There have been some massive shifts on the hi-end cameraphone market since the last year. The 5 Mp has been widely adopted as a quality bar for mid-end cameraphones, the top notch being 8 Mp. The manufacturing companies are investing serious effort into improving the qualitative aspect of their product, not just the quantitative side. By saying quality we mean not only the result you get after pressing the shoot trigger, but also the comfort and range of options you get with the related services. An easy-to-navigate gallery, direct blogging support, etc. – all of this used to stay in the background until the emergence of really powerful mobile cameras, but once the mobile photography reached a development level high enough to pose a challenge to the compact handheld cameras, the social, communicative and ergonomic aspects are taking on a more important role. Just as it used to be a year back, today’s flock of 8 Mp cameras are all very different in positioning, quality and affordability, let alone sometimes absolutely different feature kits. The majority of 8 Mp cameraphones constitute a caste of expensive, multifunctional devices, priced above 500 euros. In this row, we would mention models like Samsung i8510, Samsung M8800, LG KC910 and Sony Ericsson C905. The power of their cameras is backed up with an unmatched functionality of directly related and peripheral services, - something you will never get with a less pricey gadget… yet. This in a way mimics the last years’ state of things. A number of affordable cameraphones sprouted up not until it had been half a year since the emergence of a pioneer group of devices with sky-high starting prices. Samsung G600 was the first to cast down the price bar, combining a high-profile camera with a rather limited number editing, post-processing and customization options for the photos, not to mention a generally weak functionality in the other departments. All this plainness allowed for a serious starting price reduction; the model appeared in retail at a very affordable price, reserving some fortified positions for the company in the mid-end cameraphone market sector.
This time LG was quick enough to introduce a less expensive counterpart to their all-around, top-of-the line KC910 Renoir juggernaut car. We went to great lengths examining the functionality of its camera and finally came up with the recent article you might have already been through; the preview is to be followed by a comprehensive analysis of Renoir’s remaining features in an article that will be up on the site just in a few days, but this time we think it necessary to pay some attention to Renoir’s junior sibling as well. Things go plain when it comes to its market positioning. The model evolved from KC550, retaining many of its features (KC550, as you probably remember, was the cheapest 5 Mp phone at the time of release, and enjoyed a substantial demand). Crafting an updated and revised version stood to reason, but LG never ventured as far as pushing it into a higher price bracket, sticking to the rule of affordable price and powerful camera (coming at the price of a plain everything else). So don’t expect a top-of-the line functionality with this one, the Wi-Fi and GPS were mercilessly cut out. There’s no support for 3G networks available either. What quite logically stays on a top level is its 8 Mp camera, KC780 being the best and only option for the cheapest 8 Mp at any cost, provided that this 8 Mp unit is no cheap garbage and stands up to the expectations.
LG KC780 Specs:
Supported Networks: GSM 900/1800/1900
Memory: 140 Mb of user memory + microSD slot
Screen: 2,4" , QVGA (240х320), 262K
Connectivity: USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, A2DP, TV-Out
Camera: 8.1 Mp (3264х2448), auto-focus, LED flash, video (D1, 720x480, 30 fps)
Battery: 900 mAh (rated for 6 hrs of talk time or 450 hrs of standby)
Measurements: 107 x 52 x 13,9 mm
Weight: 119 g
Recommended price: 350 euros
The model looks very intriguing, in many senses unique to today’s market. LG’s is switching its image to that of an overtaking vehicle ready to win the race even if it had been lagging behind for some time before. The closest expected analogue is the next Soul-class flagship developed by Samsung, but it won’t get released anytime soon, and is going to cost more due to better exterior and materials. KC780, on the other hand, never claimed any positions in the fashion sector. Being a purely utilitarian solution, it’s just what it is.
You will find no metal parts; the design looks plain, but at the same time strict and solid. Currently the handset is issued in black and black’n’silver versions. Either has a casing crafted from a matte plastic. No glassy spots means no dirty spots, at least the soil and grease marks are hardly ever visible. The plastic is resistant to scratching and doesn’t feel slimey even when your hands sweat. The size of the handset stays on a level with the rest of 8 Mp devices, and even sports some relative slimness – it’s only 13.9 mm thick. The casing is a bit thicker at the spot where the camera is seated, but doesn’t have any sort of lens guard. You have to give the lens a good rub prior to every shooting session. The LED flash and self-portrait mirror are located in a close neighborhood to the camera lens.
