Camera is absolute garbage after Pie update

[svenEDGE]

When you are "close focused" on your dog, I wouldn't expect the trees in the background to also be in focus. If you were to tap on the trees in the background to focus on them, the dog would now be blurry and no longer in focus. With the Pixel 2 camera this is the behavior I would expect.

It's not a matter of them not being in focus. The amount of noise and grain is what I'm more worried about. These are new issues I'm seeing. IDK maybe I'm crazy.

 

[svenEDGE]

Weird, I got the official Pie update a few days before I went on vacation in August and used it for pics the whole trip and got some killer shots. Maybe you need to do a reset or something?

This is on two different devices. There is another variable that I need to take into consideration though... I have gotten into higher end photography (shooting on a Canon 5D mark IV with L series lenses), and while I obviously know there's a huge difference, maybe I'm just noticing the shortcomings of my Pixel more because of it. If you are all saying your camera is performing exactly how it did prior to the Pie update, logically, I must be the problem haha.

Thanks for all the input, friends!

 

[TraderGary]

It's not a matter of them not being in focus. The amount of noise and grain is what I'm more worried about. These are new issues I'm seeing. IDK maybe I'm crazy.

The Pixel 2 camera software is entirely separate from the operating system and so it is updated separately. You download the camera app from the Google Play Store. I don't see how an operating system update could affect the camera

More noise and grain are, of course, the result of the phone's having to use a tiny 1/2.3 sensor. The physical sensor didn't change with the update so inherent hardware noise wouldn't change.

With enough light there is little to no noise with the Pixel 2 sensor. With low light there will, of course, be noise and grain. What could change, however, is how the camera software is dealing with noise.

Software mitigates noise and grain at the expense of sharpness. Noise and sharpness are a tradeoff. Google has opted to tilt the scale toward sharpness which would result in a bit more noise but result in a sharper image. At the smaller sizes we use on the Internet this is a good choice. With a wall sized enlargement however then maybe not so much.

 

[Mike Dee]

The Pixel 2 camera software is entirely separate from the operating system and so it is updated separately. You download the camera app from the Google Play Store. I don't see how an operating system update could affect the camera

More noise and grain are, of course, the result of the phone's having to use a tiny 1/2.3 sensor. The physical sensor didn't change with the update so inherent hardware noise wouldn't change.

With enough light there is little to no noise with the Pixel 2 sensor. With low light there will, of course, be noise and grain. What could change, however, is how the camera software is dealing with noise.

Software mitigates noise and grain at the expense of sharpness. Noise and sharpness are a tradeoff. Google has opted to tilt the scale toward sharpness which would result in a bit more noise but result in a sharper image. At the smaller sizes we use on the Internet this is a good choice. With a wall sized enlargement however then maybe not so much.

As someone who's been around since the Kodak Brownie this is by far the only smart device camera that convinced me to leave my DSLR home and the one I own is one of the smallest one out there. I realize that that there are some others that perform quite well but the Pixel is so good in auto that I don't miss having manual settings. I do wish they would add them though...lol

Here's a rare shot. A buck on the beach in Fire Island which is in New York.

 

[TraderGary]

Nice image, Mike.
I quite definitely mashed the "Heart" to give you a "Like"!
However did you get close enough to get that with the Pixel camera?

I'll confess, if I'm going after wildlife, I'll be taking my Sony RX10M3 with a 24-600mm Zeiss lens.

 

[Mike Dee]

Nice image, Mike.
I quite definitely mashed the "Heart" to give you a "Like"!
However did you get close enough to get that with the Pixel camera?

I'll confess, if I'm going after wildlife, I'll be taking my Sony RX10M3 with a 24-600mm Zeiss lens.

He walked up on me and was checking me out before he bolted. They are curious animals will sometimes hang out. There is also no hunting on the island so they are a bit docile. I've had some of the younger deer litteraly walk up to me.

