Friday 5: Reasons to consider picking up the LG V30 [Video]

The LG V30 was announced earlier this week, and it’s already been met with some mixed feelings. While many (myself included) are excited to try out its professional-grade video capabilities, many longtime fans of the V series are disappointed by LG ditching the iconic secondary displays and rugged designs of previous generations.

No matter your feelings on the V30, though, it’s gearing up to be one of the best phones of 2017, and this week’s Friday 5 takes a look at some of the reasons you might want to consider getting your preorder in.

Durability

Even though the V30 isn’t made of stainless steel and other rugged materials like its predecessors, its glass and metal design should still be respectably durable. The V30 meets the MIL-STD 810G durability rating, and is IP68-certified for water and dust resistance as well. You might still want to carry it around in a case if you have a tendency to fumble your phone, but wielding such impressive durability ratings should at least instill some confidence.

OLED Display

The V30 is also LG’s first flagship to sport an OLED display, and first impressions are looking good. The 6” P-OLED display features curved edges and a 2:1 aspect ratio, with a whopping 2880×1440 resolution and bright, vivid colors. We’ve gotten used to calling Samsung the king of displays, but its reign might be nearing an end.

Quad DAC

A huge selling point for LG’s recent G- and V-series devices has been the quad DAC for high fidelity audio… assuming you were in the right market. There’s no question that LG’s quad DAC offers the best quality audio output of any smartphone, but until now it was only included in certain regional variants of each phone. Thankfully, LG is finally making it a universal feature on the V30, meaning it’ll come on your phone regardless of where you buy it.

Cameras

LG has made a name for itself in recent years with its dual camera layout, placing an ultra-wide angle lens next to the more traditional one. The V30 improves upon both cameras, reducing fisheye distortion in the wide angle lens and bringing a speedy f/1.6 aperture to the primary sensor for better low light performance. LG also stressed during the phone’s announcement that the V30 uses glass for its lenses, rather than the plastic found on most smartphones, offering clearer, faster results.

Video capabilities

Lastly, one of the biggest selling points for the V30 is its expansive video capabilities. Like the V10 and V20, the V30 features manual video controls to allow for focus pulling, ISO control, color temperature adjustment, and so on, but it’s also the first phone with the ability to shoot in Log format. This allows for broad dynamic range and flexible color grading in post.

The V30 also supports LUTs, which essentially serve as presets that can be laid on top of the viewfinder to preview different color grading effects in real-time. Log footage and LUTs are features typically only found in high-end video cameras, so it’s exciting to see such a powerful videographer’s tool in a smartphone.

Are you thinking about picking up the V30? Let us know in the comments below.