Snappy LG phone with the X Cam factor

Only a few months after LG launched the G5, the Korean company gives us the X Cam where its all about the camera. With the ever growing need to share absolutely everything on every social network and app, a quality camera has become one of the most sought after features of a mobile phone. No one wants grainy cropped Instagram pics and with apps like Snapchat giving you a one-chance to capture a moment you want to make sure you are ready to snap your pic at any moment.

So does a phone geared towards a camera aimed at mid-level market meet the expectation ? Clare Matthes took it out for a spin to give us her first impressions of the device:

Wide angle lens

With the LG X Cam wide angle lens, you are able to take pictures of what you can actually see, rather than what the phone camera frames. The dual lens cameras include a regular 78° angle on a 13MP sensor and a 120° wide angle on a 5MP sensor. The 120° wide angle camera captures everything in sight, and shows off pictures that are true to the human view.

Pop-out picture

With the dual camera, you can create unique pictures with various shapes and different effects.

Vertical and horizontal pano shot

Thanks to the 120° wide angle camera, the panorama shot on the LG X Cam can take wider and even longer pictures, which helps avoid those often wobbly and cropped panoramic pictures.

Slim and light

There’s no argument here, the LG X Cam is a sleek smartphone with slim lines accentuated thanks to the premium 3D Arc Glass. Deceptively with the X Cam’s 5.2-inch display, it still manages to remain a fairly compact device. It is slim and weighs next to nothing but that’s because the phone is basically made of plastic.

Essentials for this target market and price point are met with the LG X Cam:

• 5.2” Full HD screen
• Rear camera of 13MP + 5MP (W)
• Front camera of 8MP
• 1.14 GHz octa-core processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 16 GB of ROM
• 2,520mAh battery
• Android Marshmallow

I found the set up of the X Cam quite similar to LG’s star of the show, the G5, but it certainly didn’t perform as well. I really enjoyed playing with all the camera functions and I’m quite sure those that like to snap a shot will enjoy all of the camera’s functions.

Switching between modes was a bit slow and autofocus wasn’t as fast as some might hope for, but as a mid-range phone, it really impressed.

The battery of the device seems to last forever too easily making it through a work day.

The LG X Cam should be available in South Africa from 10 August at a recommended retail price of R5 499.

Note: The LG X Cam was given to Clare on a review-basis before it headed back to LG.

About Clare Matthes:

Clare’s father swears she was born waving spirit fingers and singing tah dah in an oh-so-dahling-showbiz-esque manner. Nicknamed “Schnauze” because of her smart mouth and quick whit, Clare enjoys putting the world in words. This sarcastic eye roller extraordinaire has a passion for all things gadget, technology and social media. She sees the humour in everything and never shies away from a good old égoportrait (selfie)