A bit ago I received these add-on lenses from RhinoShield to test out. I’m no professional photographer, just a regular joe, amateur photographer. But I guess they liked the reviews I’ve written about their cases on XDA, thus decided to send me this package when I asked about their crash guard for my pixel 2 XL.
Their approach is a little different than Moment. Rhinoshield’s focus is on developing cases for phone protection, where as Moment’s focus is mobile photography via add-on lenses. An extra part is required using the Rhinoshield’s add-on lenses. If you choose to explore their add-on lens, you need to buy a lens adapter for the case and the lenses simply screw onto the case via the adapter. My guess is, they went this route because their main focus is phone protection, therefore it’s not ideal to allow the lenses, as a secondary option, to increase the cost of production of the cases for the entire customer base when probably just a small percentage would consider buying the add-on lenses.
There are four add-on lenses as follow:
- 2 in 1 macro + 0.65x wide angle lens – 100 degree view angle
- 0.6x HD wide angle lens – 110 degree view angle
- Super wide angle lens – 165 degree view angle
- Fisheye lens
The photos are posted in the following order:
- without lens
- 2 in 1 macro + 0.65x wide angle in wide angle mode
- 0.6x HD wide angle lens
- Super wide angle lens
- Fisheye lens
- close up without lens
- close up with 2 in 1 macro + 0.65x wide angle in macro mode
All the photos are taken on a tripod, in the same position, at the same time, with the exception of the macro photo, that was taken indoor.
From my eyes, I think there is noticeable decrease in quality of the photos. I see quite a bit of vignetting of the images as you go wider. The distortion in the super wide and fisheye lens are expected, however the decrease in quality is quite severe. One odd thing noted is according to RhinoShield’s website, the HD wide angle is supposed to have 110 degree view angle, more than the 2 in 1. However, as you can see in the photos, the 2 in 1 captured more but also with more distortion. Now these are just my opinion, and like an a**hole everyone got their own, so just look at the photos and judge for yourselves. I did try to reach out to Moment for some lenses so I can do a side by side comparison review, but they politely declined. (lol ‘who are you?’)
Now in terms of build quality of the lenses, they feel sturdy and the material is all metal. They hold some weight and certainly doesn’t feel cheap. Each lens comes with front and back caps, as well as a little microfiber pouch. All of which explains the price tags, although they are still cheaper than Moment.
In summary, do I recommend these? Personally, I wouldn’t buy them because of the hit in quality of the photos. However, some people may not be as picky and the wide angle being so useful, especially in landscape photography, without many options in the market it may work for some folks. Also, if you only care to use the photos on social medial platforms, the photos get rendered down anyway making the distortions even less noticeable. If I have to pick, I think the 0.6x HD wide angle lens showed the least amount of distortion and so I’d go with that one.
Hope this was helpful.
Thanks for this review. I likely wouldn't have invested in these, but this solidified that.
OT but were the pictures of the brick wall taken at York U? Looks familiar.
ouldsmobile said:
OT but were the pictures of the brick wall taken at York U? Looks familiar.
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nope, just outside my condo!
***WARNING*** EXTREMELY LONG REVIEW ***WARNING***
TLDR:
If you’re serious about your photos, but don’t want to buy a dedicated camera, the lenses from Sirui offer so much versatility and creativity to the Pixel 3 - a phone that is already one of the best point and shoots in the world. After spending a week taking photos with them on vacation, I believe they are absolutely worth every penny!
Introduction:
I love photography - full stop. But I can’t stand the thought of spending $2,000 on a dedicated camera and another $2,000 on lenses and accessories. Plus, carrying all of that around doesn’t sound fun either. This is why I started using my phone’s camera as my primary shooter. The results of smartphone cameras have improved dramatically in the past 2-3 years to the point where I am proud to share my photos online with regularity. Granted, there is still only so much a fixed focal length lens on a smartphone can ever do – even if that smartphone is a Pixel. Enter, the moment lenses… (but wait, I thought this review was about Sirui lenses?!) Hang on. Sometimes we have to go back before we can go forward; we’ll get there…
Background:
Ever since the original Google Pixel was released, the camera was praised and lauded as the premier smartphone camera in the industry. At the time, I was not in the market for a new phone, but my mom was, so I suggested the Pixel to her. She loved it for more than just the camera, but every photo she sent to me just blew me away. It felt unfair that her phone took so much better pictures than mine. So, I decided to do what many of us tech enthusiasts do, and went online looking for deals on the Google Pixel. In case you don’t remember, the original Pixel did NOT have many (if any) promotions during its first 6 months on the market, making it very difficult for me to pull the trigger on a purchase – especially since I’m not a Verizon customer, nor will I ever be (that’s a topic for another review). Because of this struggle to find a deal, enough time passed to where I started hearing rumors about the Pixel 2. It was time to be patient and play the waiting game.
Months later, the Pixel 2 was announced and Google shocked the world with the highest DXO Mark score of any phone EVER – 98! (Yes, I know DXO scores are not the only way to judge camera performance, but this improvement was notable at the time). This score was up from the 89 that the original Pixel scored and knowing how impressed I was with the original, I immediately clicked ADD TO CART. The photos I was able to produce with the Pixel 2 were nothing less than INCREDIBLE. At family gatherings, family members would throw their iPhones aside and beg me to take pictures for them because my phone took such great photos. I was more and more impressed with each shot that I took with this phone. I would even try to take photos of increasingly challenging scenes just to see how far I could push the camera; intentionally breaking the rules of photography by shooting into direct sunlight, or seeking out areas of poor lighting, only to be in awe of the results every time. But these high flying feelings didn’t last forever.
