Google Camera drops ultra-wide lens support for astrophotography on the Pixel 5, Pixel 4a 5G

The Google Camera 8.1 update is limiting the use of its astrophotography feature. For devices like the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, these will lose the ultra-wide astrophotography support, which uses the ultra-wide lens. If you still want to use that sensor, it works with regular Night Sight photos (Night mode for other devices). Your Pixel will prompt you to "Zoom to 1x for astrophotography" before you can enter that mode.

Astrophotography works to help you take photos of the night sky when it's incredibly dark. You'll need to prop up your Pixel to get it to work. It isn't clear why Google introduced this change in November, but it might have something to do with overall image quality. 

Source: 9to5Google

Google brings the Pixel 5's camera app to older Pixels

Source: Google

While version 8.0 of the Google Camera app was initially just available for the Pixel 5, it seems Google is now ready to share its features with older Pixel devices. Version 8.1 of the app has started to roll out to devices as old as the Pixel 2 and 2 XL.

It's not a complete overhaul of the app, but some of its features have been redesigned or reshuffled. Older Pixels should see features like zoom shortcuts and Audio Zoom, which can reduce background noise. The Pixel 4 and 4 XL get access to the Pixel 5's Cinematic Pan video recording feature designed to produce smooth panning shots. The update is in the middle of its rollout, so you might have to wait a bit for it to come your way.

Source: The Verge

Night Sight might get more attention in the new version of Google Camera

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The teardown of the Google Camera app didn’t just reveal what we can expect from the next Pixel phone. It also shows us what current Pixel users can expect, like Pixel 3’s Night Sight mode. It looks like version 6.3 will make this feature more prominent. Instead of it being kept in the More panel, it’ll take the place of the Panorama option in the main camera interface.

One other feature that might come to Google Camera is McFly mode, which is a nod to the famous Back To The Future movies. The mode appears alongside a reference to the word rewind. This could mean you can record video clips and play these in reverse, which could be similar to one of the filters Snapchat has. For now, we don’t have word yet when Google will roll out this version of the app.

Source: Tech Radar

Teardown of Google Camera app shows what Pixel 4 camera’s hardware could be

We know the Google Pixel 4 is coming. What isn’t clear yet is what the new smartphone will have. We already know that there is a secondary camera on this device, which is a first for a Pixel. But we don’t know what kind of camera it could be. A teardown of the Google Camera app shows what we could expect. Version 6.3 of the app shows changes in the code that reference Sabre, which is Google’s codename for its Super Res Zoom. There are also some new sensor IDs for the camera that weren’t seen in version 6.2 and one of these references a rear telephoto lens, making us believe we’re getting a zoom lens. And that this lens could use Google’s Super Res Zoom to increase zoom distance digitally.

Aside from that, a front-facing IR sensor was seen in the code. This suggests that the Pixel 4 is getting facial recognition. Its presence in the Camera app suggests it could be used for Playmojis or even Google’s take on Apple’s Animoji. The Pixel 4 is slated to come out around October 2019.

Source: Android Central