The holidays are usually a time to give up, but users recently discovered after a camera update earlier this fall that Google is considering the possibility of using Astrophotography mode with the ultra-wide cameras on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, removed.
When the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G first released is Google’s Astrophotography mode (which was released last year along with the Pixel 4) was available for use on both the primary and ultra wide cameras of the phones. Unfortunately, it turns out that after using version 8.1 of the Google Camera application which added a handful of features to older Pixel phones, the newer Pixel 5 and 4a 5G also lost the ability to use Astrophotography mode with their ultra-wide-angle lenses.
Although Google did not provide an official explanation for this change, Google has since updated it support page to note that “On Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5, astrophotography only works at zoom settings equal to or greater than 1x.”
It is currently unclear what caused Google to disable Astrophotography mode from the work with ultra-wide cams. IIf you look at some examples posted in the Pixel support community, this is one possible explanation may be some faint results.
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In a thread on the Pixel support page, posted a number of users side-by-side comparisons taken before the update, with Astrophotography photos taken by an ultra-wide Pixel image that is noticeably more granular or lower (often with a heavy green tint) as photos taken through the phone’s primary comb.
Because it was possible to take Astrophotography shots with the ultra-wide lens of a Pixel before the update, following reports of less than stellar results, Google may have decided to temporarily disable the feature while fixing the issue investigate and possibly work on a solution. Gizmodo has contacted Google for more information and we will provide an update when we hear it.
Given the time it took to notice this change, the loss of support for Astrophotography mode on the ultra-wide cams of Pixel 5 and 4a 5G is probably not a big deal for most people, but it is nevertheless a somewhat disappointing change, so here’s the hope that Google can come up with a solution soon.