Eventually, I started to get a little bored; bored by how easy it was to take a great photo, bored by how little editing was required to make each photo share-worthy, and simply bored by taking the same types of photos, just in different locations - portrait, landscape, flower, food, repeat. After a year of the greatest smartphone camera experience ever, I became eager to upgrade to the Pixel 3 to recapture that initial magic which my Pixel 2 seemed to have lost. But I was instantly disappointed; not by the Pixel 3’s camera performance, because it’s still class leading, but disappointed by the lack of “wow” factor that I felt with the Pixel 2. It didn’t have the same obvious improvement in photo quality thaw we saw from the original Pixel to the Pixel 2. I was temporarily wowed by the new Night Sight feature - which is pure magic if you ask me, but its use cases are limited and the older Pixels have that feature too. I finally turned to the internet to look for inspiration and found increasingly frequent articles and videos touting the advantages of Moment lenses.
These Moment lens advertisements *ahem* articles and video reviews showed me a new world of photographic possibilities that I simply could not replicate with with my Pixel 2 or 3 alone. They could take portrait photos with natural bokeh without any edge detection failures, and they could take breathtaking wide angle shots to give the scene more drama than the standard focal length lens. And finally, they had a macro lens which I thought would be a game changer. You can always zoom in/out with your feet, but the details that can be seen with a macro lens cannot be imitated. I had to have them! After browsing the Moment website for a moment (no pun intended), I was quickly turned off by the astronomical pricing for these lenses. I simply could not justify paying $100 per lens, plus another $30 for the case required to attach the lenses. After tax, it would have easily surpassed $350 for the set. The dream was dead.
Fast forward a couple months and I stumbled upon an article comparing the Moment lenses with a new lens kit from Rhinosheild. (Seriously - Rhinosheild?! Hurry up and get to the Sirui lenses already) Hang on, almost there... I was excited because these new lenses appeared to be much cheaper than Moment’s, but my excitement was quickly tempered by the side-by-side photo comparisons. IN the review, the Rhinosheild photos looked down right terrible. Somehow, their lenses made the camera’s photos look worse. I kept searching for alternatives and finally stumbled upon Sirui lenses. At the time, there were a handful of decent reviews for them and they were only a fraction of the cost of the Moment lenses. And to top it all off, they fit perfectly onto Moment brand cases. You know the drill by now… ADD TO CART!
The Review:
It took a while, but we’re finally at the review you were looking for. I purchased the Sirui 3-lens kit from Amazon for the grand total of $160 (before taxes) and I purchased the Moment case (wood grain model) for $30. Just in case you skipped the background, let me reiterate that the equivalent set from Moment (without a carrying case) would cost me over $330! The Sirui lens kit comes with 3 lenses (wide angle, portrait & macro), a hard shell carrying case, and a universal lens clip for those who don’t have a compatible phone case. Now of course, I braced myself for these lenses to be of marginal quality to help save on price. I held my breath as I opened the package and inspected the contents.
Build Quality - 5/5 Stars
To my pleasant surprise, they looked and felt very nice. The weight of the lenses was more substantial than I expected, and reassured me they were truly made of metal and glass. Although I’m not much of a fan of the bright red and blue colors for the macro and portrait lenses respectively, so far, neither appears as though the color would fade or chip easily. Scratches however are a real concern so I do not dare set these lenses down on any surface which is harder than a microfiber cloth. Speaking of which, the package includes a small microfiber cloth for cleaning the lenses as needed. It tucks away nicely into the sturdy and fairly rugged case which holds all 3 lenses. The case even has a metal clip/hook that can be secured to just about anything when traveling.
Wide Angle Lens - 4/5 Stars
The wide angle lens has a focal length of 18mm and doesn’t have that unnatural fisheye look of the original V-series LG phones. I’ve found it great to use for the following 3 scenarios:
When taking a picture of a landscape (obviously) or anything that’s too big or tall to fit within the view of the standard focal length. Turn the camera vertically to capture tall buildings or statues.
When taking pictures in a cramped space - real estate agents would love this to make any room look larger and more spacious; especially when you can’t step back any further for a better perspective.
When using the Pixel’s portrait mode - it allows for background blur without cropping in as far. This one isn’t my original idea. I found it on one of the reviews I read.
This lens has proven to be quite versatile; more so than I expected when I purchased it. The lens doesn’t overly distort the scene and the image looks clear and detailed almost all the way to the corners. I only gave it 4 stars though because I wish the focal length was just a hair wider. It may be personal preference, but maybe 16mm would be ideal for my use cases. I found that I could easily replicate the wide angle viewpoint in a few cases by taking just a few steps backward, making the lens less useful in those scenarios.
Portrait Lens - 5/5 Stars
I did not expect to be as impressed with this lens as I was. I was already using my Pixel 3 in portrait mode for background blur to great success, so having a dedicated portrait lens felt redundant. I was WRONG! The portrait lens creates such a smooth and natural background blur that is every bit as satisfying as a dedicated camera. The artificial bokeh (or fokeh) that smartphones are using just doesn’t compare. This lens is the largest and heaviest of the three, so it takes a bit more effort to balance the phone when taking photos. The 60mm focal length does place you much closer to your subject so taking a few steps back is often required, causing your amateur subject to wonder if you’re doing something wrong. I originally planned to give this lens only 4 stars because it does have one small “flaw” that I can find: it’s not exactly razor sharp, or at least, not as sharp as I expected it to be. Granted, it’s sharp enough, and probably just as sharp as the Pixel 3’s lens. But for no reason at all, I just expected the results to be sharper. The reason why I kept the 5 star rating, however, is because of the added benefit of the 60mm focal length. It offers a true optical zoom to the Pixel 3, which already has a fairly impressive digital zoom, and the combination of both offers significant reach that neither could provide alone. I’ve found that I can zoom in up to 8x without critical loss of detail. It’s a very capable lens. I can remove it for normal/wide angle shots, and put it back on for portrait or telephoto shots. If I could only carry one single lens, this would be the one.
