Google Pixel 9 Pro for Street Photography | Eye Opening Results

Summary

In this video, the Google Pixel 9 Pro's camera is put to the test for street photography, using the reviewer's 10 years of professional photography experience. The camera performs well in ideal lighting conditions, but struggles in low light, with noticeable noise and grain. In street photography, issues like shutter lag and slight blurriness from movement hinder the overall experience. While the camera's raw files are impressive, the file transfer process for Mac users is cumbersome. Ultimately, the Pixel 9 Pro is a great smartphone camera for casual use but falls short of replacing professional equipment in demanding situations.

Takeaways

• 😀 The Google Pixel 9 Pro is a highly regarded smartphone camera, praised for its raw file editing capabilities and impressive performance in ideal lighting conditions.
• 😀 Street photography is a challenging genre, and the reviewer took the Pixel 9 Pro to New York to test its capabilities in this demanding setting.
• 😀 In basic street photography, the Pixel 9 Pro performed well, with sharp images and good color accuracy across its ultra-wide, telephoto, and standard lenses.
• 😀 Low-light performance on the Pixel 9 Pro was underwhelming compared to professional cameras, with noticeable noise and grain affecting the quality of images.
• 😀 While the Pixel 9 Pro's raw files were editable, the photos taken in low light lacked the sharpness and clarity seen in professional tools like the Nikon Z8.
• 😀 The Pixel 9 Pro faced timing and shutter speed issues in street photography, with delayed processing resulting in missed shots of moving subjects.
• 😀 Motion blur occurred when the camera was not held perfectly still, as the Pixel 9 Pro required slower shutter speeds that didn't compensate for fast movements.
• 😀 File transfer on the Pixel 9 Pro can be cumbersome for Mac users, as Google Drive is required, slowing down the workflow considerably.
• 😀 Despite some flaws, the Pixel 9 Pro remains the reviewer’s favorite smartphone camera, especially for casual and artistic street photography.
• 😀 While the Pixel 9 Pro is a great tool for casual photography, it has limitations that make it unsuitable for professional use in fast-paced or low-light environments.

Q & A

What was the initial impression of the Google Pixel 9 Pro camera?

The initial impression was highly positive, with the reviewer claiming that the Google Pixel 9 Pro had the best smartphone camera they had used, particularly praising its performance in well-lit scenarios.

What was the main goal of the street photography test with the Pixel 9 Pro?

The main goal was to evaluate how the Google Pixel 9 Pro performs in a more challenging photography genre, street photography, and to see how close it can get to professional camera performance.

How did the Pixel 9 Pro perform in the basic street photography test?

In the basic street photography test, the Pixel 9 Pro performed well. The ultra-wide and telephoto lenses produced solid results, and the reviewer was impressed with the RAW files, which allowed for good post-processing flexibility.

What issues did the reviewer face during the low-light test?

The reviewer found that the low-light performance of the Pixel 9 Pro was disappointing compared to the results from professional cameras. While the photos were not bad, they had noticeable noise and lacked the depth and clarity of images taken with professional gear.

What made the reviewer feel that the Pixel 9 Pro couldn’t replace professional cameras in low-light situations?

The reviewer felt that in low-light conditions, the Pixel 9 Pro's photos were inconsistent and lacked the reliability of professional cameras, especially in scenarios requiring clean, high-quality images.

What were the key strengths of the Pixel 9 Pro in street photography?

The key strengths of the Pixel 9 Pro in street photography were the quality of colors, sharpness, and overall vibe of the images. The phone also provided good flexibility for editing, producing artistic and gritty street photos.

What limitation did the reviewer face regarding timing and motion blur during the street photography test?

The reviewer experienced issues with the phone’s processing speed, leading to missed shots or motion blur, especially in fast-moving street scenes. The processing delay and lower shutter speed were factors contributing to this limitation.

What workflow problem did the reviewer highlight when using the Pixel 9 Pro for professional work?

The reviewer highlighted a major workflow issue with transferring RAW files. For Mac users, transferring images required using Google Drive, which dramatically slowed down the process compared to the ease of using SD cards or direct file transfers typical with professional cameras.

What conclusion did the reviewer draw regarding the Pixel 9 Pro for professional use?

The reviewer concluded that while the Pixel 9 Pro is one of the best smartphone cameras, it still cannot fully replace professional cameras, especially in low-light situations and when reliability in street photography is essential.

How did the reviewer’s opinion of the Pixel 9 Pro evolve throughout the video?

Initially, the reviewer was very impressed with the Pixel 9 Pro, but after testing it in more challenging real-world conditions like low-light and street photography, they recognized several limitations, particularly with timing, motion blur, and file transfer inefficiencies.