The sliding mechanism is very durable and smooth-running, the play between the parts is put to a minimum. The keypad is really nice, the buttons being large and a bit protruding. The backlight is white, strong and even. The screen is the same thing with KC550, a 2.4’’ piece. You don’t get any Touch Media functionality, but it preserves the quality and brightness witnessed with the previous model in line. Unfortunately, features like DivX support, TV-out and motion sensor were all taken out, sharing a fate with the automatic screen rotation feature (in most operational modes).
The widgets are a great addition, though this system looks and feels a bit weird given a lack of touch sensor buttons. You must use a special key seated right below the navigation button to activate the widgets, and the number of simultaneously displayed widget windows is limited to one. Smart Bluetooth is another piece of smart stuff you get with the gadget. Once a stable wireless connection between the phone and a PC is established, you can use the former as a mobile web camera during online communication. All required software is supplied on a CD that comes in the box with the phone. Smart Bluetooth also gives the user the possibility to use a PC’s screen and keyboard to read, compose and send text messages, which is by all means easier and faster than the traditional way. This feature proves really helpful when you’ve got a PC at hand, say in the office or at home.
The onboard camera is a top-of-the-milk feature. Sporting its 8 Mp and Schneider-Kreuznach optics, it does offer some real power and quality regardless of all concerns that may arise after looking at this handset’s price tag. There’s no xenon flash installed; you have to get along with a LED flash instead, but it’s capable of acting as a backlight during the focusing process, so your nighttime shooting sessions become easier. The camera application interface bases on the interface used in the KF755 Secret model. The main window features a bar hosting shortcuts to the main functions like shooting mode selection, flash and macro activation, etc. The Settings shortcut does just what its name suggests; but don’t expect an ocean of features, this model will never match up with Renoir on this front.
The ISO level is fully adjustable, the maximum value being the same with KC910 (that’s 1600). A face capture option is included along with a smile detection feature. These two tricks will help you to automatically lock the focus on a person’s face and track it as it moves to and fro all across the scene. The rest of helpful features include Smile Shot (just dare to smile and get instantly shot, haha) and Beauty Mode (claims to get away with some picture flaws commonly occurring in mobile photos). The last special function to be mentioned here is SmartLight – turned on, it automatically adjusts the light sensitivity and brightness level to avoid any blank white, overburnt spots from strong light sources that can at times screw the whole photo up.
The list of weaknesses includes a laggy camera behavior. Sometimes it takes too long to switch between the photo and video modes, and focusing isn’t done quickly either. On the other hand, it takes but a few instants to save a photo in the memory. Macro shooting is another reason not to get proud, failing on some occasions to focus on the closely positioned object. You can’t instantly send a photo via Bluetooth, but rather have to go to the gallery every time you want to do that. The lack of xenon flash makes long-range shooting impossible at night, but the rest of the camera features obviously go to the list of strengths rather than weakness. For a price like that, this sort of camera is something between a revolution and revelation.
A more detailed breakdown of the model’s features will become available in an upcoming article that’s due to pop up on the site in a matter of days. For the time being, we bring about a few pictures taken with the handset at maximum settings. Daytime shots look great, hardly distinguishable from samples acquired with LG KC910 Renour or Sony Ericsson C905, which is simply amazing for this phone.
The videos are recorded at a resolution of 720x480@30 FPS. In this sense the model even outruns its senior sister. But things stop looking that good once you start shooting in a close quarter environment with a ceiling for a sky. A lack of light results in a lack in quality, that’s nasty but natural of all digital cams. Here come a few flicks made at maximum quality settings:
Drawing a final line, we want to congratulate LG on launching a finely balanced and affordable mid-end cameraphone. KC780 will drop in retail stores around mid-November at a price of 350 euros. That means it will face little to no competition, using its price as a deadly weapon. The models that might look as candidates for comparison all have a more advanced functionality, but their price tags will never allow them into the competition. The new model’s exterior design is far on the utilitarian side and has nothing to get excited about, but its practical looks never raises any negative emotions and is bound to please a broadest audience. We hope LG will launch a variety of alternate color versions of the gadget to popularize it even further. The company’s current price policy for this product makes us sure it will score an enormous success. Playing in pair with KC910, it looks a challenging entry in LG’s portfolio. While Renoir may face some competition from comparable products, this one is totally beyond competition because of its unique combination of powerful camera and seductive price.
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