I would like to try and compare the Google camera app on my Pixel 6a.
How should I set about this? Is it safe to simply disable the GOS camera app and install the Google one? I note that there is no Uninstall option. If so, can I then swap from one to the other using Disable?
I do want to avoid a reinstall of GOS if possible, hence my caution.
Are there any privacy issues with the Google app, other than exif data?

Thanks

You don't need to do anything. Just install google camera app like you would install any other app

You can install the google camera. Both camera apps can be installed at the same time.

If both are installed at the same time and an external app wants to launch a camera app the OS will prompt you to choose one. Like pushing the lock button twice.

If you choose to use Google Camera over GOS's camera, you can always disable GOS's camera in the app settings. You can reenable anytime you want. Disabling does nothing except make the app unavailable in the current user profile. It'll be available in any other or new profiles.

Since Google's apps are all closed source, there's no way to know what kind of data they collect with GCam. Your best bet is to just revoke the GCam's internet access.

Many thanks, sounds much more staightforward than I expected.

There's even some hacked versions of gcam that change the package name, and so can be installed simultaneously with the original gcam.