Google Pixel 8 Pro may merge cameras for better Night Sight photos

A forthcoming feature for the Pixel 8 Pro by Google will amalgamate various cameras to produce even superior Night Sight photographs.

Google has recently released the Pixel 7 Pro, which boasts an upgraded telephoto camera feature. If you take a photo zoomed in but not enough to activate the telephoto lens, the Google Camera app will use both the main and telephoto cameras to capture the shot. The Pixel 7 Pro can then enhance the center portion of the photo using this additional data.

An update for the Google Camera app, version 8.8, has been rolled out via the Play Store, and some of the first details for the upcoming Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro have been uncovered by our team in the app's code. A new feature, called "Multi-camera Super Res Zoom" or "Hawk" and "FusionZoom," is set to be exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro. This feature expands the use of the Hawk variety of Super Res Zoom to Night Sight shots.

The technique used for this feature remains similar, with both camera sensors capturing the same shot over an extended period of time. The Google Camera app will then merge the two photos into a single Night Sight shot with greater detail than before.

Google has continuously improved Night Sight since its debut on the Pixel 3, so it's not surprising to see the company investing in low-light photography once again. It will be interesting to see how Google's machine learning handles merging long-exposure photos compared to those taken in well-lit areas.