Pixel 3a camera after update to Android 10

quark-lepton

Senior Member
Dec 13, 2015
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Here are my first impressions after the update to Android 10:

  • Machine learning white balance can't be turned off in Night Sight mode anymore. Previously you could turn off machine learning white balance and use the default white balance, if you used a white balance preset before using Night Sight.

  • Now HDR+ enhanced has the "super resolution" zoom algorithm. Previously this wasn't the case. Now the HDR+ enhanced zoom is about as good as the Night Sight zoom (in my opinion it's even better because Night Sight chooses too long exposures and can lead to slightly blurry photos)
  • HDR+ dng files have been fixed. Previously they were extremely desaturated. Though the update doesn't fix the dng files that were saved before the update. Furthermore the Lightroom mobile camera app still produces desaturated dng files.

  • When you use the Pixel 3a on a tripod in very bad light conditions, then it will combine thirteen 4s exposures (astro mode). When you zoom, it will combine fifteen 4s exposures. After one 4s exposure, it is possible to stop additional exposures.

  • Now the Pixel 3a has face detection autofocus, but I am not sure whether it works accurately.

  • Now the Pixel 3a has the Top Shot feature, but it seems to be useless as the image quality is terrible.

  • Bug: When you use exposure compensation in low-light conditions, the viewfinder can start to flicker. When you use AF lock, then this bug doesn't occur. You can use the exposure compensation after using the AF lock feature.

  • Bug: When you hold the phone too steady in Night Sight mode, the astro mode can turn on even though you don't use a tripod. This will lead to very blurry results. If the light conditions are not very bad and the astro mode doesn't turn on, it is still possible that Night Sight chooses 1.0s per frame. Before the update the maximum handheld exposure time per frame was approximately 0.85s in my case, often 0.5s.

  • Google Photos bug: Jpgs in the Photoshop Express folder do not look extremely sharp at pixel level in Google Photos. When I move them to a different folder, then they look sharper.
 
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