Google Pixel 6: user-friendly interface, taking photos and videos

This week, a material was released dedicated to the Google smartphone - Pixel 6. In some way, it is

a unique product - in fact, an exclusive fromthe creator of the operating system: the body of the phone is relatively small, the performance is quite at the level of modern devices, and the quality of photos and videos is very decent.

Week with Google Pixel 6: unusual, strange, but very interesting!

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For those looking for something a little different among Android smartphones, the Google Pixel 6 is the best deal. The price, by the way, is not "biting" at the present time. The device can be easily found from 60,000 rubles.

Since I liked the photo and video capabilities of the Pixel 6, I thought I'd go into more detail about them.

P.S. Yes, we already had some texts related to comparing Pixel 6 Pro with Apple iPhone 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. But no one took apart the “Camera” section of the application separately.

"Quick" launch of the camera
Interface
Shooting
Conclusion

"Quick" launch of the camera

I read on the net that the Pixel series has a fastlaunch the camera, which was assigned to double-tap the power button. It seemed to me that a quick launch is when you quickly press something on the smartphone case and instantly launch the camera. But in the "Google" device, for this you must first unlock the screen, and only then try to click somewhere.

So, after unlocking the screen, you need to “click” on the power button twice - and in a second you will see the application interface.

Let me remind you that the Pixel 6 does not have face unlock,so before you can launch the camera, you will either have to enter the passcode or touch the fingerprint scanner. In short, I would quote the “quick” launch of the cameras.

P.S. In my sample, fast launch of cameras does not always happen.

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Interface

In my review of the Pixel 6, I said that the developersWe tried to make the program interface as simple and intuitive as possible, similar to the UI in the Apple iPhone: all menu items are in front of your eyes, you don’t need to take unnecessary actions. Anyway, 90% of the time you will fire up the camera and press the shutter button. And you set the parameters once and for all.

By the way, if you do not immediately turn on auto-rotate insystem, then the “Camera” will offer you to do it, signaling with a small icon in the right corner. If you do not switch, then the frames may be in vertical format. The rotation procedure in this case will not be the most successful.

At the bottom you will find the shutter button. It is either highlighted in white, or the moon icon flaunts on it, which hints to us about the automatic inclusion of the night mode of the photo.

On the left - switching to the front camera. A bit of a strange decision. Usually this icon is on the right, since holding the phone in your right hand is the most convenient way to switch to a selfie.

Also on the right is the transition to the gallery of the Photos application.

Since the Pixel 6 has only two cameras (main andwide-angle), there are three modes above the shutter button: wide-angle, normal, and digital 2x zoom. Switching is smooth, without jerks, reminiscent of working in the Apple iPhone.

In shooting mode, the photo appears at the top left.button with gear icon. When pressed, a menu opens. In it, you can select flash options, image analysis (a short video is created from which you can “pull out” a photo), a timer and aspect ratio (for some reason there is no 1:1, only 16:9 and 4:3).

At the top right there is an icon that leads to a section that allows you to save to the gallery or to a personal folder.

At the very bottom is a wide line with the main modes:

Night shooting.By default, the "autophotos" option is enabled. The shutter speed is greatly increased, but you can take pictures in complete darkness. In general, the smartphone itself chooses the shutter speed: if it is more or less light, then the shutter speed can be a second. The option is available for two cameras.

Traffic. There are two options: panning and slow shutter speed. In the first case, the background is beautifully blurred, and the main object remains clear. In the second, on the contrary, the background is clear, and the objects are blurred.

Portrait.In this case, it is not necessary to have a person in the frame. A smartphone can blur the background of almost any object. This device takes about 5 seconds. Only the main camera or 2x digital zoom is available.

Camera. This mode is enabled by default

Video. And this is where the options open up.For starters, there are three modes: deceleration, normal and acceleration. The next step is stabilization. It can be of four types: standard, blocking (2x magnification), active and cinematic. It is not very clear what the last paragraph does here.

