Google Pixel 7/7 Pro & Pixel Watch

kinger8938 · 27 Nov 2022 at 15:11

I'm tempted by the 7 Pro, currently on the pixel 5.

No extras to sweeten the deal though so it is less compelling I guess.

Is it a huge jump from the 5?

Rimsy · 27 Nov 2022 at 18:47

kinger8938 said:
I'm tempted by the 7 Pro, currently on the pixel 5.

No extras to sweeten the deal though so it is less compelling I guess.

Is it a huge jump from the 5?

I was very reluctant to change to the 7pro from my 5 and in some ways I still miss the size of the 5….. but absolutely everything else about the 7pro is streets ahead especially if you enjoy taking photos. The lense options of the 7pro are pretty amazing. Battery life is about the same.

LiE · 27 Nov 2022 at 20:48

The 5 is such a good phone, the size, proper finger print scanner, light weight. The cameras on the 7 pro are really good, but the 5 isn't bad. Video on the 5 is poor.

I'm back on the 5 after using a 7. The 7 let me down in the finger print scanner and it wasn't a huge upgrade over the 5. I prefer the 5 in many ways. The size is perfect.

It will get Android 14 next year but not 15. So hopefully we will have a small Pixel by then.

Rimsy · 28 Nov 2022 at 11:52

Regarding the Pixel Watch - anyone discovered any really good watch faces they feel worth sharing? I'm just using the "classic" face which comes with the watch which whilst gives me all the info I need.... isnt exactly nice to look at.

Cadder · 28 Nov 2022 at 11:55

Rimsy said:
Regarding the Pixel Watch - anyone discovered any really good watch faces they feel worth sharing? I'm just using the "classic" face which comes with the watch which whilst gives me all the info I need.... isnt exactly nice to look at.

Nah I'm giving it some time and hopefully more will become available. I just use "Utility" with a few things switched about to suit me.

SuperOwl86 · 28 Nov 2022 at 21:39

Some lovely photos. How on earth do you take such nice shots?

unKle · 1 Dec 2022 at 17:11

Rimsy said:
Regarding the Pixel Watch - anyone discovered any really good watch faces they feel worth sharing? I'm just using the "classic" face which comes with the watch which whilst gives me all the info I need.... isnt exactly nice to look at.

Minimal Watch Faces - Apps on Google Play

Watch Faces for WearOS - Minimal watch faces with great features.

play.google.com

I've used this for a year now on my previous galaxy watch 4, always go back to it. I like the digital watch look, rather than a classic hands and dial.

Customisable too, simple or busy as you want.

parxuk · 1 Dec 2022 at 17:38

Stupid question, but I dont suppose any body elses phone rattles? My 7 Pro rattles when I shake it (and NO I havent dropped it).

Looks fine and seems to work fine.

Should I care? Do I try and send it back?

kona786 · 1 Dec 2022 at 17:42

parxuk said:
Stupid question, but I dont suppose any body elses phone rattles? My 7 Pro rattles when I shake it (and NO I havent dropped it).

Looks fine and seems to work fine.

Should I care? Do I try and send it back?

It's the OIS in the camera.

What are you doing shaking your phone BTW

parxuk · 1 Dec 2022 at 17:50

kona786 said:
It's the OIS in the camera.

What are you doing shaking your phone BTW Thanks.

Thats a relief, thanks. Did have to Google what OIS was though.

Not sure why I was shaking my phone, not something I do often.

ninjag · 1 Dec 2022 at 23:24

SuperOwl86 said:
Some lovely photos. How on earth do you take such nice shots?

Probably from doing photography as well with DSLR and CSC's, many of the core principles can be carried over, as well as editing skills. Some people I see really are fantastic at it.

Rimsy · 1 Dec 2022 at 23:31

ninjag said:
Probably from doing photography as well with DSLR and CSC's, many of the core principles can be carried over, as well as editing skills. Some people I see really are fantastic at it.

