Wide-angle or telephoto smartphone camera - Choosing not to choose - Android

Google's choice of a telephoto lens over a wide-angle lens for the Pixel 4 sparked a debate about smartphone camera options.

Wide or tele, wide or tele, hmm… That’s a tough one. Wide-angle smartphone cameras are definitely fun, but telephoto smartphone cameras can be legitimately useful. If you have to choose one or the other, how do you pick?

Google unveiled the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL last week, which unfortunately force consumers to make a choice they perhaps didn’t expect to contend with. The Pixel 4 series is the first Pixel to add a second camera to the rear. In addition to the standard smartphone camera, Google opted for a 2x optical telephoto camera for the Pixel 4 instead of a wide-angle camera. This choice set off quite a conversation with people firmly on one side or the other.

We know where Google stands. While Google camera guru Marc Levoy admitted that wide-angle cameras can lead to more creative photography, he insisted that telephoto cameras are the better of the two.

Not everyone (Android Authority included) agrees. Let’s discuss.

Why go wide?

In general, wide-angle cameras allow to you to capture an entire scene or setting. Rather than just a portion of a room or space, a good wide-angle lets you step back and (pun intended) get the whole picture. Sometimes, that’s what’s important — not the minutiae or details, but everything at scale.

I was first turned on to wide-angle photography more than a decade ago as I realized that 35mm and 50mm lenses weren’t wide enough to take the types of photos I wanted in New York City. I bought a 20mm lens and fell in love with it. In these instances, we’re talking cityscapes taken at street level that included 1,000-foot skyscrapers.

Wide is also important inside. Now, the “standard” lens on a smartphone camera is typically a pretty wide-angle shooter in the 26mm range. This is how you’re able to take group shots of your family and friends indoors without backing up into the next room (or through a wall). Some spaces are tighter than others, and  sometimes even the standard lens doesn’t provide enough field of view to squeeze everyone in.

The LG G6 rekindled my desire to use wide-angle cameras more consistently. I received the LG G6 review unit from LG while attending Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which is criss-crossed by narrow alleyways. The wide-angle camera was the only way to capture the character of Barcelona’s Gothic district as I roamed around.

Since then, I’ve sought out phones that offer a wide-angle alternative to the standard camera. There’s something to be said for the emotion that can be conveyed in a wide shot that can’t necessarily be replicated in standard or zoom shots.

See also: Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL review

Tell me tele

When do people most often use zoom? When they are far away from something and want to be closer or to capture more detail. Think concerts and sporting events. Zoom is also used creatively to constrain the image or cut certain things out. Zoom is all about focus, focus on the specific.