Google Pixel 5 Real World Camera Test: Helpful, stable, and fun! By Joshua Vergara

The pixel smartphones seem to defy the laws of smartphone fandom, even though they might not have very significant upgrades in the hardware, especially around the cameras year after year. They are still some of the most hyped camera phones every single year. That's kind of the story with the pixel 5. Only this time around Google has decided to shuffle up the feature set in order to make sure that this is a bit more of a practical device. After all, they call it a helpful phone. So, instead of a telephoto, you now get an ultra-wide and that might actually be a little more practical for a lot of users who don't actually use the telephoto zooms as much as they thought they would, and the entire phone is encased in a pleasing sturdy metal body.

That is also just small enough, so that the ergonomics and the quality of life aspects of this phone already pretty high. But of course, in my ongoing coverage of the pixel 5, we have to take this camera out for a real world camera test. Let's take this out for a really nice day, a nice walk over at the la arboretum as per usual. Hey, it's Joshua verger! What's going on everybody, here's your real world camera test with the pixel 5. Okay, so you already saw my unboxing of both the pixel 5 and the pixel 4 a5g, but we're focusing on the pixel 5 right now, after all, both of the phones that I unboxed happen to have very similar camera packages anyway.

So, while all the spec perspectives and all the final opinions are going to be saved from my complaints and takeaways video coming soon, I will give a couple of quick thoughts on just the general feel of this device. This is a phone that has to be held to be believed, metal frames are finally back and the pixel 5 is rocking it to great extent curves all over the place, make it one of the easiest phones to handle. In one hand, the ergonomics are just off the charts, and it's also because the phone is actually a little smaller, without sacrificing too much of the screen real estate. That OLED panel on the front by the way is fantastic. It is a beautiful flat panel display that has a symmetrical bezel all around that actually gives it a bit of a framed up.

Look it's almost as if you're holding a window into the photo or the content that you are looking at seriously every time I glance over at this OLED screen, I am impressed and the vivid colors of the OLED on top of just the really awesome wallpapers that they have a selection of here in this Google Pixel launcher. Honestly, the combination is just fantastic and of course, the other main story when it comes to this phone is that the rest of the specification sheet is toned down just enough so that the phone can come in at under 700. So, let's put it this way, if the pixel 5 continues the pedigree of pixel smartphone cameras and just how enjoyable and how reliable they can be. This might be one of the best steals in smartphones this year. So, as per usual, I'm going to go ahead and put it into that scenario.

Let's go ahead and get into the railroad camera test a couple of hours on a nice little walk at the la arborvitae. Lakers won the championship, so you know I'm going to be wearing this Lakers hat for as many videos as I can this week by the way to start out this video. I hope you can hear me pretty well with some construction happening across the street. So here's your microphone test or something like it also another thing to keep in mind- is that there's actually a couple of zoom levels for the front-facing camera. The interface for the camera has been somewhat redesigned, which is pretty dope.

I actually really like how everything is put together right now, but if you're on the front-facing camera, even in video mode, you can hit this 1.4 times to get just a little tighter and maybe compress the background a little for your portraits, alright. So, as usual bit of a bummer that the front-facing camera cannot do 4k video recording, but then again, that's the reason why you have the ultra-wide now on the back, so that you can actually get some vlog style footage like this for the a-roll. So it's good that, finally, on the pixel, we have a very high capable ultra-wide angle, lens for not only really dramatic photo shots that can only be further enhanced by Google's algorithmic processing, but also there are some really practical other uses for, especially for video. There are some very important strides being made with the video modes on this camera. Now, though, especially when it comes to stabilization, so 4k is available across all the modes and the two lenses on the rear, that's important to know, because sometimes on other phones, you turn on things like a steady shot mode or a high stabilization mode, and it just goes down to 1080p.

Now, in this case, the stabilization modes are provided for very specific shooting scenarios. You have the standard one and the already good stabilization that we know from pixel phones for videos is still there. Then you have another mode like the lockdown mode, which will literally use the sensor to kind of digitally zoom in while you are zoomed in for your frame and keep the frame as stable as possible in this digital sense, you can see how I'm moving the phone around, and it's still able to keep on to the pumpkin in this particular shot. And then the final one over here is the cinematic pan, which again uses a little of a bit of a hack way that some of us creators use in other cameras where we're actually using slow motion in order to provide even smoother and more stable footage. That's literally what it's doing and that's the reason why you don't get any audio in the cinematic pan video mode.

The thing is in all honesty- and maybe this is me tooting, my own horn. I tend to have really stable hands when it comes to these shots with the smartphone cameras and these regular camera tests. I don't know- maybe you can tell me if I haven't, but I think I do so. The cinematic pen is just one of those things that you can lean on. If you don't really have much more of a choice, it's great that the option is there honestly, it's already a good time with the pixel 5 cameras for both photos and videos, sure you might not have a bunch of the different modes that a lot of the other manufacturers just sort of bake into the camera app.

