Google Pixel 5 zoom test - Is Super Res Zoom enough - Android

The Google Pixel 5 drops a zoom lens for a wide-angle camera. But can you make do with the software-based Super Res Zoom?

The Pixel 5 is the latest showcase for Google’s mobile photography prowess, boasting cutting-edge HDR and low light capabilities. But the phone has also made a key camera hardware change this year. It has dropped the 2x 16MP telephoto capabilities from the Google Pixel 4 in favor of a 16MP wide-angle lens. While many will rejoice at the flexibility of a wide-angle lens, the lack of telephoto zoom is a glaring omission in a market filled with triple and quad-camera setups.

In an attempt to side-step the absence, Google once again turns to software chicanery. Super Res Zoom uses multi-frame capture techniques to extract extra detail from an image, allowing for a digital crop without the usual loss in quality. This isn’t a new mobile photography technique. Huawei, Oppo, and others have used it for years now as well. Google itself used the idea as far back as the Pixel 3.

Super-resolution results aren’t as flawless as true optical zoom, but can you notice any differences over typical zoom distances? Is the Pixel 5’s Super Res Zoom good enough for most use cases? I took the camera for a spin to find out.

Deep dive: Camera zoom explained: How optical, digital, and hybrid zoom work

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Super Res Zoom vs optical zoom

To start with, let’s highlight some of the differences between optical and Super Res Zoom. A quick comparison with last year’s Pixel 4 seems like a logical starting point. Click here for full-resolution samples.

Pixel 4 - 2x 100% crop Pixel 5 - 2x 100% crop Pixel 4 - 2x 100% crop Pixel 5 - 2x 100% crop

At 2x full-frame, there’s very little difference between the Pixel 4’s telephoto lens. Exposure is very similar if not identical, although colors are a little more vivid from the Pixel 4. However, cropping to 100% reveals a larger difference to fine detail. You may notice the odd halo artifact from the multi-frame nature of the technology (see the flower petals). The Pixel 4 is definitely cleaner, as you’d expect, but there’s really not a lot in it.

The Pixel 4 doesn’t have an optical zoom sensor for 3x and 5x, so I’ve compared Google’s phones to the Sony Xperia 5 II‘s 3x lens and Huawei P40 Pro‘s 5x periscope lens for longer zoom ranges.

Again, the Pixel 5 looks decent at full-frame for 3x, especially on a small phone display. It’s certainly usable, but details fail to hold up when cropping in. While color and exposure are good, the phone’s small 12MP main sensor can’t extract fine details at this range. Impressively, the Pixel 4 looks as good as the Xperia 5 II at 3x, showcasing that Super Res Zoom is great for small zoom extensions.

3x is about the limit for the Pixel 5's Super Res Zoom.

Pushing the zoom to 5x widens the quality disparity. While neither Google phone produces great results at this distance, the Pixel 5 really struggles. In addition to the lack of detail and increased noise, colors and dynamic range also suffer, owing to the lack of pixel information at this zoom level. The Pixel 4 is somewhat passable for full-frame shots at 5x, but the Pixel 5 is a no go in virtually all situations.