Macro Lens - 4/5 Stars
Macro photography is an area where smartphones generally struggle. Software simply cannot overcome the minimum focus distance of the hardware, resulting in blurry photos when positioned too close to the subject. Some of the most dramatic photos can be achieved through macro photography, and this lens is the tool I needed to complete my smartphone photography journey. The Macro lens offers a 10x magnification (not zoom) of the subject so you can see every detail in a flower petal, drop of water, or grain of sand. It highlights details that are barely visible to my naked eye and really brings everyday objects to life. The lens even comes with a light diffusing, removable hood to prevent harsh shadows as you hold the phone so closely to your subject. Be careful though, as you have to hold the lense within 1-2 cm of the subject and risk scratching the lens by contact. I prefer to use the lens hood to help protect the lens. The moment I feel the hood touch my subject, I know not to get any closer. My only complaint is the SUPER shallow depth of field doesn’t allow me to take full advantage of the sensor area. I’m sure it is a standard characteristic of macro lenses, but I find that only the very center of my photo is in focus while the rest of the frame is quite blurry. This forces me to crop out half of my photo before sharing so that only the in-focus area is presented. With phone sensors being so small, cropping really sacrifices the final resolution of the photo.
Conclusion:
I took the Sirui Lens kit with me on a trip to Cancun recently and was able to get some fantastic shots that I absolutely would have not been able to achieve with the Pixel 3 alone. Even though my wife is pregnant, she was a willing model for me on our vacation. And if you know anything about most women, they can be very critical of how they look in photos. She came away from the experience quite impressed with the results and has even given me permission to share them with complete strangers on the internet. There is a link to an album of sample images at the end of this review.
Bottom line - if you are looking to take your smartphone photography to the next level, and aren’t willing to shell out the cash for a Moment lens system, give the Sirui lenses a shot (does that count as a pun?). As long as you don’t expect these lenses to turn your phone into a DSLR, then I doubt you’ll be disappointed. And as you can probably tell by my willingness to write this lengthy review, I certainly am not.
Bonus:
Moment Photo Case - 4/5 Stars
I am fairly impressed with the Moment Photo Case. It is offered for the Pixel 3 in three colors and I chose the black with wood grain backplate. It looked the classiest of the three to me and it certainly feels premium in the hand. It’s bulkier than the ultra thin X-level cases I typically use on my phone, but nowhere near as thick as an Otterbox Commuter or anything like that. The threaded connection for the lenses is super easy to use, requiring only a quarter turn to secure and release the lens. The lenses are also clearly marked in a way that helps you quickly align the threads. I docked it’s rating just a little for the price. In a world of $10 cases, $30 seems a bit steep, but is ultimately required to complete the experience. I also wish Moment made a battery case for the Pixel 3, as this would turn the phone and Sirui lens kit into the ultimate photography tool. Anyone who takes a bunch of photos knows the toll it takes on the battery. And due to the somewhat cumbersome nature of swapping lenses, you typically only carry them with you when you plan to take a lot of pictures. Hopefully, a Moment battery case will be developed some day. Do you think they’ll ever read this review?
Link to Sample Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HakfHBeif8FekCPv7
Hey, i'm interested in these lenses but i can't seem to find them online (also i can't find the case you're talking about) could you dm me a link?
Thanks for your review. I have the portrait and have a problem, the pictures look bland and not sharp. I had that lens with my old Pixel 2 and it worked fine.
I just got 2 lenses. One from Apexel with 120 degrees capture but there is some distortion and problems with focus on the corners.
Just got the 18mm Sirui and this is a whole other lens. Sharp images with huge quality compare with the Apexel. Though it is only 95 degrees. But no distortion or problems with sharpness.
I am loving it. I know Sirui now on Aliexpress has a new version which from reviews they are saying are even better than Moment now. I just didn't want to wait 2 to 4 weeks so I bought the only one I found here in Brazil available.
---------- Post added at 11:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 AM ----------
Since I had the same doubts I will attach one example for each lenses.
You can look the difference.
For the Sirui will see a clean and good image.
For Apexel, check the right and left side of the picture. Center is clear and sharp but corners are bad.
YorbenB said:
Hey, i'm interested in these lenses but i can't seem to find them online (also i can't find the case you're talking about) could you dm me a link?
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From what I understand, this lens kit is not sold in all regions across the world. I am specifically talking about one of the many kits available on the US Amazon website.
Is this one done with portrait lens: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9xcJ7TdFfdVMDfL7A and the other without just with the Pixel's default focal length?
The Pixel is doing quite well in wide angle but I'm looking for a descent lens towards zoom (or maybe portrait).
TGHH said:
Is this one done with portrait lens: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9xcJ7TdFfdVMDfL7A and the other without just with the Pixel's default focal length?
The Pixel is doing quite well in wide angle but I'm looking for a descent lens towards zoom (or maybe portrait).