But as far as the fundamentals are concerned, you know that you're going to get perfect stills on the pixels and that's partially because of the algorithmic processing, but now you're, also being given the right tools for getting those fun shots that you probably would want to have on things like travel like the ultra-wide angle, it's always so funny, looking at the pixel as like a flagship device, but that definition is completely different this time around, knowing that they are literally focusing on just the camera experience, the simplicity of the usage and, of course, the overall helpfulness of a pixel 5 devices, and to that end, are the cameras already paying dividends, because, yes, simplicity, does equal helpful if it's easier to use, and you still get the results that you can get from a pixel. That's the point of the Google Pixel line just like with pretty much any other pixel phone. I find video to be just good. It is usable and there are going to be times when I would actually use it as the b-roll for other videos. The thing is this time around in the pixel 5 they're.

Actually, putting more effort into making it more versatile into giving it a little more of a boost that they haven't in previous pixel phones, the only play store, that's kind of missing front-facing camera, like I always say you know, places like the arboretum always make a good case for telephoto lenses, far zooms and whatnot because of things like squirrels and whatnot. This shot was using the locked mode so that I can stay focused, or rather just have one of these squirrels in the shot and even if it moved around. If I moved the camera around enough, it would reposition itself and I can put the squirrel back in the center, but take a look at how it actually changes up. Once I go from five times to two times that way, you can see how digitally it is doing its job. Actually, I do have to correct myself a little from earlier when you're using those stabilization modes, you're not going to be using the wide angle camera it's not available to you.

It's just going to be one times or any digital zoom of up to five times as it is listed inside the locked mode. If you're looking at the pixel 5 solely as a camera phone, something that you used to get good photos and videos for things. Like your social media accounts, I mean it's already going to pay dividends as every other pixel phone has. But now we have a pixel 5, which has a premium, build a perfect spec sheet, especially when you consider the price point, and it comes in lower at many of the other flagships that you would probably look at to get the same results. Of course, I can't bash on the front-facing camera too hard.

It is the way that you're going to get the awesome portraits that pixels are known for I'll. Take some more portraits a little later, especially now that you have portrait night sight, and you also can go into the Google photos app and put in an artificial light if you want to fill in some spots or just give it an even more dramatic flair. So I do want to fill in a couple of final blanks as far as the camera experience is concerned, let's talk a little about the night sight mode, still fantastic, still exactly what you would expect out of this phone that can do Castro photography. You can see here footage of me actually putting it up on a tripod, pointing it at the sky and using both the main sensor and the ultra-wide sensors in order to get this fantastic shot. Now, here's the thing what you're looking at right now is basically a three to four minute long exposure, but the whole point of the macrophotography stuff, if you want those stars to pop out, is that you get into google photos, and you start messing with the different adjustments now in my case for these couple of photos, I do have a little of light, bleed some light pollution that messed up the small part of that area.

But imagine if you're in just the dead of night, you point it up at the sky. You get those stars coming out. It's still something that we enjoyed in previous pixels, and it returns on the pixel 5. But since we're in google photos, let's talk about yet another mode that google is adding uh. This one is in google photos specifically, and it's called the portrait lite you can go into.

Google photos find your portraits get into the adjustments, and in some of them not all of them, you will find a new option called portrait light. It basically adds an artificial light that you can drag around the frame in order for you to light up certain portions of your face or of your portrait, but for the most part, what you're trying to do here and what google is probably suggesting you do- is accentuated the light that is already on one side of your face, or you can drag it over, and you can feel the other side of your face if you want to have a fill light. The situations where the portrait light feature seems to really come in handy is: when you take portrait night sight, combo photos. Yes, you can go into the portrait mode and if the dark situations are detected by the camera, it will give you the option to turn on the night sight capability as well. The picture where I just showed you me editing it with the portrait.

Light was done with the front facing camera, but you can also use the rear sensor, of course, for the same effect in these couple of pictures, I used it to give it a little more oomph and sure enough. In this dark situation. It was able to create very usable, portraits, and then you get the portrait light, and you can fill it in even more with artificial light courtesy of google photos. Do you see what I mean? It's always the pixel devices that without the super high numbers and the hardware, maybe not the super high megapixel counts or even the amount, the sheer amount of lenses on the phone, the pixels still find ways of being so practical and so useful and they excel in the fundamentals, and even if there are a couple of things that are missing, they have been addressed in some sort of way. For example, the video quality is still very good.

It may not be the best video quality out there, but now with the stabilization modes, you have a few more options so that you can get better video out of these sensors and speaking of the sensors. The front-facing camera still does not do 4k video recording, so the love for us vloggers may not quite be there, but then the ultra white camera is there, as you saw me, use throughout my time at the arboretum. So you have an option if you really do need to get that wide angle, reliable foggy type shot that Google magic is still at play here. Man, because this phone is just a joy to use the quality of life. Aspects of this thing are just through the roof, and you know that I really enjoy that in my high premium smartphones.

But that's the thing: this phone is not priced at a high premium. It is a really reliable and practical and helpful device, though, but I will reserve my final judgments for my complaints and takeaways video, which you can look forward to here at my channel, subscribe to my channel if you haven't already so that you can keep up with all of my coverage of everything going on in October, it's a busy month drop some likes on this video at the very least, and let me know what you think of the pixel 5 by getting into the comment sections down below from there, though I'm going to go ahead and call it on this one. Thank you so much for watching hope you enjoyed this look at the pixel 5, and I'll bring you even more uh in my upcoming videos from there, though, I will say thank you once again take care of yourselves and each other and enjoy your tea. Everybody.

Source : Joshua Vergara