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One of the reasons for the LG Optimus 3D's amazing bulk – compared to smartphone rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4 – is the inclusion of two 5MP camera sensors around the back, which work in tandem to give you 3D images and videos.
The camera app on the LG Optimus 3D is very straightforward, with a toggle to switch between 2D and 3D modes in one corner, plus your standard Android picture settings down the left-hand side.
There's a digital zoom accessed through an onscreen meter or the volume up/down buttons, plus numerous scene modes, face tracking, a self-timer and geotagging options.
BLUR: This is taken at full digital zoom. Not great.
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SPLIT: Your 3D photos are stored in JPS file format, which is a tweaked JPG. In fact, if you change the extension to JPG yourself you can see the raw images, which is simply a left and right pair the phone combines to create a 3D picture.
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The 3D picture effect is surprisingly good on the LG Optimus 3D, with the Android Gallery attaching a 3D icon to each three-dimensional shot. Obviously the sharing options for these 3D photos are limited, in that the viewers need a 3D screen to make them work. Share a 3D photo on Facebook, and the LG Optimus 3D uploads the JPS file so that people get to see both the left and right images.
LOW-LIGHT: Indoor picture taken on default settings. The colours aren't as vibrant as they could be, but detail is maintained quite well.
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The camera is quite fast in operation, although it does take a while to open the camera app itself. Once it's up and running you can take multiple shots very quickly, plus there's a Continuous shooting mode that fires off six rapid shots and lets you pick the best – but it takes the resolution down to 2MP in return.
PORTRAIT: With flash, in the dark. The Optimus 3D produces nice low light images and doesn't go mad with the over-saturation. But while there are no blocky, enhanced colours, shots taken with the flash do appear a little washed out and ghost-like.
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MACRO MODE: There's a decent macro mode for close-up shots.
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SUNSET: This is a sunset taken with the Sunset scene mode. It doesn't really do much, and actually made the image come out darker than when just left to auto.
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LANDSCAPE: Colours are nice, foreground detail good, but there's an odd mosaic tiled effect on the tree leaves in the background visible when viewed at full size.
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The most annoying feature is LG's power limitations. The Optimus 3D refuses to open the camera app if it has less than 10% of battery remaining, complaining that there isn't enough power to run it. While this may seem like a good idea to some, we'd rather the user was left to decide how they'd like to fritter away their last few dregs of battery life.
Even if it limited photos to 2D-only it'd be better than just refusing to let you even try to take a photo. What if your cat was doing something amazingly interesting with the potential to become a viral smash?
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