At the first reading, this shootout may look a little odd and maybe uncalled for as neither the LG G2 nor the Nokia Lumia 925 are the stand out performers of their respective eco systems. In case of the Lumia 925 running Windows Phone 8, Lumia 1020 is definitely the king while it fluctuates between the Galaxy S IV, the Z1 and the HTC One when it comes to Android which LG G2 is based on.
However, what both the LG G2 and the Nokia Lumia 925 have in common is that they have gone one step ahead and done what none of the devices in their eco system have. The LG G2 has bought buttons to the rear of the device while the Nokia Lumia 925 is a metal stripped Lumia device while just about all the others are still sporting Polycarbonate backs. These two devices may not be kings, but they are highly desirable, and as we happen to have both with us, we thought why not put them straight in a shootout for their Camera performances.
In case you missed out our first impressions of the LG G2, you can find it here
Specifications
The Camera specs on the two devices are indeed very interesting.
Starting off from the lens size, the two devices have the exact f/2.0 4mm lens size. While the Nokia Lumia 925 has an 8 MP camera, the LG G2 sprts a 13 MP one. The pixel size though interestingly on the LG G2 is 1.3 Micro Meter while that on the Nokia Lumia 925 is 2.2 Micro Meter. This means that despite packing more Mega Pixels, the size of the pixels are much bigger on the Lumia 925 which definitely would give it some advantage when it comes to low light shots.
Both the devices have OIS as well as LED flash. The sensor size on both the devices is the exact same 1/3″. Therefore, two phones, at least on paper should have pretty similar performances when it comes to the Camera. How does it translate to real time performance? Let’s find out.
Both the Cameras were used on Auto Mode without any tweaking to keep the shootout fair.
Camera Samples
Nokia Lumia 925
LG G2
The first image is that of a perfectly well lit street during the day time. Although the picture taken by the LG G2 looks more attractive, the Lumia 925 takes an image that is more natural and closer to the real picture. The post processing on the LG G2 means the colors are way more vibrant and loud than they really were.
Nokia Lumia 925
LG G2
As you can see, these are the sort of shots several people post on their Instagram profiles when out eating. We experimented to try and click a steel glass to actually catch the details of the drops. Although the LG G2 does a very decent job, the level of details of the image taken by the Lumia 925 are fabulous. You can actually see the drops up and close and clear while the G2 skips out. There is a little noise towards the upper side of the image taken via the Lumia 925, but it does a very good job with the subject.
Nokia Lumia 925
LG G2
This is a well lit situation where we are trying to capture the Cricket Club board across the road. As it is clear the LG G2 performs much better and the image is much better lit as compared to the Lumia 925. Although, once again the Lumia 925’s shot is closer to the reality, but the post processing on the LG G2, this time makes the shot really stand out. The good thing obviously is that despite the post processing, no where can you feel that the exposure is overblown on the G2 except the sky where the Lumia 925 does a great job capturing the clouds while the G2 totally blanks it.
Nokia Lumia 925
LG G2
The picture this time is of a construction site. Once again the LG G2 produces really rich results which look fantastic to the eye. The details are good too. Both the phones really do not allow much noise to creep into the image despite the sun creeping through the trees. The colors on the Lumia 925 are more natural and subtle, while both the devices do a very fine job of picking up the damaged wall as well as the writings on the sand bags. The white bags though due to the post processing on the G2 are difficult to pin out, the Lumia 925 does this very well. A good draw this one.
Nokia Lumia 925
LG G2
We move on to images taken during the late evening or night time now. The story though remains the same, the LG G2 once again produces richer and darker colors, while the Lumia 925’s image is better lit and the details on the wall are better. Although the G2 does a very fine job, but it does take you a split second longer to really register the clarity of things on wall when talking about the shot taken by the G2. Both the devices capture the subject that is leaves in this case, well, but we like the more natural looking reflection on the Nokia Lumia 925 as compared to a deeper and darker ones on the G2.
Nokia Lumia 925
LG G2
This is just about the perfect image to showcase how post processing really damages the picture on the LG G2. Although the image is really good, but the color reproduced on the LG G2 has a massive hue of orange or deep red. Unfortunately though, the original scene was no where close. The Lumia 925 captures the scene very well and actually reproduced the colors fantastically. The G2 to its credit, does produce sightly better details on the subject itself, but it fails terrible at capturing the actual scene due to over saturation despite giving out an image that is very catchy and attractive.
Nokia Lumia 925
LG G2
The image taken by the LG G2 is well saturated. Both the images have plenty of noise thanks to the exposure to plenty of lights. The image taken by the Lumia 925 is slightly dim but sharper as compared to the G2. However, in this case the saturation and over exposure of the G2 actually frames a much better picture.
Nokia Lumia 925
LG G2
This was a very tricky shot and evidently without playing with settings neither of the devices really got the right hit. We wanted to focus on the idol kept inside the glass building. However, the image taken by both the devices are just as vivid. The Lumia captures the sky much better as compared to the G2, the colors are more natural and sharp on the Lumia as compared to the G2.
Conclusion
These were some of the shots we took with the LG G2 and the Lumia 925. We have totally enjoyed the time with the two devices and feel that both the devices have very admirable cameras. The Lumia 925 although produces more natural results, the over saturation of images by the G2 does look good in few pictures. The Lumia does a better job even in low light condition, while we have to say that the G2 is not far behind at all.
However, if we are to pick a winner, it would be the Lumia 925 simply because it produces images that are closer to reality even if the images by G2 are more appealing and in few cases a lot more vivid than the 925, but that may come down to personal preference.
Do let us know which of the two, you prefer by writing in the section below, and if you have any question, feel free to go ahead and ask us, we would be glad to respond.