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None of the linked photos where taken with the Pixel lens alone. All included the Sirui lens attachments. The wider shot was taken with the wide angle lens.
Thank you for the review. I miss my ultra wide lens from my LG. And miss from the pixel 4. I hesitate between stay with my pixel 3 and go to the Moment Case and sirui lens oder buying a f*cking iPhone 11 Pro...
I ask myself if the system really practicable is. The shot the moment fast.
cle_m_ent said:
Thank you for the review. I miss my ultra wide lens from my LG. And miss from the pixel 4. I hesitate between stay with my pixel 3 and go to the Moment Case and sirui lens oder buying a f*cking iPhone 11 Pro...
I ask myself if the system really practicable is. The shot the moment fast.
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It's a fair question to ask. For casual snap shots, the separate lenses make no sense.
AGM G2 Guardian5G Unlocked Rugged Smartphone | Thermal Monocular Long Detection Range: 500m/yd
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Main Features
* Qualcomm QCM6490
* Long Range Thermal Monocular
* 6.58' FHD+ 120Hz Display
* 108MP Rear Camera
* 7000 mAh Battery
* Waterproof, shock and dust proof. Certified IP68/IP69K/MIL-STD-810H
* 109dB Loud Speaker
* 8/12GB + 256GB Storage
Click to expand...
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Source: AGM Mobile Website
Stay tuned for further Information
5G
Band: n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n28, n41, n66,n71, n77, n78,n79
NSA: Support, Option 3x/3a
SA: Support, Option 2
MIMO: n1/n2/n3/n7/n66/n77/n78/n79 Four Downstream, Single Upstream, n41 Four Downstream, Dual Upstream
SRS
SA SRS: n41:2T4R，n77/n78/n79：1T4R NSA SRS：n41/n77/n78/n79 1T4R
HPUE: n41/n78/N79： Total Power 26dBm
EN_DC
CA
Click to expand...
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ChipsetChipset: Qualcomm QCM6490
CPU: Kryo 670
GPU: Adreno 643
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
StorageCapacity: UFS2.2, 8G+256G & 12G+256G
Expandable Storage (TF Card):Support , 512G
Click to expand...
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ScreenSize: 6.58'
Resolution: FHD+
Refreshing Rate: 120HZ
Cameras
Pixels
108MP Rear Camera
20MP Infrared night vision Camera
2MP Macro Camera
256*192 Thermal Camera (10mm lens)
sensor: TBD
Flashlight: Support
Front Camera
Pixels: 32M
sensor
Sound
MIC: Dual-mic
PA: 3.5W Speaker
Stereo: Not Support
Motor: Support
Speaker Effect: Default algorithm
Headphone Effect: No
Speaker: AGM Iconic Speaker
Direction: Back
WLAN agreement: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Battery
capacity: 7000mAh
installation method: built-in
Fast Charging: Support, 18W
Dock Charging: Support
Durability requirements
Operating temperature: -20°C~60°C
Degree of protection: IP68/IP69K/810H
Click to expand...
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I pre-ordered the G2 Guardian and received it 4 days ago. I charged it to 100% when I received it and have not since charged it again...4 entire days of pretty heavy usage, still I have 30% battery. Just about to fill the MicroSD up with music. Hopefully by the time it's fully charged again my battery usage metrics will be calibrated and I can work on some proper usage figures for everyone.
Why did I make this purchase/ My use case:
I work in forestry in Northern Australia. It's sweaty as hell, storms develop quickly and whatever I use will get wet multiple times per week through one or the other. Overall I look after my gear with great care, but some things are unavoidable: water, dust, plant matter slowly filling all of my pockets and getting into my gear through whatever orifice is available. Much like Eels, it finds an entrance where it can. I spend much of my week smashing around in the undergrowth. Being able to wash my devices periodically is important, good quality port covers are equally important.
Another must-have for me is a battery that won't let me down. If I manage to hike to the furthest point from my vehicle within a given parcel of land then it's a major problem for me if my battery runs out and I lose the GPS track that I am running, or cannot collect the remainder of my data taking a different path back to my vehicle. My time is wasted, my sweat and exertion are wasted and I've got to climb a bunch of 35+ degree slopes back to the car for no gain. For this reason, the company iphone and ipad are in the bin where they belong. Both devices constantly let me down one way or another, neither of them are designed to do what I do, even in a lifeproof case.
To solve these issues, I ran the Ulefone Power Armor 13 for over a year. It was a great device, I customised the hell out of it but eventually I got tired of carrying a 498gram brick in my pocket. At home without a belt, it would pull my pants down. It was JUST fast enough not to annoy me, and I really enjoyed how deeply I had customised it but I became annoyed with how poor the camera could be sometimes, and with just how heavy it was, but moreso how cumbersome the form factor was and how cheap it looked and felt.
In a flash of brilliance, I replaced the Power Armor 13 with a Galaxy Xcover 6 pro. Paid outright for the device, bought a couple of spare batteries and rubber port covers for the 3.5mm and USB-C ports, and patted myself on the back for being the smartest man alive. The extra speed of the Snapdragon 778G was just what I had been looking for, the retention of an IP68 rating even with a replaceable battery and the moderately rugged construction seemed to be more than enough for my workday, and I could much more easily slip this thing into the pocket of my jeans before heading to the bar on the weekend. No more laughter when producing my phone from my pocket, no more having to explain how I could possibly need a half kilogram phone...I just looked like a normal person, with a normal life.
