LG Venus Cell Phone Review - Imaging
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Mark Brezinski Published on December 05, 2007 Comment on this |
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Resolution (2.70)
We test resolution by snapping pictures of an industry standard resolution chart (as pictured below). We then export the photos from the phone to our test PC, which is equipped with Imatest, our image analyzing software. Imatest finds out exactly how many of the staggered black lines the camera was able to discern before it simply rendered the area as a patch of gray. The resulting figure is measured in line widths per pixel height, or lw/ph.
| Cell Phone | LG Venus | LG Chocolate Vx8550 | Apple iPhone |
| Score | 1.94 | 1.69 | 4.18 |
| lw/ph horizontal/vertical | 779.9/740.1 | 616.8/569.5 | 970/879 |
| Image of Resolution Chart (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | HTC Touch | Razr2 V9m | Samsung Juke |
| Score | 3.56 | 4.34 | 0.40 |
| lw/ph horizontal/vertical | 895/1082 | 988/958 | 300/295 |
| Image of Resolution Chart (click to view) |  |
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Color (6.0)
We test color quality in a fashion similar to how we test resolution. We again take a series of pictures of an industry standard GretagMacbeth color chart that displays twenty-four different colors. Then we turn once more to Imatest to analyze the resulting captures. It then compares them both to the ideal color, and an adjusted ideal, which takes things like luminance into consideration.
| Cell Phone | LG Venus | LG Chocolate Vx8550 | Apple iPhone |
| Score | 6.00 | 4.69 | 5.22 |
| Color Checker Chart (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | HTC Touch | Razr2 V9m | Samsung Juke |
| Score | 2.23 | 5.71 | 5.50 |
| Color Checker Chart (click to view) |  |
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Noise (0.94)
Noise refers to the little bits of color that get randomly sprinkled around pictures. We measure it by taking pictures of the chart from the color test in different lighting levels. We then rely on Imatest for the hard numbers. The Venus didn't do such a great job with noise. Typically cameras with higher Megapixel counts show higher noise at lower light levels, simply because they capture more information. Conversely, those with lower resolutions have less noise. The Venus flies in the face of this tradition by having a lot of noise and subpar resolution. Bravo.
| Cell Phone | Score |
| LG Venus | 0.94 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 1.27 |
| Apple iPhone | 1.20 |
| HTC Touch | 1.14 |
| Razr2 V9m | 0.84 |
| Samsung Juke | 1.50 |
Live Preview (3.0)
Unlocked Standby to First Shot (4.38)
Unlocked standby to first shot has the privilege of being the first timing test of the review (if you're reading the review out of order, feel free to replace "first" with the appropriate ordinal number). We begin with the phone closed and unlocked, start the timer, then take a picture of it. The captured image will display the length of the run.
The Venus was able to snap a picture about 4.57 seconds after we started going through the motions. As you can see from the table below, this is a bit sluggish. The Venus has the benefit of a dedicated shortcut button as well as not having to slide open. The majority of the time was spent waiting for the program to boot up. The Venus most likely won't help your reputation as a photographic quick-draw.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| LG Venus | 4.57 | 4.38 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 2.36 | 8.47 |
| Apple iPhone | 2.43 | 8.23 |
| HTC Touch | 2.7 | 7.41 |
| Razr2 V9m | 2.85 | 7.02 |
| Samsung Juke | 1.89 | 10.58 |
Shot to Shot Time (1.08)
For shot to shot time, we start with the camera application open, aim the phone at the timer, and hit the shutter key and start button simultaneously. We then snap four more. Using the final capture as the total time, we figure out the frames per second the camera is capable of. If the phone has a burst mode we enable it. Basically, this test aims to see how quickly sequential pictures can be taken.
The Venus didn't do too well in this category compared to all phones, but it did about average for phones without a burst mode. It took about 14 seconds to take all five pictures, which is about 0.36 frames per second. With burst mode phones typically manage between 1 and 2 frames per second.
| Cell Phone | FPS | Score |
| LG Venus | 0.36 | 1.08 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 0.38 | 1.14 |
| Apple iPhone | 0.4 | 1.20 |
| HTC Touch | 1.67 | 5.00 |
| Razr2 V9m | 0.29 | 0.86 |
| Samsung Juke | 0.56 | 1.68 |
Shutter to Shot Time (2.44)
Shutter to shot time again has us taking pictures of a timer. Like the previous test, we hit the shutter key at the same time as the timer's start button. Unlike the above test, each trial only consists of the single picture. This test measures the length of the delay between hitting the shutter key and when the picture is actually taken.