Given the pixel 7 sadly lacks any sort of pro/manual mode it's "simply" being in the right place at the right time and letting the hardware and software work it's magic.
*Edit* made that sound easier than it is...having some understanding of composition will help too!

kona786 · 1 Dec 2022 at 23:36

Rimsy said:
Given the pixel 7 sadly lacks any sort of pro/manual mode it's simply being in the right place at the right time and letting the hardware and software work it's magic.

The hardware and the processing is indeed great. However editing takes a standard picture to a whole new level.

DarkShadow · 2 Dec 2022 at 11:25

For anyone that has the watch, has anyone tried using it for hiking? Is there Alltrails integration or a way of navigating offline mapped gpx files?

Rimsy · 2 Dec 2022 at 11:36

DarkShadow said:
For anyone that has the watch, has anyone tried using it for hiking? Is there Alltrails integration or a way of navigating offline mapped gpx files?

Outdooractive has a wearOS app which sort of works... at least it allows offline OS maps but having just tried using it it appears to be rather buggy

DarkShadow · 2 Dec 2022 at 11:54

Rimsy said:
Outdooractive has a wearOS app which sort of works... at least it allows offline OS maps but having just tried using it it appears to be rather buggy

Ah, that doesn't instil much confidence. I tried OA when they transitioned from viewranger and it was awful.

Keen to hear if anyone has tried anything else. I'd like to get something a bit more universal as opposed to a garmin or purpose built watch.

Rimsy · 2 Dec 2022 at 12:13

DarkShadow said:
Ah, that doesn't instil much confidence. I tried OA when they transitioned from viewranger and it was awful.

Yeah the phone app has got better in the last 12 months. Only reason i stuck with it was I'd bought lots of OS Explorer maps with viewranger!

DarkShadow · 2 Dec 2022 at 12:31

Rimsy said:
Yeah the phone app has got better in the last 12 months. Only reason i stuck with it was I'd bought lots of OS Explorer maps with viewranger!

I can't seem to find any videos on the WearOS integration, thought it would have significantly more popular. Do you have a pic of what the watch actually shows? Will it show the map with trackline?

ninjag · 2 Dec 2022 at 23:54

Rimsy said:
Given the pixel 7 sadly lacks any sort of pro/manual mode it's "simply" being in the right place at the right time and letting the hardware and software work it's magic.
*Edit* made that sound easier than it is...having some understanding of composition will help too!

Aye, being in the right place at the right time has an element of luck, but I would argue that a skilled pro photographer knows how to be in the right place at the right time - situation and circumstance dependent of course, it's not like one could magic up a miracle or something! lol

There's perhaps also the element of knowing what the gear is capable of? I wouldn't expect the Pixel 7 Pro to be able to focus track a subject like the Sony A9 or A1, or have the dynamic range of the A7Riv or Medium Format, so I would probably look to compensate or compromise somewhere in order to try and still get a decent photo.

Kenai · 3 Dec 2022 at 09:44

Good photography comes primarily from a good understanding of what makes a good photo, the understanding of lighting and composition etc.

The technical capability of the equipment is obviously important but much less important than the capability of the person using it.

This is why any half decent book about learning photography will start with concepts like lighting and composition and not dive straight into talking about focal lengths and aperture sizes.

Better equipment can further enable someone skilled to produce even better results (particularly in technical fields like say sports photography) but it won't make a bad photographer good.

The coffee cup picture above is a good example of both sides of the coin I think. The composition and lighting is what really makes it. The fact that the camera is able to cope with the low light and produces a nice bokeh with some decent automatic colour and contrast processing enhances this. It would probably still be a reasonably nice photo if it was taken on an older Galaxy phone or something but might not have as rich colours or smooth bokeh.

Equally you could attempt to take that photo with £5k of DSLR but if you take it from the wrong position and angle you might lose the way the shadows fall, the composition of the background, the way the logo sits just visible in the lit part of the cup etc. and end up with something far less visually appealing even if it's pin sharp with beautifully smooth colour transitions and bokeh. (Well that and a DSLR won't auto process like a phone, so would look dull and flat in comparison to start with)