It lasted 2 months. I got caught in a storm, the Xcover 6 pro was in my backpack. That IP rating is not worth the paper it is written on. Not only did it fail spectacularly, I'm pretty sure it almost caught fire doing so. It got indescribably hot to the point that I knew it was absolutely dead. No amount of time spent in bags of rice would resurrect it, and after a last ditch effort trying to dry it out in direct sunlight I could see that constant exposure to heavy sweat during my work had also managed to penetrate whatever miserable water ingress protection it had. There were literal salt crystals falling out from near the battery terminals: this thing had been getting moisture past the rubber gasket whilst in my pocket for the entire 2 months I'd owned it.
At this point, Samsung can go and boil their bums. I had been a militant supporter of their Galaxy Active lineup, simply unable to understand why anyone would choose their regular lineup when the Active line existed. Once they dropped the Active I had to look elsewhere, but I was over the moon to see that they had done an xcover device that wasn't completely and utterly under powered so I caved. Fool me once... they're dead to me, and so is the possibility of me owning a 'normal' phone. It's just not going to work for me.
After drying my tears I set about scouting out a new rugged phone that would meet all of my needs without pulling my pants down. I have also recently had to start doing koala spotting again, and even though we have a $2400 thermal scope available at my office, there is only 1. I can't carry it with me all the time in case somebody else needs it, and to be perfectly honest I've found it pretty inadequate once the sun rises. Once there's sunlight on the trees it's pretty much useless, and having to peer through a monocular makes it dangerous walking through the bush. The hardware specs of the scope are so low that it is ridiculously clunky to use, and it is endlessly refreshing the sensor. I wasn't happy with it, and I always had to drive back and get it, so the presence of a thermal camera on my everyday phone became appealing. Imagine my joy when I got home to find that pre-orders for the AGM G2 guardian were just about to start. BOLD claims in the promo literature, but I decided to roll the dice.
Initial impressions of the AGM G2 Guardian after 4 days:
I had some serious trepidation about this purchase. I know that AGM have been around for 14 years or so, and I have come really close to buying several of their devices over the years. The AGM X3 was right up my alley, but for $1000USD in 2019, it was a much easier choice to grab a second hand S8 Active for a few hundred bucks.
The purchase experience through AGM's official eBay store felt sketchy. They shipped me an AU power adapter on the day I pre-ordered, marking the device as shipped. Once the adapter was delivered my buyer protection started counting down. Honestly, in spite of their constant assurances I felt like I was about to get scammed especially since I got it for such a comparatively low price as a pre-order.
I was also nervous about the price I had paid for a rugged phone made in Shenzen. Even though AGM have always positioned themselves as the premium offering in this space, often choosing absolute top of the line Snapdragon SOC's rather than poxy mediatek chips, and having a European design team for their entire range it still seemed like an awful lot of money given the competition.
As soon as I held the G2 Guardian in my hands the reason for the additional price tag compared with the competition became obvious. Even before I turned it on this thing felt TIGHT. Not a rattle in sight, and whilst the 400 grams is still very heavy for a phone, it carries the weight well and manages to feel extremely high quality, reliable and a little bit sexy all at the same time. I'm not sure how to describe this, because it's only 98 grams lighter than my Power Armor was, but I barely notice this thing in my pocket. It feels great to hold and even though I acknowledge that I am part of a very small and very weird group of customers...I think it looks cool as hell and the ergonomics are great. Everything is where you want it to be including the fingerprint sensor. Every time I pull it out of my pocket, I get that nugget feeling. It feels built to last and extremely high quality.
Once I powered it up and started going through the setup process I really started smiling. The first thing that really brought home that nugget feeling was the quality of the haptic feedback. I assume a decent quality motor combined with just how solid the body of the device is has given a fairly nice result here.
Overall an absolute 10/10 for satisfaction on the physical characteristics of this device.
Chipset
Qualcomm QCM 6490 industrial processor.
2.7Ghz, 8 cores, 6nm process. 5G, Wifi6/6E. 8 or 12GB ram.
There's not much to say here. This thing absolutely flies, and sips battery whilst it's doing it. It's faster than the competing 778G by a decent margin and has far better multithreaded performance. It also destroys even the best Mediatek Dimensity chipsets in competing rugged phones clocking in at just under 600,000 Antutu score in V9. No, it's not as fast as a snapdragon 8 Gen1, but it also won't get overly hot or need a purpose built animation to see your battery empty whilst playing games or doing demanding processing.
Display
120hz refresh rate (though I have to assume it is adaptive given the battery life and lack of manual setup options) and a very tasty 2408x1080 400ppi results in a fast, flowy and vibrant display. Let me be clear, this absolutely bashes the pants off my previous 2 phones, but I have to assume it wouldn't be in the ballpark of the latest S23 or anything like that in terms of image quality. The 120hz display is a massive bonus here, and a great implementation. I've never seen this thing lag or skip. It's a really rewarding user experience that looks and feels great and is always buttery smooth. AGM have not provided customisation options here. There's no ability to lock it to 60hz or change the resolution. Ordinarily I wouldn't be happy with this, but given the battery life and quality of experience it seems like they've dialed it in exactly where it needs to be.
Cameras
The main camera is a 108mp Samsung lens. Obviously this lens is extremely capable of taking good photos. Plenty of depth and colour, and it is extremely fast. Unfortunately the combination of a lack of image stabilization and a very basic camera app implementation lead to a lot of dud photos unless you get lucky with the natural lighting conditions being absolutely perfect. I find myself having to take 5 or 6 photos of the same scene or subject to guarantee 1 good shot. It is really reliable up-close on stationary objects, and in this use-case it seems to thrive, producing consistently good images.
