GoKawiilThe Pixel 11 Pro has a variety of upgrades for photographers. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
The Pixel 11 Pro is Google’s latest flagship phone, and I got to take it on a photo walk through the colorful streets of mid-summer Paris. Très charmant! Alongside a suite of upgrades like its Tensor G6 processor and delightful new peachy color, there are a bunch of camera updates. And, as a photographer myself, I was keen to see what was up.
So it might seem that most of the camera hardware is the same. It’s the usual trio of wide, ultrawide and telephoto lenses all at the same resolutions as last year’s model. But Google says that the main image sensor is new and generally offers better quality. And the telephoto sensor is physically larger.
But honestly, one of my favorite new features is called Camera Looks, and it’s all about the software. Similar to Apple’s Photographic Styles, Camera Looks change the colors and exposure in your images to give them a more creative look than just taking clinically accurate photos.
Lovely tones and gentle contrast from the main camera with the ‘Vanilla’ Camera Look. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Great tones and spot-on exposure from the main camera. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
And there’s no discernible color shift when you switch to the ultrawide lens. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
I really like the looks, and I actually had them applied to the camera pretty much my whole day. You can also customize each look further, adding some warmth or adjusting the depth of shadows and even adding grain. Typically, I really like the grainy look you get from authentic analog film — it’s why I recently spent a fortune on a Leica M6 film camera — but I’ve gotta say, I don’t love the grain effect that the Pixel 11 Pro applies.
There’s a lot of grain in this picture. I know that because I specifically added loads to the scene when I shot it. I probably shouldn’t have. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
It looks very digital and not especially realistic. I shot all my photos in JPEG and in RAW, which bypasses Google’s processing, allowing me to do my own edits instead.
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