Google launches Night Sight for Pixel 3, 3XL

Enhancing the low-light photography experience on the Pixel 3, 3XL, Google is now rolling out the much talked about Night Sight feature. As per the claims, the Night Sight mode will help users capture natural-looking photos in dark surroundings, even without a flash. Unveiled at hardware fall event in New York last month, Pixel 3 and 3XL smartphone went on sale early this month. Even with a single camera module with artificial intelligence capabilities, these have managed to earn the crown of the best camera smartphones available in the market.

Post updating the camera app, a Night Sight mode should appear under the “more” section of the camera menu. While one can activate the mode from more option, when it’s too dark, the camera automatically detects the scene and suggests switching to Night Sight mode.

Google claims Night Sight works best on posed pictures of people or still landscapes/cityscapes, rather than motion. Suggested use cases include low-light group selfies and selfies with a beautiful city background, city skyline at dusk, photos of a baby asleep without a flash, dim restaurants, bars, and city sidewalks, and more.

Both, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL feature a 12.2-megapixel camera at the rear with a new camera UI. However, there are two front-facing cameras, of which one captures a wider field of view for getting more people in the image. Improvising one of the best smartphone cameras even further, Pixel 3 devices use a feature called ‘Top Shot’ that uses AI to help capture the perfect photo every time. While capturing a motion photo, the phone captures alternate shots in HDR+, then recommends the best one – even if it’s not exactly when the shutter was hit – looking for those where everyone is smiling, with eyes open, and facing the camera. For grain-free zoom in, Super Res Zoom (a computational photography technique, traditionally used for astronomy and scientific imaging) has been used for producing sharp details when zoomed in. Eliminating the need of reaching shutter button for selfies, the Photobooth mode uses AI to recognise when you’re are ready for a selfie and snaps the shot automatically. Capable of capturing super smooth videos, the Motion Auto Focus ensures Pixel 3 camera stays in sharp focus automatically, when used for recording. It even brings front-facing video stabilisation for selfie videos when moving around. Just like earlier Pixel devices, even with the new hardware, users will get access to unlimited photo and video storage backup on the cloud.

Available in two sizes – the 5.5-inch Pixel 3 and the 6.3-inch Pixel 3 XL – the former is priced at Rs 71,000 for 64GB, Rs 80,000 for 128GB and Rs 83,000 for Pixel 3 XL 64G, and Rs 92,000 for Pixel 3 XL 128GB. These two new phones are IP68 certified, which makes them dust resistant and water resistant in up to 1.5-meter water for up to 30 minutes. Continuing with Pixel’s two-tone design, with soft-touch glass back, the new phones are available in three colours – Just Black, Clearly White, and Not Pink.