Mobile phones have been hauling gains in usability for photography and videography year on year. It's comfortably to the point where a cutting-edge smartphone in the right hands can create images — particularly those that do not require a narrow depth of field — that is indistinguishable from interchangeable lens cameras. The number of megapixels phones have been able to offer has been more than enough for some time. However, we're beginning to see vast improvements elsewhere, which has elevated phones into a position where they are highly usable for certain types of photography. One genre that lends itself well to smartphones is landscape.
The Google Pixel 6 Pro has a 50-megapixel wide-angle lens, 48-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens. The camera is then supported by LDAF (Laser Detect Auto Focus) sensor for more effective focusing speeds. As is often the case with phone cameras, a lot of the heavy lifting is done by software, and the built-in AI for the Google Pixel 6 Pro is no different. There are a number of modes that allow for creative motion blur, toning, and even astrophotography modes.
In this video, Brent Hall takes out the Pixel 6 Pro on a fully-fledged landscape shoot to see how it performs. Personally, I'm impressed. What do you make of its results?
For $900, I sure hope it takes great photos. But in general, portability opens up new subjects, and, more significantly, new aesthetics. So many of the iconic photos shot with 35mm film cameras just wouldn't have been possible with 4x5 press cameras or whatever. And let's not forget, the first 35mm camera, a Leica, was considered a toy and not for serious work at first. But after time, 35mm became the norm, and people so many new things with them. Same thing will happen (is happening) with phones. I still shoot 4x5 occasionally, but I also like to take photos when I'm out trail running, and welcome better and better phones and their cameras (just wish they weren't so expensive).