Pixel users say Google’s image processing is ruining shots. Are you affected?

Pixels have long been known for being some of the most consistent and safest options for a great camera Android phone.  While there are Android flagships from Chinese brands that arguably take better photos and videos these days, recent Pixels like the Pixel 9 series stay right up there towards the top. However, not all users seem happy with Pixel’s image processing, and we’re seeing frequent complaints about over-processed photos.

A Reddit user recently went on a rant about their Pixel 9 Pro’s photo processing, complaining that the photo they click often turns out quite different from what they see in their viewfinder. The viewfinder image shows the correct colors, but the processed photo after clicking ends up messing with the color balance to a great degree. The Redditor attached this composite image of their orange Shelby for reference, with the processed image on the left, and the viewfinder image on the right:

Several others in the Reddit thread agree.

Yea, it looks good when you snap the picture, you go to the gallery, see the good pic for a split second and then it gets the crazy over processing applied. As a photographer it hurts to see.

The Reddit post mentions that Ultra HDR is turned off on their phone, and changing the image’s resolution between 12MP and 50MP has no effect. Further, even the “Rich color in photos” setting (which uses the Display P3 color format instead of sRGB) is said to have no effect, though the user acknowledges this could be a bug.

The Reddit post mentions that users can sidestep the over-processed images by turning on Top Shot, choosing a different picture, and saving it as a copy. If you don’t turn on Top Shot, there is no way for the user to turn off the HDR processing, and you’d be left with photos with incorrect colors.

Another Reddit user went on a similar rant last month, and there’s even a video this time around to show the difference in the preview vs the final image output:

There are a few things potentially wrong here. The primary culprit could be overzealous HDR processing, which is applied to the top shot image, while the others are left with SDR processing when saved as a copy. There’s no way to turn off HDR on the Google Camera app, which makes the user feel stuck, compounding the issue. There’s also a mismatch between what you see in the viewfinder and the final output, so Google could ‘fix’ the situation by presenting a better preview, giving users a more ‘realistic’ output.

We’ll be testing the issue more thoroughly to determine what has changed with Pixel’s camera processing, if any. Meanwhile, we’re interested in hearing your experiences with your Pixel phone. Are you also facing color balance issues with your Pixel? Are you experiencing aggressive HDR in your images, and what are your opinions on it? Which device and which platform update? Let us know in the comments below!