Camera Questions?

waamelyn

Hello everyone!

I really want to switch to GrapheneOS. I like basically every single thing I’ve seen about it, no downsides at all it appears. But I’m having trouble with one thing: I’m coming from an iPhone 16 Pro, which I bought specifically for the camera, and I’m really struggling to give that camera up. I’ve seen the Pixel 9 Pro has a really good camera as well, but here’s the problem: I’ve recently learned that all of the camera optimizations that people take for granted are software or AI-based, not hardware based. One issue with this is that by removing the Google Camera app, it seems like it effectively reduces the (ai upscaled) zoom from 25x to 5x. Another being how it handles noise reduction. So the camera feels a lot more fake now, but also it appears to be extremely software-dependent.

I’ve been substituting certain phone functionalities with other devices (mp3 players instead of Spotify for example). So my question is, what is the camera quality like on GrapheneOS, especially with a Pixel model with higher quality camera hardware? If it’s noticeably worse, are there any other portable devices that might offer the lacking camera functionality? (I can’t justify an entire DSLR camera.) And finally, if nothing else, do you think locking down the original Google Camera app without internet access would prevent telemetry from being used?

I really want to make the switch, but the camera is the only thing holding me back from doing it… tomorrow. Thank you!

Lucario1829

you can just install the google camera app on graphene and get the exact same performance as stock, you should be able to try and turn off telemetry in its settings

user5678

The Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro camera hardware is good quality.

Pixel 10 Pro has the added bonus of exposing Dual Conversion Gain -- on the main camera sensor (25 mm) -- which helps greatly with noise reduction in low light.

For this, you need to purchase a paid app, MotionCam, though the Google Play Store (sandboxed Google Play must be installed in GrapheneOS.) MotionCam allows you to record RAW DNG photos and RAW video -- but it is not free.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlBN7vOwEnw

For free, you can use all of the software bells and whistles of Google Camera -- again with sandboxed Google Play Services installled from on GrapheneOS.

For privacy, you can use the Camera App that is developed by GrapheneOS, with no bells and whistles, but you can trust that it is made with privacy and security in mind.

There are a number of other third party camera apps on Android that are available if you want a particular feature.

** edit ** Pixel 10 Pro will likely be officially supported by GrapheneOS very soon

user5678

One additional example with high-quality video shot on Pixel 10 Pro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_nM4yzBu5I

indigomadelin

Some features in Google Photos are available by default, while others (such as Magic Eraser, Unblur, Sky, and Filters) need to be downloaded from the internet.

Here are the steps to set this up:

Install Google Play services from the built-in App Store. Google Play Store will also be downloaded automatically, you have to click Install, but it's not actually required. During or shortly after installation, grant Network permissions to the Google Play services app
Install Google Photos and grant it Network permissions as well
Take a sample picture and video
Open Google Photos, tap Edit, and explore the various editing options. Some additional features will download automatically, or you may be prompted to download them
Once all the extra features are installed, uninstall Google Play Store and Google Play services, then remove the Network permission from the Photos app
You can now import your photos from your backup. Note that Google Photos may have difficulty indexing all your photos. If this happens, delete them and import again

thmf

indigomadelin Do you know if the editing features will stay working with no network access and no play services installed or it'll complain eventually?

indigomadelin

thmf Yes, they will stay working. However, I'm hesitant to update Google Photos because I suspect it may break the previously installed DLCs, which would require repeating the entire process - you may need to test this yourself.