Camera

The Camera on the Pixel has a vast amount of features that will help you get the best shots possible. For this article we’ll go over each camera mode and all the adjustments in the camera app. The quick settings for each camera mode will be explained on this page but If you want to learn more about the Camera App Settings, click on the link.

Note: Depending on which Pixel model you have, the following camera features and settings may not be included in the Pixel model you have but most if not all of the settings in your phone should be here.

Universal Mode Settings

For each Camera Mode on the Pixel there’s a few settings that you can alter regardless of which mode you’re using so we’ll go over those here.

Autofocus

To get your camera to focus on a shot to get a clear picture, steadily position the camera and point it at whatever it is you want to take a picture of then tap on the focal point of the photo and your camera will focus on the item you’ve tapped on.

White Balance

When you tap on the screen to focus your camera, you will see a slider pop up on the left side of the screen that will allow you to adjust the White Balance. Drag the slider up to make the photo warmer and drag the slider down to make the photo less warm.

Brightness

To adjust the exposure for the brightness of the photo, tap on the screen to focus the shot and a slider should pop up on the right side of the screen towards the top half of the photo. Drag the slider up to increase the brightness and drag the slider down to decrease the brightness.

Shadows

To adjust the exposure for shadows, tap on the photo to focus the shot and you will see the shadows slider pop up underneath the brightness slider on the right bottom half of the photo screen. Drag the slider up to increase brightness of shadows and drag the slider down to decrease the brightness of shadows.

Zoom

To zoom in or out on your camera, pinch your pointer finger and your thumb together while touching the screen to zoom out and move your fingers from the center outward to zoom in on a shot. You can also tap on the icons directly above the shutter button and choose a preset zoom setting.

Camera Mode

At the bottom part of the Camera App screen you will see a variety of different camera modes. Tap on the one that says Camera to open the Camera mode. Then position your camera in the direction of the photo you want to take and tap on the shutter button above the mode tab.

Quick Camera Mode Settings

To access your quick camera settings tap on the Camera Icon with the gear icon over it and you will see the following options:

• More Light

  • You will have three lighting options that you can choose from:
    • None
    • Night Sight (better for night photos)
    • Flash

• Top Shot

  • When Top Shot is on, your Pixel Camera will include a short video to capture more of the moment and will suggest frames that are worth saving. Top shot will not work with night sight or flash.
  • You can adjust Top Shot to:
    • Off
    • Auto
    • On

• Timer

  • You can set a timer for the photo here.
    • Off
    • 3 Seconds
    • 10 Seconds

• Ratio

  • You can change the image ratio between:
    • Wide Crop (16:9)
    • Full Image (4:3)

Portrait Mode

Portrait mode will emphasize the main image in the center of the photo and blur out everything around it. This is great when you’re taking a photo of someone.

Quick Portrait Mode Settings

To access your quick portrait mode settings tap on the Camera Icon with the gear icon over it and you will see the following options:

• More Light

  • You will have three lighting options that you can choose from:
    • None
    • Night Sight (better for night photos)
    • Flash

• Face Retouching

  • Face Retouching will adjust the skin texture, under-eye tone and eye brightness. You can choose three options for this feature:
    • Off
    • Subtle
    • Smooth

• Timer

  • You can set a timer for the photo here.
    • Off
    • 3 Seconds
    • 10 Seconds

• Ratio

  • You can change the image ratio between:
    • Wide Crop (16:9)
    • Full Image (4:3)

Motion Mode

Motion Mode will help you get a good shot of a moving object. And you will have two options to do so:

Long Exposure

Long Exposure adds a creative blur to the moving object in the shot. The photo my turn out better if you have a tripod or you have another way to keep your phone extra still while moving it.

Action Pan

This feature adds a blur to the background while you’re capturing a moving object.

