LG G Pro 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 3: Royal duel

Effortless 4K video recording

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 captures videos with a slightly lower audio bitrate than the LG G Pro 2. It sits at 123 Kbps with a sampling rate of 48 kHz and 2 channels (stereo). The 1080p@30fps videos of the Galaxy Note 3 have a bitrate of 17 Mbps with a solid 30 fps framerate per second. The 1080p@60fps captured 59 fps per second with a bitrate of 27 Mbps. As for the UHD video capture it sports 29 fps framerate with a very high 47 Mbps bitrate.

The LG G Pro 2 videos all record audio during video capture with 2 channels (read stereo) with an audio bitrate of around 153 Kbps and a sampling rate of 48 kHz. In the standard 1080p@30fps recording mode the bitrate is almost 20 Mbps and a framerate of a solid 29 fps. The 1080p@60fps has a higher bitrate at around 30 Mbps with a solid 60 framerate. The UHD video recording has the same 30 Mbps bitrate with a 29 framerate per second.

So an edge in video bitrate goes to the G Pro 2 concerning 1080p videos, while the Galaxy Note 3 UHD videos carry the highest bitrate. Audio bitrate is higher on the LG smartphone resulting in cleared sound in videos.

Moving on to actual quality. Below we've assembled a comparison crop from samples at 100% resolution. The top represents 1080p@30fps and 60fps along with a UHD sample from the Galaxy Note 3. Directly below is the corresponding LG G Pro 2.

The videos were shot on a tripod so as to represent the ideal shooting conditions for both cameras. While the results are very close to each other, there is noticeable sharpening on the Note 3 videos. Its results are generally sharper than those on the LG G Pro 2. This is most noticeable in the UHD crop, which has more than twice the resolution of the 1080p samples.

The 1080p@30fps videos generally have higher detail levels than the 1080p@60fps videos but the quality drop on the Galaxy Note 3 is lower between shooting modes compared to on the G Pro 2. The 1080p@60fps sample from the Galaxy Note 3 is almost as good as the 1080p@30fps one on the LG G Pro 2.

Except for the 1080p@60fps mode, the LG G Pro 2 produces a comparable level of detail as its competitor.

We can safely say we're dealing with two of the best camcorders around.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The Samsung phablet has more detail in every mode we shot with and its UHD videos are still second to none.

You can check out the 1080p@30fps videos from both parties below.

And the 60 fps 1080p samples as well. Keep in mind that YouTube plays videos at 30 fps but the added smoothness should still be visible. First comes the Note 3, then the LG G Pro 2.

And then, the cream of the crop 4K videos. The Note 3's sample is first.

And finally, if you want to do some extra pixel peeping, you can go ahead and look at our dedicated video comparison tool below. Notice how the Note 3 has a much better exposure during video capture. This is most evident in the low light sample, where things appear brighter on the Note 3's video. It's also sharper, despite lacking optical image stabilization.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs LG G Pro 2