Why 4x Pixel Zoom doesn’t work when shooting video (and how to fix it)

Image of the article titled

The Pixel 6 Pro There are many selling points, but like the previous Pixel smartphones, the big attraction is the camera. The device’s three cameras take great photos and videos right out of the box, but there’s one big caveat. YIt seems that you can’t use the impressive 4x telephoto zoom camera when recording video. Fortunately, this camera isn’t really off limits to video, but you need to know a workaround to zoom in.

Let’s start with what happens when you use the Google-designed Pixel 6 Pro: YLaunch the camera, switch to video mode, and then select the 4x zoom option. Instead of switching to a telephoto camera that optically magnifies the image, the 6 Pro sticks to the main camera and digitally crops the image to a “4x zoom”. What’s happening

Optical zoom and digital zoom

The difference between optical zoom and digital zoom was explained earlier. Discuss the strange relationship between the iPhone and ZoomBut here’s the point: TSince the camera has no moving parts, the Hat 4x telephoto zoom does not actually “zoom” to the subject. Instead, All three cameras have a fixed focal length.. TThe focal length of the ultra-wide camera is 16mm (0.7x zoom), the focal length of the primary camera is 24mm (1x zoom), and the focal length of the telephoto camera is 102.6mm (4x zoom).

Normally, when you switch from the primary camera to the telephoto camera, it changes to a camera that can shoot the subject at a distance four times that of the primary camera. However, if you are shooting between these focal lengths, or if you are over 4x zoom, the digital zoom will take over. Digital zoom is basically cropping an image to artificially bring it closer to the subject. For example, 3.5x zoom crops the image from the primary camera. Remember that there are no moving parts here.

Google software does some work This is to make the digital zoom look better than if you cropd the image yourself, but not as well as with a camera designed to take zoom shots. When you use a real telephoto camera, you can work in more detail, so you need to be able to use it when you need it.

Still, it’s not! At the very least, don’t take it out of the video recording box. As someone with a Pixel 4, I didn’t even know about this issue Read on Reddit, But that’s true: Google bypasses the telephoto camera and zooms 4x when shooting video at 1080p, the default video resolution for the Pixel 6 Pro. However, when I switch to 4K 30 fps, the telephoto camera works as expected. The iPhone does the same: SThe telephoto camera works in most settings only when iOS determines that there is enough light. However, when shooting at 4K 60 fps, always use it when switching to a telephoto camera.

It’s not clear which company will do this, but it’s frustrating. You’re spending $ 900 or $ 1,000 on a smartphone with a telephoto camera, but you’re not trusted to be able to use it when you need it.It’s one of those quirks that users are supposed to understand, as Google doesn’t give you anything to raise your head. By myself. Fortunately, all you have to do is switch to that high resolution for the shoot (unless you’re running out of storage, you’re probably doing it anyway) and it’s all set.

If you need to shoot at 1080p but want access to a telephoto camera, check out third-party apps. FiLMiC Pro It’s expensive, but it’s a great option and gives you a fair amount of control over your shoot. You can select the camera you want to shoot at any resolution, but you can also control the ISO, shutter speed, focus, etc. It can be expensive in advance, but at least you can use your Pixel camera the way you want.