Quick Motion Mode Settings

To access your quick portrait mode settings tap on the Camera Icon with the gear icon over it and you will see the following options:

• Timer

  • You can set a timer for the photo here.
    • Off
    • 3 Seconds
    • 10 Seconds

• Ratio

  • You can change the image ratio between:
    • Wide Crop (16:9)
    • Full Image (4:3)

Night Sight Mode

This mode will help you capture clearer photos at night.

Quick Night Sight Mode Settings

To access your quick portrait mode settings tap on the Camera Icon with the gear icon over it and you will see the following options:

• Astrophotography

  • This feature is best used while your phone is still. use a tripod for best results. Tap on the shutter once it changes from a moon to stars. If you wait at least 2.5 minutes you can capture a time lapse photo as well.

• Timer

  • You can set a timer for the photo here.
    • Off
    • 3 Seconds
    • 10 Seconds

• Focus

  • You can adjust the focus on Night Sight depending on the distance of the object you want to take a picture of.
    • Auto
    • Near
    • Far

• Ratio

  • You can change the image ratio between:
    • Wide Crop (16:9)
    • Full Image (4:3)

Video Mode

To take a video in video mode, tap on the shutter button once to start recording then tap on it again to finish recording.

When in Video Mode, you will see three options above the shutter button for different types of videos:

Slow Motion

Above the shutter button to the left you will see the options for Slow Motion. Tap on Slow Motion, then you will see a few options for how slow the video will be once it’s been recorded:

• 1/8x
• 1/4x

If this helps, 1/8x will create the slowest video.

Time Lapse

A Time Lapse video will speed up a video significantly faster. You could take a 24 hour video that will speed up to a matter of minutes. You can speed up the video from 5x to 120x the speed.

Normal

This will record a normal video in realtime and there are quite a few adjustments you can make to the video setting.

Video Stabilization

To the right of the Slow Motion, Normal, Time lapse tabs you will see a Hand Icon with squiggly lines on both sides. This is your Pixels video stabilization feature and there are a few options depending on the video you want to take:

• Standard

  • Standard is great for taking normal everyday videos as it steadies light stabilization.

• Locked

  • This will keep the camera locked onto the scene in the video which is great if you’re using a tripod.

• Active

  • This setting is great for videos taken while you’re moving. Great for action sports where you and the other person are moving.

• Cinematic Pan

  • This will slow down your phones panning movements. This setting is great for professional looking shots.

Quick Video Mode Settings

Note: these settings can only be used in Normal Video Mode. They will not be available for Slow Motion or Time Lapse videos.

To access your quick portrait mode settings tap on the Camera Icon with the gear icon over it and you will see the following options:

• Flash

  • You can turn the flash on or off here.

• Resolution

  • You can change the video resolution between:
    • Full HD (1080p)
    • 4K (Ultra-High Resolution)

• Frames/Sec

  • Frames per second can be adjusted between:
    • Auto
    • 30 Frames Per Second
    • 60 Frames Per Second

• 10-Bit HDR

  • This will add a wider range of color, contrast, and brightness to the video. This can only be used if you have the Frames/Sec set to 30.

• Speech Enhancement

  • This will block out external noise and focus on the voice of the person talking in the video. This can also only be used if the Frames/Sec is set to 30.

Cinematic Mode

This is basically portrait mode but for videos. This will blur the background and focus on the subject of the video.

Other Camera Modes

Panorama

The Panorama mode combines multiple images together, creating a photo with a huge field of view. To use this feature, start the camera as if you’re taking a video and slowly move from left to right to get a connected photo in about 180 degrees.

Photo Sphere

Photo Sphere is a mode that will allow you to take 360 style photos. It’s almost like a panorama type feature but instead of dragging your phone screen around your phone will have you take separate photos and connect them together.

Lens

Googles Lens feature uses built in machine learning technology that makes suggestions based on the photos you take. For example, if you take a picture of a backpack you will receive suggestions based on how much the cost of the item is and what brand it is. Or you could take a picture of a plant and it will tell you what kind of plant it is.

App Privacy And Security

For more information on App Privacy and Security, click on the links.