After a handful of comparison of smartphone cameras between the OnePlus Nord and a few flagship devices (and the Pixel 4a), I thought it would be interesting to see if the image quality of Nord’s main camera could improve with the GCam camera. app.
The camera results of the OnePlus Nord are really good when you consider that we are talking about a mid-range smartphone that costs 400 Euro, but the computational photography wizard built into Google’s HDR + mode in GCam always seems to perform better than stock camera app on most devices.
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Installing the GCam app on the Oneplus Nord is pretty simple. Since the phone is still new, the ultra-wide cameras on the front and back of the phone can not yet be used with GCam, but that should change in the coming weeks.
In most situations, the GCam managed to deliver better images than what you can get from the OnePlus Nord’s camera app. The stock app images are a bit brighter and saturated, but when you look closer, the highlights are often blown out and subtle details and textures are lost. The GCam’s computing photography manages to achieve better dynamic range, retain the fine detail, and deliver more refined photos.
Google’s camera app also has the advantage in most low light situations and this is also where its Night Sight feature really comes to life. The Nightscape mode on the North is pretty good, but it’s nowhere the GCam can deliver. On the flip side, if you use the dedicated low light capture mode on either device, Nord’s camera works best in extreme low light situations. This may change with a few adjustments to the GCam all the time, but the North has the advantage in this specific scenario.
When it comes to selfies, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. OnePlus Nord’s stock app performs better in well-lit situations, while GCam produces crisper images in portrait mode with better definition between subject and background and sharper images when lighting is not optimal.
There are definite advantages is that you have the GCam app installed on the OnePlus Nord, but most are not immediately noticeable unless you see side-by-side comparison. Once developers manage to work ultrawide, GCam will be a must-have app for any OnePlus Nord owner.
OnePlus Nord GCam image examples
