LG KF600 camera samples

The LG KF600's stand-out feature is undoubtedly its unique eye-catching and finger-attracting touchscreen user interface. However, the KF600 is equipped with a 3-megapixel camera that boasts a high level of cameraphone gadgetry inside, offering more flexibility and potentially more quality for capturing images than many other handsets in this class.

The 3-megapixel camera included on the KF600 features an autofocus system, built in LED photo light flash, and a macro shooting facility for close-range photography. An image stabiliser option is included too, alongside a wide range of settings adjustment controls.

There is a dedicated camera button on the side of the phone, but the InteractPad touch control pad is the hub of the camera's control system. When the camera button is pressed once (or twice, if the screen is locked), the KF600 switches into landscape mode. The upper screen becomes the viewfinder, with a few icons onscreen to guide you, while the lower InteractPad brings up landscape orientated control keys.

Thankfully, LG doesn't clutter this small area with excessive buttonage; there's a central capture key (replicating the function of the regular snapper button on the side), a brightness level button, a back key and a menu button. This menu button brings into play a variety of settings options you can play around with.

A list of icons and pop up menus appear on the main display, with the InteractPad changing its configuration again to help you to scroll through and select the various options available.

Among these, you can adjust the 'shot mode', optimising the internal metering system to deliver best results for different types of shots - auto, portrait (shooting people), scene (large groups or scenic shots), sports (moving subjects), and night (low-light shooting).

You can change the image resolution, withe a choice of size options from basic 320x240 pixels to 2048x1536 pixels maximum resolutions. Quality can be tweaked (normal, fine or superfine), while there's a portrait enhancer option, and a shake reduction setting. There's a regular self-timer too, plus a multi shot option too. The flash (an LED photo light) can be switched on or off - the default is off, to save battery life - but can't be set to automatically come on when necessary. There is a shortcut to switch it on though - simply press the # key on the numberpad for a quick on/off button.

As usual with most mid-tier mobiles, there are several white balance settings to cope with a variety of indoors or outdoors lighting conditions, and you can add colour effects, like sepia, mono and negative.

As mentioned, the LG KF600 has a useful autofocus system built in. The camera has a 2-step capture button, with a frame in the centre of the display indicating when the autofous system has locked onto a subject. However, in case users prefer to override this - and get fixed focus shooting - there's an autofocus off option. Within this menu you can engage a macro mode to get very close-up shots in sharp focus.

Viewing images after you've shot them is made more interesting too by the novel use of the dual screen arrangement. You can zoom into images, with the zoomed image shown on the upper display, and a thumbnail image of the full picture on the InteractPad. You can move a 'zoom box' around the thumbnail to control what's shown on the larger upper display.

The LG KF600 is capable of taking crisp, detailed and colourful images with its 3-megapixel camera. Like many cameraphones, it prefers good lighting conditions to achieve optimum results.

In low light indoors, without the photo light switched on to complement ambient light, images can be soft and picture noise evident. The bright flash works well for illuminating nearby images, though it's not a subtle filler.

The autofocus system works well enough, enabling you achieve better images more consistently, and compose more interesting snaps.

You can press the capture button down halfway and hold to focus on a subject in the centre of the screen and when the green indicator shows, you can adjust the composition by moving the camera before pressing the capture button fully.

There is a slight lag, though, between the camera capture being pressed and it taking pictures, which can result in slightly mistimed shots or movement until you get used to it - you need to hold it steady even after you've clicked the capture button. This is especially important if you're taking extreme close-in shots with macro mode engaged. You may find a bit of trial and error is needed to secure optimum results.

With its three million pixels image capture ability, the LG KF600 is well capable of capturing images good enough to print as regular-sized images.


LG KF600 review