More modes. There is a classic panorama, a 3D panorama (this function works perfectly on Pixel phones), a lens - search for objects, text recognition, and so on.

In general, as you can see, everything is laid out on the shelves, it looks simple and clear.

Shooting

In photo mode, I liked the opportunityadjustment of some parameters directly on the smartphone screen. If you tap on it, then the temperature selection will be available on the left, and the exposure and increase in the amount of information in dark areas will be available on the right (if simply, manual HDR selection). Quite a curious thing that I have not seen in any smartphone. After all, it works in real time.

Of course, HDR should not be abused, since the software does not have unlimited possibilities for noise suppression in the shadows.

The "Portrait" mode, in the case of a person appearing in the frame, works somewhat aggressively. Contrast increases, HDR becomes too much. The background is artificially blurred well.

Separately, it is worth mentioning that the sensor and optics allow you to beautifully blur the background even without AI with software.

At double magnification, of course, the pictureloses detail. But Google has brought this technology to mind: in most situations, digital zoom looks no worse than optical. Best suited for landscape photography, advertisements, signage. A little worse - for shooting people. Here, it is still difficult for artificial intelligence to adequately work with faces.

It would be cool if face processing technologyfrom MyHeritage (improves the quality of portraits using AI) implemented in smartphones. I once edited a few old photos, increasing the detail to an unrealistically cool result. Now the site is asking for money.

Night shots on the Pixel 6 are excellent.Even with an increase in shutter speed to 3-6 seconds, the main objects remain in sharpness. The camera gently raises the shutter speed so that the night does not turn into day. The result is excellent.

Original photos (zip, 30 MB) >>>

A few words about stabilization. It is installed here on the lens of the main camera. The "width" does not have it, digital stabilization effectively copes with the task.

Three modes are available for video, which I wrote aboutpreviously. The first one is normal. The second one enlarges the image by 2 or 5 times. The video is stabilized as well as possible. Something like a GoPro's horizontal alignment mode: the camera can tilt by almost 30 degrees, and the frame will be even. A cool feature for shooting distant objects.

The "Activity" mode works much like the above method, only 1x or 2x magnification is used here.

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In general, stabilization modes in most cases can be considered simply as chips, since the optical "stub" works effectively without them.

Slow motion video is recorded in FullHD resolution. Here speeds 1/8 and 1/4 are designated. By eye, this is something like 240 fps and 120 fps.

Accelerated video - 5-120 times. The resolution is also FullHD.

Most importantly, in slow and fast motion videoyou see not only the recording time, but also the time that will be at the output of the video. This is especially true for accelerated: 1 minute of real time can go out in just 5 seconds with the effect of acceleration.

For regular video, two resolutions and three frame rates are available. The main camera can record FullHD and 4K with automatic frame rate settings, at 30 and 60 fps. But the “width” does not have 60 fps.

Switching between cameras is also smooth, without jerks and a sharp shift in the plan. Before shooting, you can set the exposure and temperature.

The video quality is very good. There is a wide dynamic range, and nice smooth stabilization, and precise smooth focus, like in video cameras.

The front camera is familiar. There are no special settings, except for acceleration. If you need to slightly retouch the face, then in the parameters there are a couple of ready-made settings.

However, you can apply a background blur effect to every portrait photo. I will talk about this in a little more detail in the next article.

Of the interesting chips when recording a video, you can select a clear speech mode. In this case, the noise and hum are slightly reduced, and the voice stands out.

Conclusion

The Google Pixel 6 camera is as versatile and simple as possible. There are no complicated settings, "sea" of photo and video parameters. However, the basic settings are made wisely, are in the right place.

The quality of photos and videos is at a high level. Probably, at some point it may not reach the flagship devices. But these are trifles, looking at frames “under a microscope”.

In the next article, I will talk about the Photos app for Google Pixel. There are some cool effects that are not found in other smartphones.

The author expresses his gratitude to the BigGeek.ru store for providing the Google Pixel 6 for review.

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