The Venus could snap a picture in about 0.82 seconds, which isn't particularly fast. A good score would be between .2 and .3 seconds. Though the delay might not matter if you're snapping a prom picture or a tourist photo, if you're trying to capture a moving target or preparing to capture a fleeting moment, delays approaching a full second could ruin the picture. Though the Venus isn't quite as bad as the LG Prada (3.6 seconds) or the Treo 700p (almost 7 seconds), it won't provide the fastest pictures relative to other cell phones.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| LG Venus | 0.82 | 2.44 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 0.22 | 9.09 |
| Apple iPhone | 0.4 | 5.00 |
| HTC Touch | 0.26 | 7.69 |
| Razr2 V9m | 0.34 | 5.88 |
| Samsung Juke | 0.09 | 22.22 |
Interface (7.5)
We liked the Venus's camera interface. The secondary screen means the viewfinder is never cluttered with button assignment reminders. Hitting the options key will cause a small toolbar to appear at the bottom. It really doesn't take up much room, but we would've liked it better if it were translucent. Menus pop up from the toolbar, which does obscure vision a bit. There were times when these menus could've been a bit smaller than they are, such as the few menus that only contain two items. Even so, the interface is very neat, and the toolbar hides completely when not in use.
Photo Album Software Internal (4.5)
Manual Control (1.0)
The Venus really doesn't offer any manual control options. It does have night mode, however, and since we award points for scene modes here, it receives a single point.
Zoom (1.0)
The Venus supports digital zoom up to 10x. We only award a single point for digital zoom because it isn't a true zoom. The phone crops the image and blows it up so it appears bigger. The more enlarged the image, the lower resolution it is.
Focus (0.0)
The Venus has a fixed-focus lens.
Flash (0.0)
The Venus doens't have a flash.
Metering (6.0)
Interestingly enough, the Venus does support basic metering. It has a default automatic setting and an option for spot photometry. It also has a brightness slider with 13 positions on it.
White Balance (2.0)
There are five preset options for white balance: auto, sunny, cloudy, fluorescent, and glow.
Image Handling (2.0)
The Venus really doesn't have any image handling software, such as automatic color correction or red eye reduction. You can rotate your pictures, however, which is more than some phones will allow you to do. Another available option is a color filter, such as sepia or black & white. You can also rename pictures, which isn't the most exciting feature, but a handy one nonetheless.
Video
Overall Video Score (3.5)
The Venus can capture video in 320 x 240, or 176 x 144 resolutions. The result of either will be pretty typical of cell phone video, meaning the videos will look adequate on the cell phone screen, but trying to watch them on a larger medium wouldn't be pretty. Video capture seems to reproduce color similarly to still capture, which will cause a bit of undersaturation. Overall, the video is certainly nothing special, but it isn't so bad to be out of the realm of average cell phone video quality.
Video Resolution (5.85)
Despite not having the best picture resolution, the Venus has video resolution on the better side of average. We wouldn't necessarily recommend you view it on a laptop, but if the video doesn't contain much movement it might be all right. Watching it on a TV screen, however, probably won't be a good idea.
| Cell Phone | lw/ph horizontal/vertical | Score |
| LG Venus | 237/247 | 5.85 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 218.3/200.8 | 4.38 |
| Apple iPhone | N/A | 0.0 |
| HTC Touch | 895/1082 | 4.51 |
| Razr2 V9m | 208/244 | 5.08 |
| Samsung Juke | N/A | 0.0 |
Video Compression (2.0)
The Venus can only capture videos in 3GPP format.
Interface (7.0)
Manual Control (0.0)
There aren't any manual controls for the video recorder.
Zoom (1.0)
Again, only digital zoom is supported. As video starts out at a much lower resolution than still capture, digital zoom is even worse here. We'd recommend you think of it as an incoherency slider.
Editing (0.0)
There are no video editing tools on the Venus.
Modes (0.0)
Unfortunately, night mode didn't survive the transition from still to video capture. The phone's video recorder remains a barren, mode-less landscape.
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