Hello everyone, the Google Camera app continues to be sought after, and now the new version actually works on the Xiaomi Mi 14 Ultra?
Today, I helped you test the comparison of Google Camera and Xiaomi Surging OS system's built-in camera photo samples, let's compare them together to see what the difference is.
In addition to comparing all the lenses one by one, this comparison has specially added my most commonly used panoramic photos and 360 panoramic comparisons, so let's get to the point:
01 Contrast conditions
The Xiaomi 14Ultra system is the latest stable version of Xiaomi Surging OS;
The system comes with the latest 5.2 camera, turn off camera AI, Leica Vivid mode, HDR off;
Google Camera version for me monthly updates summarized in the 1374 versions of the article,
(File name AGC9.1.24_V14_fix), default HDR+ (standard, non-enhanced mode), this version can automatically recognize all secondary cameras, the interface effect is as follows:
————————
Sample Description: All comparison photos (except for the last panorama) are:
Left: Google Camera Right: System Camera
————————
02 Main camera comparison
The panoramic effect of the main camera, the Google camera on the left is not as high as the system camera on the right, but the difference is not obvious.
Enlarge the center of the picture, there is not much difference between the two, and the camera light plate of the system on the right is handled more naturally
The Frame Edge System camera has a slight greenish cast, and the Google Camera has a more accurate white balance and a less noticeable color cast.
033.2x telephoto comparison
When it comes to telephoto3.2xThere is a big difference between the two,For the dark part in the center of the picture,Google Camera has adopted a strategy of increasing brightness,The system camera better retains the light and dark contrast of the scene,If you look closely, you can also see that the processing of store shelves is the same,The system camera retains the original look and feel,Google CameraHDR processing makes the brightness of distant and near scenes tend to be consistent。
The contrast between the effect of zooming in the center of the picture is more obvious,Google camera, whether it is the foreground and the long ground,HDR processing has been carried out uniformly,Pull to a range of brightness,And the system camera retains more of these differences,Restore the real appearance of the scene,Overexposure of the overexposure,What should not be clear is not clear。 If you look closely at the words on the brown fence, the system camera is clearer.
The color contrast here at the edge of the picture is also obvious, the Google camera restores its original color, and the system camera on the right restores the appearance of the relatively dark situation at the time.
045x periscope telephoto comparison
5xThe effect under the periscope telephoto is reversed,Because I won't take the initiative to click on the focus point when taking pictures,It's all automatic,This time Google camera didn't take a unified way to pull up the brightness,The overall brightness should be affected by a large area of high-brightness advertising lights in the center of the picture,It becomes very dark,And the system's own camera seems to trigger the lack of light this time to trigger the post-production algorithm。
In the treatment of distant billboards, the system camera retains the effect of glass through the proportional billboard on the left, and the Google camera restores the characters on the screen well, and on the billboard directly photographed on the right, the system camera suppresses the highlights better.
The two effects at the edges of the frame are reversed more noticeably, with the Google camera retaining more chiaroscuro and the system camera having a detailed HDR effect.
05 Ultra-wide-angle comparison
The difference is noticeable at a glance at the ultra-wide, as the system camera on the right has ultra-wide-angle distortion correction, while the Google camera on the left has distortion and curves in the straight lines at the edges of the frame. The overall image is noticeably different in the bright light areas and not so much elsewhere.
There is a slight difference in brightness in the center of the frame, but it is not huge.
The effect at the edges of the picture is also very close.
06 Panorama contrast
The 360 panorama feature is one of the features I use most often for Google Camera, and this time I used 3 modes to compare, from top to bottom:
1. Google Camera panorama mode
2. System camera panorama mode
3. Google Camera 360 Panorama Mode (formerly Sphere)
Here's a quick look at their differences:
The panorama mode is to move the phone continuously, and the system automatically takes pictures, so you can control the picture range more accurately, while the 360 panorama mode of Google Camera takes photos at some fixed positions given by the system (the spatial position set by the system) and then automatically stitches them.
However, no matter which mode it is, it has high requirements for light and stability when shooting.
If the imaging effect of the three is not magnified, it seems to be about the same.
The difference is obvious when zoomed in, with the Google Camera 360 at the bottom having the highest panoramic definition, and the panoramic modes of the two Google Cameras and the System Camera above are mushy.
The Xiaomi logo is the clearest on the left side of the camera at the beginning of the picture, but once it is moved, whether it is the Google Camera on the top or the system camera in the middle, it begins to be mushy, and only the Google Camera 360 panorama mode at the bottom can still remain clear.
Another point to note is that there are differences in the size and size of the three photos:
Both the resolution and file size are the highest in the system camera, followed by the 360 panorama, and the lowest in Google Camera.
But the file size difference is very large, Google Camera Panorama 1.5MB, System Camera Panorama 19.5MB, Google Camera 360 Panorama 2.0MB.
That is, the file size generated by the system camera panorama mode is about 10 times that of the other two modes.
Google Camera 360 mode is the most cost-effective, which is why I use Google Camera's 360 mode the most, and I recommend everyone to try it too.
07 Summary
Many years ago, when Google Camera just launched the night scene mode of the extension of HDR mode, it was indeed shocking to the public, and everyone found that the original algorithm had such a big impact on the imaging of mobile phone cameras, in that era when in addition to Apple, the system cameras of major Android mobile phone manufacturers were not too powerful, Google Camera was sought after by all kinds of game enthusiasts, and even when the mobile phone arrived, it was first found to be a Google Camera that could be adapted, and the shooting effect could be said to be very obvious after use.
By 2024, the flagship photo effects of various mobile phone manufacturers have long had their own style, and they are also stronger than iPhones at the mobile phone press conferences, but it is true that the photo effects of these domestic flagship mobile phones are very good, and the algorithms have their own characteristics, and the differences are getting smaller and smaller.
To make a very appropriate analogy, in the past, everyone could only test about 60 points, and Google Camera APP is like a 75-point standard answer, everyone can use it, and there will be an improvement immediately after use, and now everyone has become stronger, and they can get 80 or even 90 points, although the standard answer of Google Camera has also been updated to 85 points, but there is not much difference, so everyone goes to compare the neat and beautiful writing.
The reason why I still keep the Google camera in my phone is that I only have the two functions of "astrophotography" and "360 panorama" that I occasionally use. Of course, on some low-end machines where taking pictures is not a selling point, using Google Camera can still have some significant improvements in the imaging effect.
Okay, that's all for this comparison, do you use Google Camera? What are the scenarios in which are they used? Welcome to leave a message below to discuss.