Here’s a quick video I put together using LG V40 camera in 4K! Now, because a lot of the shots were in super low-light, I did have to apply some noise-reduction in post using Neat Video but still, you can get some decent shots with the LG V40 in low-light using the manual video mode and noise-reduction processing.
Thoughts on the LG V40 back cameras for Low Light Videography
In auto mode, LG V40 and most Android smartphones like to expose lights too bright, especially when more than a few lights are involved. This usually results in super-noisy videos as the auto mode sets the ISO too high. By using the manual mode, you can expose outdoor or indoor lights manually using your eye and keeping the ISO lower, which usually also results in lower noise. Now, you can also reduce exposure when shooting in auto but that does not reduce ISO automatically and results in still noisy video with just reduced expose. By using manual mode and controlling the ISO yourself, you get much better videos with less noise.
Now, in super low-light conditions, smartphones still will give you noise as there are still hardware limits to how far you can take these smartphone camera sensors. While most of my shots looked pretty good, LG V40 still suffered from background noise, especially the darker colors that are not 100% black. So, I applied some noise-reduction software using Neat Video and I can tell you that I am pretty satisfied with the results. I should have a full tutorial guide on how to maximize your smartphone in low-light conditions soon but for right now, my advice is to stick with manual mode in low-light situations to reduce noise to the minimum.
I’ve also uploaded the original video I made without noise reduction here for comparison: