Review: LG G2

Unlike the other smartphones in this shoot-out, the LG G2 has buttons only at the back at a spot where your index finger is most likely to rest when you hold the phone.

There is no dedicated shutter release button.

Instead, you can use either of the Volume buttons but I found this counter-intuitive, especially in landscape mode, as my shutter finger tended to block the lens.

However, the native camera app lets you take photos using voice recognition with what it calls the Cheese Shutter. You say "cheese" to activate the shutter release. Or "smile", "kimchi", "whiskey" or "LG". It works pretty well, but you do need to give the command quite close to the phone for your voice to register.

The app has a comprehensive set of shooting modes, including dual camera, night and beauty shot.

You can also adjust white balance and ISO settings.

Image quality is good in bright sunlight, with accurate colours, and exposure is spot on. But the shots are not as sharp as those from its Apple and Nokia rivals here.

In low light, the G2 does not fare well. Without flash, the pictures are tinged with blue and image noise causes them to look water-colourish. The flash is not powerful enough to light your subjects properly, so they look darker than they should.

The panorama function needs work. Clear misalignments can be seen throughout the picture.

On the bright side, G2 has the best HDR function of this lot. Both bright and dark areas are evenly exposed producing a picture comparable to what the eyes see.

If you are after the best HDR capability and are content with decent photos in bright sunlight, the LG G2 is your choice.

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