Google has grown over the years into a multifaceted company. What started with a search engine that has now become the most popular, has been transformed into multiple branches that lead to both mobile telephony and software with a lot of intrinsic potential.
One of these applications developed by the company is GCam , which can be found pre-installed at the factory in Pixels, Google’s mobile phones . Despite the fact that these devices do not have a high-quality camera, this software allows you to obtain photos at the height of any high-end mobile, even at night.
Night shots with clarity
The mobile devices of the American company have a camera that is updated periodically, such as Gcam. One of the tools that one of these updates introduced was Night Sight mode . This is an Artificial Intelligence that is responsible for tasks such as: detecting movements when taking a photograph and optimizing blur to provide a sharp image or rebalancing colors through learning.
The latter means that the phone learns how things look, which greatly influences photos taken at night . Also, the phone activates this mode automatically. It is usual that night captures are not assimilated at all to reality. Light is a fundamental element for taking photos, and mobile phones, although they have a high-quality camera, are not capable of processing that information well at night. With GCam and its AI, images taken in low light will look completely realistic.
This functionality is much more effective if it is done using a support such as a tripod and we avoid motion blur. Below you can see the huge difference between a photograph taken with a Redmi Note 5 and a Google Pixel so that you understand the potential of its camera.
More compatible than you think
The downside of this software is that it is only available on smartphones developed by the great G. Although that does not mean that you cannot download it on your device. Of course, you must resort to an APK and it only works on some terminals.
Q: How ridiculous is the Pixel’s new Night Sight feature? A: This. This ridiculous. If anything, it’s even more cracked than Google cracked it up to be. Both photos unedited. pic.twitter.com/QhNBCkTWQz
– Andy Ihnatko (@Ihnatko) November 19, 2018
However, we will have to configure the camera settings to suit the characteristics of our mobile. The procedure is not that complicated either, but we can run into problems if we don’t understand how XML files work. Even so, having the enormous amount of functions that the Google camera hides at your disposal is a delight for any self-respecting photography lover. If, on the other hand, you already have a Google device, you should try to take pictures regularly at night so that the AI gets used to the light.
Set up the camera
In order to use the Google camera, you will have to download the APK , as we have said in the previous section. But, even if it is installed, it does not mean that our device will run the application in perfect condition. This is because each device’s camera sensor has unique hardware. So you will have to configure it based on specific settings .
Don’t worry, the procedure is largely automatic. To do this you have to resort to an XML file that you can download from the GCam creator’s page. In it you will find different files based on each model of the different compatible phones.
Before downloading the file, you must follow some steps so that your terminal identifies the XML file:
- Enter the GCam application.
- Click on the arrow in the upper area.
- Open the Settings menu and click on More information.
- Activate Enable Mod and go back to Settings.
- Select Mods Configs Creator and click Save.
- Enter the name you want and save the settings.
Now download the XML file in the Configs folder that will have been created inside the GCam folder of your phone’s files. Enter the application and double click on either side of the shutter so that the app allows you to choose the XML you want. Ready, your device already has the advanced options of GCam.