Google Pixel 6a review

Tried and true 12.1MP duo

While the Pixels 6 and 6 Pro came with updated a 50MP main camera sensor, the Pixel 6a went with Google's ol' reliable: the Sony IMX363 and IMX386 for the main and ultrawide cameras, respectively.

This is the same main camera sensor that Google's been using since the Pixel 2 and despite its age Google has retained its relevance by dedicating considerable effort on the software side of image processing. While the more premium Pixel 6 devices get an updated sensor, the IMX363 is a great performer for the 6a's midrange segment.

There's not really anything new about the camera hardware on the Pixel 6a, but the Tensor chip does enable some new experiences on Pixel 6a, and images are captured and processed significantly quicker than on the Pixel 5a.

The camera app is simple and easy to use. There are Camera, Portrait, Night Sight, and Video modes in the carousel and there are a few extra modes including Photo Sphere, Panorama, and Lens. (Note: the following screenshots are from the Pixel 6, but the camera apps are 100% identical)

Viewfinder • Storage location • Quick settings • Portrait mode • Auto Night Sight • Night Sight

Daylight image quality

Images from the main camera have minimal noise and reasonable detail levels. One characteristic trait of Pixel cameras that we continue to see here is the contrasty look and even exposure across the images.

Dynamic range is excellent here. Backlit scenes are handled expertly, though you may notice some fringing that resulted from the HDR+ working hard. The Pixel 6a's camera does a really good job of bringing details out of the shadowy areas, though some may argue shadows should be left darker for the image to look more realistic (an opinion we don't really share).

Daylight samples (1X)

Here are some comparison shots with the Pixel 6 Pro. We're looking to see if we can notice any difference in the resulting image.

The same images shot with Pixel 6 Pro

We certainly notice the Pixel 6 Pro's different color rendering - some images appear slightly less saturated. It has a slight edge in dynamic range and resolved details too, but it's not too dramatic.

The ultrawide camera performed adequately. Shots between the ultrawide and the main cameras are consistent in color rendition and contrast. Dynamic range is more limited here though and resolved detail isn't as great.

Daylight ultra-wide shots

The camera app features a 2X zoom preset. Although the Pixel 6a doesn't have a dedicated telephoto camera, these cropped shots use both HDR+ and Google's Super Res Zoom to try and make up for that.

Super Res Zoom (2X)

As you could expect they aren't amazing - perhaps just a little better than if you were to simply crop the same image shot in 1X. There's certainly some extra computational photography at play here, but don't expect miracles. That said, these shots are perfectly usable for many purposes if you want to save yourself some time with cropping in post-processing.

Portraits and selfies

There are two options when taking portrait shots. The 1X mode (more like 1.4X) crops in a on the main sensor a bit and this is our preferred way of taking portraits. There's a 2X option that crops in just a bit more and while the 2X shots have potential to look okay, we'd still shoot a backup portrait photo using the "1X" mode just in case.

Portrait: 1X • 2X • 1X • 2X

The bokeh effect looks great. Although there's no option to adjust the strength of the blur when taking the shot, every portrait photo saves depth information. You can refocus the image on another subject and blur the subject if you want, and you can adjust the depth and blur amounts as you'd like.

The 8MP front facing camera has an 84-degree field of view and takes flattering selfies. HDR+ works on the front camera too, and the dynamic range performance here does a great job in backlit scenes. Colors and contrast are consistent with the main camera and there is a face retouching option, but it is turned off by default and in these samples.

Selfies

Here are some shots to compare to the Pixel 6 Pro's selfie camera which has a higher resolution 11MP sensor and a wider lens.

Pixel 6 Pro selfies

Selfie portraits look decent as well. Unlike the main camera, the front camera won't crop in when taking portrait selfies.

Selfie portraits

 

Low light and Night Sight

The Pixel 6a will automatically detect when you are in a low-light situation and a Night Sight toggle will appear on the viewfinder. This means you'll never really need to swipe over to the Night Sight mode since it can kick in automatically when you need it.

You can override Night Sight and take a regular photo as well. Taking a Night Sight photo needs more capture time and won't capture moving subjects too well - this could be one reason you'd rather take a regular low-light shot.

Low light (main camera)

Low light shots are generally very well-exposed. Colors are well-represented and dynamic range is great. If you aren't using Night Sight, the Pixel 6a is relying on HDR+ to capture the scene. We do notice, however, more noticeable noise in the darker areas and shadowy parts of the scenes. The noise is only noticeable when zooming into the images.

Low light (ultrawide)

The ultrawide camera's resulting images with HDR+ look like the main camera's. The real difference here is that the ultrawide camera can't capture as much detail, nor is it able to capture as much light in darker scenes like the main camera.

Here are some low light photos taken with the Pixel 6 Pro for comparing.

Google Pixel 6 Pro low light (main)

Google Pixel 6 Pro low light (ultrawide)

Night Sight

With Night Sight enabled, there is sometimes a longer capture time, but other times it takes just as long as a regular photo - this will depend on how much light is available. The difference with Night Sight is additional processing to account for added stabilization during the image capture and additional efforts in noise reduction and boosted exposures.

Resulting photos are clearer, and in most cases brighter with brighter shadows, improved sharpness, and reduced noise – though some noise can still be present.

Night Sight 1X

Night Sight ultrawide

Here are some comparison shots with the Pixel 6 Pro.

Pixel 6 Pro Night Sight (main camera)

Pixel 6 Pro Night Sight (ultrawide)

The Pixel 6a's Night Sight shots are really great and while not an exact match for the Pixel 6 Pro's, they come far enough so you need to pixel peep to tell the phones apart. A proper achievement for the mid-ranger here.

If you didn’t use Night Sight on the 6a, low light photos still look great. We’d recommend you don’t skip out on using Night Sight with the ultrawide, though.

Video quality

The Google Pixel 6a is capable of recording 4k video at up to 60fps from the main camera, and up to 4k @ 30fps with the ultrawide camera. Resulting video looks great with minimal noise and even exposures. The picture here is consistent with still images and keep the same contrasty look.

Video from the ultrawide, though a little softer than that of the main camera, is consistent with the main camera in colors and dynamic range. We also noticed a little more noise in some of the foliage but great footage otherwise.