In this second post on the above topic, I’m going to introduce a modified Google camera app I recently discovered via a Reddit thread. It gives a great deal of control over astrophotography mode, and even allows for longer exposure times. You can download the.apk file here:
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/dev-MWP/f/dl30/
I used the top one … and the Reddit thread is here:
https://reddit.com/r/Pixel_Astrophoto/s/LyEqqxTiDf
You’ll need to enable Developer mode on your phone (instructions are here), and allow installation of apps from unknown sources (ie, not just from the app store).
As you can see from the following images, you get a lot more control….
I haven’t been able to explore the settings fully yet, but did try the longer 5+ and 9+ minute exposures… While the images themselves don’t seem to have any more detail, the file sizes are pretty interesting:
I did notice that the 9+ minute exposure kept aborting with just under 3 minutes remaining … perhaps the sensor was getting hot and the phone curtailed the exposure.
I’ll do a comparison of image quality and detail as soon as I get a chance.
What is interesting, though, is the file sizes (from the top: default Google camera in AP mode RAW; default jpeg; modded camera RAW; modded camera jpeg). Clearly the modded camera is collecting more data …
With luck I’ll be able to do some side by side comparisons of some actual photos soon.
For part 3 in this series of posts click here.
The astro guy 