When it comes to smartphone photography, fifty-fifty the most casual observer volition accept noticed a recurring theme: software is really important. The established leader in this area is the Google Camera app designed for Pixel phones.

Thanks to Android's modding community Google Camera is now much more widely available. Poised to have advantage of as of your camera's adequacy, the app brings the most advanced image processing technologies to your phone.

Here'south how to get Google Photographic camera on your telephone.

What is Google Camera?

Straight out of Google'southward cutting-edge research and development sectionalization, Google Camera is a camera app that kickoff saw the light in 2014 with the launch of Google'southward offset Pixel telephone. Although non having the most advanced camera hardware y'all would see in other flagship smartphones, the Pixel devices are known to produce some of the all-time mobile photos.

Information technology demonstrates the need for software to harness every bit out of a telephone's camera. By supplanting your camera's broiled-in app, Google Photographic camera allows you to tap into many avant-garde features, noticeably upgrading the quality of your phone's image output.

Otherwise, known as Google Photographic camera Mod or GCam, the app volition put your smartphone's camera to work similar never before.

What Makes GCam So Good?

Are Google Camera'southward features sufficiently advanced to replace your stock camera app? Definitely! Non only will you meet an improvement in image quality, you will also expand the set of options for taking and manipulating images.

The following features brand Google Camera and so swell to have:

  • Dull Move: Record video at either 120 or 240 frames per second (fps), depending on your phone's capability. An platonic solution to create videos showing off the detail of movement, filling them with the potential to go viral.
  • Motion Photos: Combining the motility of a three-second video with the telephone's optical prototype stabilization (OIS) and gyroscope, you lot can create blur-free video snapshots.
  • Lens Blur: Mainly designed for portrait shots, this feature blurs the groundwork, emphasizing and enhancing the object front and center.
  • HDR+: By cleverly employing short exposure times when taking a burst of photos, HDR+ reduces blurring, image dissonance, and increases dynamic range. Effectively, out of a photo set, the app takes the sharpest image, enhances it algorithmically by processing every single pixel, and picks the color that matches the average across the photo fix. Among many benefits, HDR+ enhances photos under low-light conditions the most.
  • Smart Burst: With the Google Camera installed, your phone will exist able to capture nearly ten photos per 2nd by property the shutter button. Upon releasing the button, the app will automatically selection the best photo out of the gear up. This is a great feature to have when y'all want to eliminate photos of people with their eyes closed!
  • Video Stabilization: By using both OIS and digital video stabilization, the app processes video clips to remove shutter distortion artifacts, and corrects for focus. As a issue, y'all can create pleasingly smoothen videos that will not annoy people equally yous share them across social media.
  • Panorama: Most cameras have a panorama feature, simply GCam is ameliorate than most. Moreover, the Google Photographic camera is not express past degrees or angles. With it, you can take panoramic shots vertically, horizontally, and wide-angled across the entire 360 degrees span.

Some phones already have some of these features, but Google Photographic camera delivers unrivalled results in almost every area. It upgrades even basic shots, thank you to its HDR and low low-cal operation.

Comparison of Google Camera with Stock Camera

With the Google Camera's features out of the manner, let us meet how they interpret in practice, compared to your baked-in camera app.

You get better exposure, more particular, and cleaner shots. The endeavor to replace your default camera app with Google Camera is well worth it. Fortunately, that effort is not also enervating.

How to Install Google Camera

For a polish transition from the default camera app to Google Camera, information technology's all virtually the compatibility of your phone.

What Are the Prerequisites?

The XDA Developers port hub list volition continue to exist updated, then not all is lost if you don't see your Android telephone on the list. However, to make certain your phone is even a possible candidate to install Google Photographic camera, it needs to support the Camera2 API.

samsung gcam support

The Camera2 API gives developers admission to your phone's camera capabilities in order to squeeze every final bit of command over its lens, wink per private frame, shutter speed, autofocus, RAW Capture, HDR+, OIS, and photographic camera sensor.

Although Camera2 API started with Android 5.0 Lollipop version, Android 7.1.1 and above are far more probable to be compatible. To make sure your phone has it, simply install the free Camera2 API Probe app from the Google Play Store.

The app is as simple equally it gets. In one case you open it, the first screen you will see is your phone's compatibility list for Camera2API:

camera2 api check

The Hardware Support Level section is the most of import flake. It volition include compatibility both for your rear and front end cameras. Here is what the iv levels mean:

  • LEGACY: Support for but Camera1 API, significant that if this is the only greenish checkmark, you cannot take advantage of Google Photographic camera on your phone.
  • LIMITED: Back up for a narrow range of Camera2 API capabilities.
  • Total: Support for all of import Camera2 API capabilities.
  • LEVEL_3: An additional support for YUV reprocessing, RAW image capture, and actress output stream options.

With higher levels, you are all set for the installation process if your Camera2 API is enabled.

If that is not the case, you will need to root your telephone, and edit the build.prop file with BuildProp Editor. That's a lot more than advanced, though, and beyond the telescopic of this guide.

The Installation Process Itself

With compatibility problems sorted, the first pace is to go to the Google Photographic camera Port Hub and check if the GCam Port is available for your device. Among the dozens of models supported, all are neatly bundled by the manufacturer in alphabetical social club, from Asus to Xiaomi.

To make the search easier, follow these steps:

  1. Tap on the three-dots icon carte du jour in the upper right corner of your spider web browser.
  2. Select the Find in page option.
  3. Type the model of your Android phone. As you lot type it, the available results will be highlighted.

The alternative to the in a higher place Google Camera Port hub is this alternative GCam Hub. With both hubs, you will exist presented with a list of APK files to download to your phone. When yous tap on the APK download file, you lot'll encounter a alarm screen and will need to confirm.

download apk files on android

Of course, we know what such a file does, so we want to tap OK. Next, become to Settings > Security and enable for apps to exist installed from Unknown Sources.

Lastly, select the APK file you lot downloaded with a skillful file director and select the APK file for installation to continue.

Y'all should at present exist set up and set to first exploring the wonders of GCam.

Consider Tapping Into the Google Camera Source

GCam is an easy way to squeeze more than out of your existing smartphone camera. If y'all aren't happy with the shots you're getting, information technology'southward well worth investigating.

If your Android phone isn't supported yet, or is likewise quondam to ever be supported due to the Camera2 API requirement, y'all could consider switching to a Pixel adjacent time yous upgrade your phone. In such a scenario, you would benefit from maximum hardware and software compatibility, with all the cutting-edge features the internet giant is capable of delivering.

Or in the meantime, there are many other dandy Android camera apps yous can endeavor.

The All-time Photographic camera Apps for Android and iPhone

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About The Author

Rahul Nambiampurath (48 Articles Published)

Rahul Nambiampurath started his career equally an auditor but has now transitioned into working total-time in the tech infinite. He is an agog fan of decentralized and open source technologies. When he'southward non writing, he's normally busy making wine, tinkering with his android device, or hiking some mountains.

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