Better late than never DXO?
The V40 has been ranked and scored at DXO, and the results aren’t what LG fans might have been hoping for. A combined score of 93 places the V40 well outside the top ten list of current phones. It’s just above an iPhone 8, and just below a Note 8 in DXO’s ranking.
LG fans are understandably “not thrilled” with this conclusion, especially for how long the phone has been out. Sort of adding an insult to the injury of delaying their review this long.
The thing is, based on the way DXO shoots and analyzes image quality, they’re not wrong. The DXO testing suite is very consistent.
They just might not test for what you use…
To maintain consistency and to simplify their testing benchmarks, DXO shoots mainly full auto. This was a sore weak spot for the V40, and falls right in line with my conclusion for the V40 camera below.
The rest of the smartphone industry is moving to a multiple stacked exposure capture for auto photos. Even when you DON’T shoot HDR, the phone bursts a series of shots, layers them together, and arrives at a finished jpeg with “better dynamic range”. It’s really just HDR though. Looking at photos from an iPhone XS, it’s really difficult to tell the difference between “normal” auto and HDR in many shooting scenarios.
That’s the main reason why a single RAW image from an iPhone or Pixel looks substantially different from what a finished jpeg in auto will resemble. The hardware really isn’t capturing that dynamic range. Some incredible software is processing a subtle HDR effect.
The V40 relies on none of that. It’s an area where the phone is noticeably behind the trend curve. One RAW image is captured, and is processed, for one jpeg. It’s so old-fashioned it’s quaint.
When you combine that with how poorly LG performs for CHOOSING modes in auto, that completely aligns with DXO’s criticisms. LG’s do NOT do a good job of auto-switching to night mode, HDR, or activating the flash.
I do not see a testing bias at DXO, but unfortunately I also don’t enjoy a “lowest common denominator” idea of what an “average” consumer might want on a camera. Professional camera reviewers don’t grade DSLRs by shooting only in full auto. Phones have replaced standalone cameras for a significant chunk of the population.
We seem hell bent on telling consumers NOT to learn anything about photography. They shouldn’t HAVE to learn anything about composition. They should ONLY push the shutter and get the juicy colors. I digress.
Reviewing ONLY in full auto means you lose out on a significant portion of what LG is trying to accomplish on the V40. You’re not grading the camera against LG’s claims, you’re grading the camera against a pretty low estimation of consumers.
Controlling modes and manual settings, many of DXO’s complaints would remain, but as there’s NO discussion of what’s in the camera app, consumers are left with an incomplete view of what the V40 can deliver.
That’s the bummer with ranking and scoring tech.
Very fair comment. Sadly, this ‘dumb/blind consumer’ template is what everyone markets to, and the majority of consumers seem happy to be led by the nose through whatever trend is hot, and pile on when the media declares that something, like LG phones, is bad or not cool.
This infuriates me.
They really believe that people pay $500, $700 even $1000 bucks for a phone also because of it’s camera and all it’s included features… to use none?! Never?
Beyond ridiculous, even my ignorant poor mother learned a bit about how to use the camera on the phone properly.
I have to say, I think DXO Mark’s “full auto” approach is the right one. I think a smartphone camera is most useful for those quick, spontaneous moments when you don’t even know you’re about to take a picture. People wanna be able to whip it out, take the shot and guarantee the best results. Not being able to do that as well as others can be a huge shortcoming on a phone.
Good response Juan. Thank you for your insight. In addition to the V40 I own a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 with ported Google Pixel 3 camera software which produces awe inspiring pictures and video. There are a lot of occasions when it is difficult to tell which pictures were produced by the Note and which came from the V40, it is capable of producing images that good. I’ll leave the pixel peeping and benchmark obsessing to others while I continue to enjoy this feature filled, functional and fun device and all it has to offer.