

All in all the S8+ camera delivers the goods. If you are smart enough to work out how to press the shutter button, the Samsung S8+ does the rest for you, its that good!

Despite the good camera this phone is flawed. Why is the fingerprint sensor unreachable and next to the camera lens. And WTF is that stupid Bixby button for other than decoration and constantly being activated by accident.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Camera Showcase

Huawei P10 Plus – First Impressions and Camera Samples by Ellie

Android, Tech News,

The Huawei P10 Plus has arrived for review with thanks to Vodafone UK.

It feels like that expression about buses. You wait ages for a bus, and then 10 arrive all at the same time. That is what it feels like with flagship phones at the moment.

So this is the time for the Huawei P10 Plus, the flagship phone from Huawei. This has the new improved dual Leica cameras over the standard Huawei P10.

So what does it look like. Well in its black finish its rather slick. Fairly grippy too which is not the case with some of the other phones I have used recently. In the box was all the usual bits but also a clear silicone style case.

The other thing I have noticed is the red power button on the side. That looks neat. Out of all of the phones I have seen recently this feels the quickest to unlock, and nip around the various apps. Being used to my iPhone 6S, I do like the fingerprint sensor on the front, and it was good to see the same on this phone, except the P10 Plus is so much faster. Mind you nothing is slower/trickier to unlock than the new Samsung Galaxy S8+. I asked Gavin about the finger print sensor being so flipping awkward and up so high on the Samsung S8+, and I got some spiel about the iris and face unlock methods.

Anyway, below are a few shots from the camera taken at the weekend. Nothing too fancy. I noticed some of the camera modes and must check these out soon. Lots of fun to be had by the looks of it.

A really lovely shot of the church. Shot in auto. All photos uploaded in full size too.

Monochrome mode. A bit different for sure.

And now in full colour and in auto mode.

Some macro shots, truly amazing too.

A tree stump.

Flag pole and another monochrome shot.

Panoramic Shot.

Conclusion.

The photos look good to me. What do you think? Of course there are so many other camera modes on this phone from wide aperture, portrait, light painting and more. The Huawei P10 Plus is impressive so far.

Useful Links

Vodafone Shop UK
Huawei pricing on Amazon

Samsung Galaxy S8+ vs iPhone 7 Plus vs LG G6 vs Huawei P10 Plus – Camera Comparison by Ellie

Android, Apple, Photography, Reviews, Tech News,

Four of the top flagship phones. Left to right LG G6, Huawei P10 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S8+ and the iPhone 7 Plus.

I took 2 shots of the local church from different angles using all 4 phones. I have uploaded all photos full size. For both scenes the Huawei P10 Plus photos come first, then the iPhone 7 Plus, followed by the LG G6 and lastly Samsung Galaxy S8+.

Huawei P10 Plus Side View

iPhone 7 Plus Side View

 

LG G6 Side View

 

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Side View

 

Huawei P10 Plus Monochrome mode

Huawei P10 Plus Colour Auto

iPhone 7 Plus Colour Auto

 

LG G6 Colour Auto and then Wide Angle

 

Samsung Galaxy S8+ Colour Auto and Flower Shot

 

Conclusion and Results

Side Church Shot

I would rank the side church shot as follows. First place LG G6, then Samsung S8+, then Huawei P10 Plus and in last place the iPhone 7 Plus.

Church Colour Auto Shot

A very close call and hard to pick a winner. The LG G6 pips the post but only just. The others are all a draw. The Huawei P10 Plus monochrome shot is excellent. So is the wide angle shot from the LG G6.

Final Words

As you can see a very close call in terms of camera performance. So which are your favourites?

LG G6 vs Samsung S8+ vs iPhone 7 Plus – Burst mode comparisons by Ellie

Android, Apple, Tech News, , ,

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As you know by now Gavin likes to photograph our 3 labradors an awful lot. I think they have learnt how to pose for that perfect selfie too.

One of the modes Gavin likes to use is burst mode. So Gavin asked me to perform some tests on the speed of each phone in burst mode.

So here are the results.

iPhone 7 Plus

– Time to take 100 shots in burst mode is 10 seconds.
– Maximum number of shots in burst mode is 999 shots. Holy crap. And it can save them all fairly quickly and take another 999 shots in a burst without pulling a sweat.

Samsung Galaxy S8+

– Time to take 100 shots in burst mode is 7 seconds. And 100 shots is the maximum. Also the focusing was fastest out of all 3.

LG G6

– Time to take 100 shots in burst mode is 10 seconds the same as the iPhone 7 Plus. Like the S8+ , 100 shots is the maximum in burst mode. Focusing was as quick as the iPhone but slower than the S8+.

I will try and get some shots over the weekend but there’s no guarantee.

LG G6 – New Firmware & New Features & Improvements by Ellie

Android, Tech News, ,

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Hi it’s Ellie again. I have been using the LG G6 for less than a week and it’s now had 3 firmware updates.

With the help of Google Translate I was able to get some resemblance of what was being improved, fixed and added.

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One feature I spotted on the S8+ was the slide to zoom on the shutter button. I thought this was quite useful. Well it seems LG copied Samsung.

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However, unlike the S8+ using the zoom slider on the shutter button always switches smoothly between the wide angle and normal lens. This is neat. Only one problem is it only appears in auto mode , and not in manual.

As you can see it seems the camera quality has been improved along with a few other aspects of the phone. The Google security patch is showing as 1st April. As a comparison the S8+ I have is on the 1st March.

A company called Wondamobile got in touch. They are selling the LG G6 Korean G600 version which has the quad DAC and 64gb storage and have offered a £8 discount for gavinsgadgets using code “GFLaymond”. This isn’t an affiliate link.

LG G6 – Examining the macro performance from the camera by Ellie

Android, Tech News,

Hi again, its Ellie stepping in for Gavin while he’s recovering. I have had quite a bit of fun already with the LG G6 camera but OMG just check out the macro shots. I discovered if you use the manual mode, slide the focus slider to macro you also have the option for focus peaking. This shows you which part of the shot is in focus by overlaying green speckles. As you move the G6 in or out of focus the green appears or disappears respectively.

The dandelion above is so crisp. All of these shots are jpegs straight out of the camera with a crop from 4:3 to 16:9.

I have overheard some of Gavin’s podcasts and gather some of you like to pixel peek. I would rather read a good book but to keep you guys happy I uploaded all these shots in full resolution.

Now this leaf is impressive but lets take a closer look.

I will try and do a few more posts like this, so if there is something you would like me to focus on let me know and I will see if its possible. Gavin has asked me to look at the Samsung S8+ from Samsung that is sitting in its box too.

LG G6 – Update on Battery Performance by Ellie

Android, Tech News,

Hi its Ellie again with an update on battery performance. Apparently, according to Gavin this is what you guys all talk about. I could think of a million and one better things to debate but anyway here goes.

I spent an evening setting it up, also trying to get to grip with android as it feels different to iOS, the phone battery was dead in 4 hours, but to be fair I hadn’t charged it 🙂

I have settled for this white theme which is one of the options for the default launcher. There are black themes. Even found a Samsung S8 theme for you Samsung fans.

I have all of my social media apps installed, from twitter to Facebook and one email account. The second day I got about 4.5 hours screen on time and had just enough battery left before bedtime.

However, I turned off the always on display, bloody annoying too, and boom what a difference in battery life.

At around 8.45pm last night I had reached the dizzy heights of over 6 hours screen on time with 42% battery left.

I wish my iPhone 6S had a battery as good as this G6. Actually I wish the camera was as good as this G6. And one last thing, don’t tell Gavin, he won’t be getting this phone back 🙂