There is work to do here for AGM. At present, this high-quality and perfectly capable lens is going to waste a lot of the time because the camera app is so basic. You can tell that the hardware is infinitely capable, but it is absolutely screaming for a port of GCAM or a LOT of development on their in-house app. I don't think it even has HDR at present and configuration options are extremely limited.
Front camera is a 32mp unit that provides a really smooth video calling experience, quality is good. Not sure how good it is at selfies because selfies are for children.
There's also a 20MP Sony night-vision camera. This works well, and I believe it is activated by choosing 'infrared detect' in the camera app and probably plays some role in the thermal function I guess (?).
Finally, the last 'normal' camera is a 2MP Macro Camera. This works really well for Macro shots but I have to wonder what kind of insanity led to the inclusion of a macro lens rather than a decent wide-angle sensor in an outdoor focused device. 90% of my photos on my last few phones have been taken with the wide-angle sensor and it is going to take some serious getting used to not having one. Obviously I knew this before purchase, but I miss my wide-angle lenses already.
Thermal Module
Here is the big daddy, and obviously the focal point of this device. A 10mm lens paired with 256x192 thermal image resolution and 25hz video resolution.
AGM have knocked this out of the park. With zero exaggeration, this is the best thermal scope I have ever used. I have used devices with higher thermal detector resolution (384 x 288), but even in devices that cost over $2200AUD, these sensors are paired with absolute garbage processing power. This leaves you with a really clunky user experience. These specialist devices are also often plagued with really terrible battery life, and having to hold it up to your eye is downright dangerous given the understory you are more than likely walking through if you have a use for such a device.
Combining a decent sensor and a 10mm lens with the very respectable hardware at the heart of the G2 Guardian eliminates all of the problems inherent to a standalone thermal monocular. They say the best camera is the one you have with you, and this applies double to thermal scopes. To ALWAYS have this thing available in my pocket is a massive advantage.
Thermal Range (Detection Range VS Recognition Range) and performance
I was pretty dubious of the claims made by AGM here. Well, I was wrong. At night, there is a very comfortable recognition range of around 100 to 200 metres depending on the size of the animal, and a detection range (how far out you can actually identify a heat signature is present) well over 500 metres, again, depending on the size of the object.
The thermal app interface is fast and responsive, and there is an entire galaxy of configuration options including the ability to set up your own custom thermal ribbon colour modes to suit your use. The timelapse function will be awesome for monitoring wildlife, and the analysis tools are crazy good. Both auto-focus and manual focus modes are brilliant, and I find myself wishing they had put a similar amount of effort into the main camera app.
Temperature measurement range is disappointing in the Guardian variant which I believe is only capable of 0C to 150C with accuracy. I believe this was a necessary compromise to allow such an amazing long range thermal camera experience. The G2 Pro variant does not have such impressive long-range thermal capability, but has accurate temperature measurement between -20C to 550C. This was an easy choice for me, it's far more useful for me to be able to detect an animal or heat signature at long range, than to tell the exact temperature of that object up close.
I have had a FLIR sensor previously on the very first CAT phone, and it was not even in the same universe of what the G2 Guardian is capable of. Hands down, this is the best bit of thermal gear I've ever used and I have access to several very expensive standalone units - the implementation on the G2 Guardian is genuinely impressive. They have made the jump from what is a cool gimmick on most phones, to a genuine work or hunting tool. I am blown away here.
The most impressive feature of the thermal experience is how well it works in daylight conditions. Many extremely expensive scopes are completely useless in daylight. As soon as sunlight starts to hit tree trunks, it's time to give up and go home. I'm not exactly sure how AGM have overcome this challenge, and obviously it will always work better at night or in the early morning, but even at 10am in full sun I have been able to ID animals very easily.
Firmware and customization potential
The Android implementation here is completely and utterly bloat free. The only non-google apps AGM have installed is their camera app, their thermal camera app and the AGM service app, where you can input the particulars of your device and purchase date, and submit a help or service request. There is also a third party launcher, but I never touched it - I installed Lynx launcher from my google backup before I even made it to the homescreen...i know what I like at this point.
The remainder of the UI experience is practically untouched, sharing most similarities to the latest Pixel devices including some of the fancier features including the ability to screenshot beyond the current display area of a web site, the juicy larger sized quick settings menu, extra dim mode, bedtime routines etc etc. There are extra settings menus present for the user defined key (though very basic, can't even set a vibration
I have to commend AGM here for providing such a beautiful stock android experience and not going ham with some janky over zealous skin.
Whilst I have not unlocked the bootloader or rooted this device, I have verified that flicking the OEM Unlocking switch in developer options does have the desired result, and that you are able to gain access to the bootloader via ADB reboot bootloader. This is good news for the future, with many devices from mainstream manufacturers now shipping without even the ability to access the bootloader.
It seems like there is potential here, but at present I do not have a reason to proceed any further down this path. Time will tell how well AGM support these devices long term with incremental updates but so far all they have promised is that they will provide regular Android security updates, and that their camera and thermal apps will be developed on an ongoing basis. I would not be surprised if we never see Android 13 or 14 here, but I could be wrong.
It would be a massive roll of the dice to flash a GSI or custom rom here given the amount of device specific, niche hardware. In all likelyhood, unless AGM decide to expend the resources to support this type of development in-house (and why would they?), any attempt to install a non-factory rom will result in the loss of your thermal camera, infrared camera and probably the sick flashlight as well.