 

[LeoRex]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the software tries to avoid noise reduction that also kills detail. In low light, to much noise reduction may result in a cleaner image, but its also hammering fine details in the process. It's a delicate dance, but Google tends to side with caution and leaves more noise in the final.

In many cases, you end up with a nosier image, but the image retains the image's warmth and realism. I've had phones that clean things up far more, but the result is something that looks artificial.. you end up with a image that looks like a computer representation rather than a photo.

I have some comparison shots somewhere that show this well... The shot from my phone, a 6P at the time, has a little more noise, but it's consistent, and you see more subtle shades of color... One was an indoor shot and if you zoomed in on some pictures on display, the other phone was almost monochrome where the Nexus still showed the colors. I'll see if I can dig them up.

 

[o4liberty]

Best camera ever for me sounds like a software or hardware issue have you spoke to Google tech support?

 

[Ron Copsetta]

My only issue is taking video, when compared to iPhone I'm disgusted but still images and portrait mode can't be touched, also on pie. But I haven't been pleased with video since I bought it at launch, it has nothing to do with pie

 

[TraderGary]

My only issue is taking video, when compared to iPhone I'm disgusted but still images and portrait mode can't be touched, also on pie. But I haven't been pleased with video since I bought it at launch, it has nothing to do with pie

Interesting comment. I've watched a number of video comparisons where the iPhone video spastically jumps around and is anything but stable and the Pixel 2 video is rock solid stable looking like it was taken on a stabilizing gimbal. As you mentioned, images on the Pixel 2 can't be touched and of course Pixel 2 video is using the same camera sensor and the same lens. I don't have an iPhone to compare, but I've compared my Pixel 2 XL videos to those I've made with my Sony RX10M3 and the two compare quite favorably.

 

[Ron Copsetta]

Interesting comment. I've watched a number of video comparisons where the iPhone video spastically jumps around and is anything but stable and the Pixel 2 video is rock solid stable looking like it was taken on a stabilizing gimbal. As you mentioned, images on the Pixel 2 can't be touched and of course Pixel 2 video is using the same camera sensor and the same lens. I don't have an iPhone to compare, but I've compared my Pixel 2 XL videos to those I've made with my Sony RX10M3 and the two compare quite favorably.

Don't get me wrong the stabilisation is great and video is pretty solid in good lighting, but you just can't beat the clarity of the iPhone I bought the iPhone Max the other day and video is superb with the pixel 2 it's really an issue when the light starts dimming

 

[TraderGary]

Don't get me wrong the stabilisation is great and video is pretty solid in good lighting, but you just can't beat the clarity of the iPhone I bought the iPhone Max the other day and video is superb with the pixel 2 it's really an issue when the light starts dimming

Enjoy your iPhone.

 

[mustang7757]

Don't get me wrong the stabilisation is great and video is pretty solid in good lighting, but you just can't beat the clarity of the iPhone I bought the iPhone Max the other day and video is superb with the pixel 2 it's really an issue when the light starts dimming

That's why I don't put too much importance on a phone camera when choosing a phone , some will be better at different situations. I want a phone for overall experience not just one thing . iPhone always known to take great pictures, but my opinion I think Google is a complete camera overall for a point and shoot . Congrats on your new phone ..

 

[danolson68]

The Pie camera settings do indeed suck, and there are two main reasons I say this:

1. When I double click the power button to instantly bring up the camera (a feature that I happen to use a lot), I am greeted with the default camera mode. Fine, I have no problem with that. But, unlike Oreo, I no longer have the ability to record video from the default camera mode. I now have to carousel over to the video setting, wasting valuable time. The Oreo version had both the camera shutter AND the red video button next to each other. This inconvenience is very apparent when I am snorkeling and wish to toggle between photo taking and capturing video. Major pain in the ***.

2. The Oreo photo display had the enhance button on the top of every photo that allowed for a simple, one button click enhancement. They took that feature away with Pie.

Hopefully Android will get their act together and bring back the two above-mentioned features in the next Q upgrade.

For the record, I am using a Note 8.