The Pixel 7 Professional is my final cellphone digital camera for concert events | Grind Tech

Lights on, amp unplugged, empty stage. I get up with a broad smile on my face, nonetheless elated from the live performance I simply attended and the music I heard. I begin to placed on my jacket when a hand touches my shoulder. I flip round; the particular person apologizes and asks me for my cellphone as a result of she was impressed with the images and movies I used to be in a position to seize. So we launched into an extended dialog about my Google Pixel 7 Professional and the way nice it’s for live performance pictures and videography.

This hasn’t simply occurred a couple of times, however at the very least a dozen instances if you happen to depend each the Pixel 6 Professional and seven Professional, though the latter has gotten extra consideration. And the explanations are many, together with the Pixel 7 Professional’s high-quality zoom, nighttime efficiency, and talent to freeze a second in time. However let’s again up a bit.

I am fairly certain any trendy smartphone can take respectable images if you happen to’re within the entrance rows of a live performance. The overall rule of thumb is that if the lead singer’s beads of sweat and saliva can attain you, any good digital camera cellphone will do. However that is not the place I sit or stand. I’ve a full-time job, so I am unable to stand in line for 3 hours earlier than each live performance, and I am quick, so I desire seated locations, simply so I do not find yourself standing behind tall individuals. I have been there earlier than – there’s nothing good about seeing somebody’s trapeze or curly hair apart from the artist I paid to see.

That is why I usually find yourself in a seat fairly removed from the stage, generally at an odd angle, behind a pillar or blocked by some rails, attempting to catch a chunk of the motion. Hey, I decide my battles, and the seated ticket usually beats the remainder.

In these conditions, not all telephones might be winners. I’ve seen the poor souls round me, with comparable horrific eyesight, attempting to seize a number of the onstage motion with something from a 2010-era point-and-shoot digital camera (Tarja Turunen followers are from old fashioned!) trendy flagship. Some do a good job, whereas others barely handle to seize just a few highlights and the artist’s face as a perceptible center floor. None have come near what I may grip on my Pixel 7 Professional, nevertheless. (This assertion comes with the disclaimer that I do not personal a Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely or S22 Extremely and I do not know if anybody within the public round me has ever used one among these).

Live performance pictures is among the greatest challenges a smartphone digital camera can face. You are transferring and leaping, your topic is transferring, it is darkish, vibrant lights are flashing at a frantic tempo, and on high of all that, there’s usually smoke and haze. You could be sitting a bit distant and have arms and heads transferring and blocking a part of your shot.

However the Pixel 7 Professional has every part I must take nice images regardless of this harsh setting. You possibly can freeze the motion even within the midst of quick strobes. You possibly can stability between darkish spots and vibrant spots in common pictures. Night time Sight is quicker than ever so I can expose the picture a bit extra and seize extra mild and element. And the 5x telescopic lens permits for excellent pictures zoomed as much as 15x and even 20x in some conditions.

Listed below are some samples from some concert events I attended not too long ago, displaying the (very unhealthy) 1x view from my seat and the magnified photographs I used to be in a position to seize. The images have been compressed, however you’ll be able to view the full-resolution snapshots on this Google Drive folder.

Throughout earlier gigs, I made an effort to jot down down what zoom stage and digital camera mode I used to be utilizing for every photograph. However there are different concert events I attended the place I took some images and loved the second, placing my nerdy, tech-critical persona apart. I current to you a smorgasbord of pictures from these concert events, starting from what I vaguely bear in mind is 1x to 15x.

Regular and zoomed movies from the Pixel 7 Professional

Whereas the Pixel 6 Professional did not kick in its 4x telephoto lens for zoomed video for some motive, the Pixel 7 Professional does, and what a distinction that makes! Add in glorious stabilization and the outcomes are spectacular. Sure, there’s some blurring when the topic strikes or the lighting/haze is an excessive amount of of an issue, however total, I am unable to complain. I captured movies on my Pixel 7 Professional that I might have by no means dreamed of getting on another cellphone I had earlier than.

Nonetheless, there are two settings to be careful for when taking movies with a Pixel cellphone at a live performance. First the speech enhancement settings: if you happen to maintain it on, the cellphone will seize every part you hear for the primary few seconds, then drown out reside music and improve vocals, resulting in some awkward-sounding movies. On reflection, I did not use this setup effectively. I forgot I used to be in the course of the Three Days Grace live performance, which resulted in some movies with loads of voices. However then I disabled it for The Script live performance after I ought to have saved it: Danny’s reside vocals are comparatively weak.

The second is the 10 bit HDR setting. It is higher to show it off in darkish setting, ie concert events, however I all the time overlook to do it. So all of the samples right here had been taken with HDR enabled. I believe a number of the artifacts could be gone if I had turned it off.

Beneath are 4 samples from completely different concert events: Epica at 5x, Subwoofer at 15x then zooms out to 1x, The Script at 5x then zooms in at 10x, and Three Days Grace at 5x. This was all zipped earlier than importing, however I’ve the unique samples, together with just a few others, on this folder on Google Drive.

Ultimately, all of it comes right down to reliability. Once I pay good cash to see my favourite artists and bands reside, I wish to avoid wasting images and movies for the reminiscence, however I do not wish to spend the entire live performance attempting to get a good shot. That is why I worth the reliability of the Pixel 7 Professional’s digital camera. I decide up my cellphone, snap a second or seize a 20-second video realizing it will end up nice anyway, then put it down and benefit from the second once more.

I will be answering questions concerning the Subwoofer video and my complicated style in music within the feedback 😉.