At some point in the future I may attempt to root this phone but for now most of the reasons I have for doing so have already been solved in-house.
The battery optimisation and power management is absolutely killer and unobtrusive, giving an outstanding result for daily use. All of the bluetooth codecs you could possibly want are there including APT-X, APT-X HD, LDAC, AAC - so i've no need to force these in via magisk modules.
Activating the amazingly handy 100 lumen flashlight on the top of the phone via hardware key on the side is a default feature...this is one of the big reasons I usually root my phones. If they would add haptic feedback when it's activated, I'm happy and probably won't root at all.
Connectivity
3G and 4G signal reception on this device is better than anything I've owned previously. I was sweating bullets about VoLTE and VoWifi working on this out of the box because I have been completely reliant on wifi calling at home on all my other phones, which generally only manage 1 bar of cellular signal at best.
The great news is that VoLTE and VoWifi did work immediately out of the box, but given that I now have consistently better coverage with the G2 I'm less reliant on it. When it does kick in, it seems to do so seamlessly. All I could really ask for here is clear visible delineation between Wifi calls and HD voice/ VoLTE calls.
Wifi reception is also very good with very little degradation even at considerable distance from my router. Unfortunately I do not have access to 5G or Wifi6 to truly test it. On the previous 5ghz wifi standard it is easily able to hand me the full capacity of my starlink connection. Overall I feel like they really prioritized antenna location and design in this device. All of the other features are cool, but first and foremost this is a GREAT phone.
Tiny touches
AGM G2 Guardian is one of those cases where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I assumed the 3.5watt speaker on the rear would be a gimmick...wow. This little speaker is worth its bulge. It's loud, clear and gives even the simple act of unlocking the device some serious presence. For podcast listening when I'm out in the shed or out in the bush and don't want to risk headphones masking the early warning signs of any slithery surprises it is absolutely fantastic. For music, I own several small bluetooth speakers that do not have this quality or volume. They have tuned the output in such a way that even at max volume there is no distortion, it's just loud and clear. I thought being on the rear of the device would be a disadvantage but they've overcome this with pure power.
The torch is one of my favourite features. I'm a total torch nerd but this is one less thing that I have to worry about having on my person, and the output is more than enough for most simple tasks at night. To have this with me at all times is a huge boon, and it is a million times better than even the brightest LED flash style flashlight on most phones, and emits from the top so is much more usable.
Bluetooth implementation here is INCREDIBLE. Stability of all bluetooth codecs has been fantastic, with no skipping and fantastic range. Even on my tiny earbuds, I am able to walk to the other end of my house with no skips or disconnects. This is about 25 metres. For comparison, my xcover 6 pro would constantly skip just from facing the wrong way in my pocket, and would give me about 10 metres unobstructed in the house. That's some serious power from the AGM, and decent thought put in to location of the antennas.
Best of all, when connecting any bluetooth audio device, a quick popup appears to inform you which codec is active! This is such a great little touch that saves me jumping through 3 layers of developer options to ensure that I am actually using the codec I want when my headphones connect.
A labour of love
In one of their recent long-form videos on youtube, an AGM representative claims the Bill of Materials cost for parts and labour to bring the G2 Guardian to completion is $740USD owing mainly to the expense of the thermal module.
If this is true, this leaves AGM with a very slim profit margin on this device. It seems their motivation here is purely to grow their brand, get more AGM devices into the hands of users in this small segment of the market and really make a great device to be proud of. You can feel it.
If you have ever considered a rugged device, or are sick of destroying your expensive mainstream ones this may well be the halo product you have been waiting for. The attention to detail here is hard to put into words until you've used one for a few days.
Concerns
-Even the large RAM X-Grip can only just hold this device in a vehicle owing to the bulge on the rear. It is secure in there, but only just. If AGM were to release a purpose built vehicle mount for these, I'd absolutely buy one.
-AGM Specs on their website still claim 10W wireless charging even now. It appears that either A) this is a lie B) it uses some non-standard wireless charging standard or C) They are claiming their dock accessory as wireless charging which I suppose would technically be true...but I have not yet received my dock and seems a bit disingenuous
It turns out there is wireless charging present, it's just very difficult getting it to pick up given the shape of the rear and the thickness of the case. Presently charging at 10W after some very careful balancing. I eagerly await the charging dock!
-Thermal module is fairly exposed and picks up every smudge imagineable. This does not impact use, and I do not have any scratches yet. AGM claim hardness of this glass is very high, but I can't think of a way to protect this lens when it is not in use.
-Main camera software needs some help. As detailed previously, you can get great photos out of this hardware combo, but it doesn't happen often enough. Maybe the in-house team can pull something together, but I can't help but think it would be a better outcome to get a port of GCAM running well, and enjoy all of the software processing and HDR trickery that comes with it. I may start having a mess around here myself.
That's about it. 99% of people won't read my wall of text, but for those seriously considering this purchase I hope this goes some way to helping you make your decision.
I have used rugged devices from every major player in this space. This is by far the best experience I've had with any of them. This phone absolutely slaps.
Camera samples attached with some compression from google photos.
Daylight closeup outdoors under cover
Daylight outdoors closeup subject
Daylight indoors close-up
Daylight sneaking distance, medium size eastern grey kangaroo
Outdoors 9am daylight photography sample
Night. Termite mound in foreground. Cow approx 60m away
Night. Small kangaroo @ 70-75m
Your browser is not able to display this video.
Alright I'm off to the races.
Shamim's Gcam port opens and appears to take photos, doesn't lag. It's night here right now, but this is where I will be starting my customisation journey.
Shamim: SGCAM_8.7.250.XX.44_STABLE_V4FIX
Download SGCAM_8.7.250.XX.44_STABLE_V4FIX by Shamim.
www.celsoazevedo.com
Have you got the gcam port working? And if so how is image quality?
davecotefilm said:
Have you got the gcam port working? And if so how is image quality?
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Click to collapse
Yes it's working and very stable with both main camera and front camera stills + video all good.
Image quality is great but I need to figure out how to make a config file for this device, never done one before. HDR is a little too extreme on both HDR modes.
I'll put a couple of comparison images together over the weekend. That link I posted is a great base to start building from, and stability seems to be zero issues so this is already a win.
I did some up-close shots and GCAM really made them pop. Landscape stuff looking a little alien with HDR effect at present.
Anyone got a good resource for getting started with GCAM config? Seems like the hardware is fully compatible with this build so shouldn't be too many barriers.
Okay yes I'm thinking this will be my next phone :-D Just need price to drop a bit!
bandario said:
Yes it's working and very stable with both main camera and front camera stills + video all good.
Image quality is great but I need to figure out how to make a config file for this device, never done one before. HDR is a little too extreme on both HDR modes.
I'll put a couple of comparison images together over the weekend. That link I posted is a great base to start building from, and stability seems to be zero issues so this is already a win.
I did some up-close shots and GCAM really made them pop. Landscape stuff looking a little alien with HDR effect at present.
Anyone got a good resource for getting started with GCAM config? Seems like the hardware is fully compatible with this build so shouldn't be too many barriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to get into the configs, but does gcam give it any image stabilization?
bandario said:
Yes it's working and very stable with both main camera and front camera stills + video all good.
Image quality is great but I need to figure out how to make a config file for this device, never done one before. HDR is a little too extreme on both HDR modes.
I'll put a couple of comparison images together over the weekend. That link I posted is a great base to start building from, and stability seems to be zero issues so this is already a win.
I did some up-close shots and GCAM really made them pop. Landscape stuff looking a little alien with HDR effect at present.
Anyone got a good resource for getting started with GCAM config? Seems like the hardware is fully compatible with this build so shouldn't be too many barriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay awesome, I'll get it as my next device and follow this thread I suggest contacting the dev from the gcam link, he can help with configs if he can ask you for files etc. Then once built just attach the apk here!
I installed "SGCAM_8.7.250.XX.44_STABLE_V5_ENG_PACKAGE" on G2 Guardian and it is working fine on the main camera and the front camera and has software based image stabilization option. However, I don't see any option for Night vision and macro cameras. May be proper config is required.
bandario said:
Yes it's working and very stable with both main camera and front camera stills + video all good.
Image quality is great but I need to figure out how to make a config file for this device, never done one before. HDR is a little too extreme on both HDR modes.
I'll put a couple of comparison images together over the weekend. That link I posted is a great base to start building from, and stability seems to be zero issues so this is already a win.
I did some up-close shots and GCAM really made them pop. Landscape stuff looking a little alien with HDR effect at present.
Anyone got a good resource for getting started with GCAM config? Seems like the hardware is fully compatible with this build so shouldn't be too many barriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the review and mentioning of GCAM software. I installed it and It has many more options then the stock AGM G2 Guardian app. Thanks
vicki20july said:
I installed "SGCAM_8.7.250.XX.44_STABLE_V5_ENG_PACKAGE" on G2 Guardian and it is working fine on the main camera and the front camera and has software based image stabilization option. However, I don't see any option for Night vision and macro cameras. May be proper config is required.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You never will. It's a small miracle that it works out of the box with main and front cam for stills and video. To get any other lens involved would require huge input from AGM on a non-sanctioned project messing with google code. It won't happen. I'm just grateful they used standard enough hardware calls that we can build from a stable base on main cam.
davecotefilm said:
I'll try to get into the configs, but does gcam give it any image stabilization?
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Click to collapse
Yes, AI image stabilisation standard to GCAM. To be honest I actively avoid phones with hardware OIS because vibrations when mounted to my motorbike kill the mechanism leaving me with a dead camera. I'm super happy to have GCAM fake OIS.
Thinks you for all this informations about agm guardian, I want to buy from ebay agm store, I want to ask you about zoom quality of the main camera? Can you post image and videos with zoom at least x8 or x10
samienemy said:
Thinks you for all this informations about agm guardian, I want to buy from ebay agm store, I want to ask you about zoom quality of the main camera? Can you post image and videos with zoom at least x8 or x10
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Click to collapse
It does not have a telephoto lens. Max zoom is 8X and it looks as bad as you imagine. If this feature is important to you, buy something with a telephoto lens.
GCAM
AGM Stock CAM
It cost over 1200$ I will wait for less price
samienemy said:
It cost over 1200$ I will wait for less price
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Click to collapse
$859USD on Ebay. AGM web shop is wild, changes price if you view it multiple times getting more expensive every time.
bandario said:
It does not have a telephoto lens. Max zoom is 8X and it looks as bad as you imagine. If this feature is important to you, buy something with a telephoto len
bandario said:
It does not have a telephoto lens. Max zoom is 8X and it looks as bad as you imagine. If this feature is important to you, buy something with a telephoto lens.
View attachment 5889529
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Click to collapse
There is an option in SGCAM to increase zoom capability. I am able to get it working up to around 35x
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Click to collapse
To what end? At 8X it already looks like a psychedelic cartoon.