Notice that my Android version is Pie and most of the cameras out there are for Oreo.
When I bought the new Moto G5 Plus I was hyped about it's camera. It had a camera sensor which is also shared by GOOGLE PIXEL 2 AND 2XL!!! It had an even bigger aperture of f/1.7. I was super excited to test it!
So, after getting my new device I clicked a few pictures and tested out it's camera and it was great. The low light performance was better than the newer phones my friends had. I was and still am very satisfied with it's performance. But then I learned about Camera2API and what it does to your camera and I was again very excited.
So, just for enabling Camera2API and installing Google Camera Mod I unlocked my bootloader and voided my warranty and installed a Custom Rom and my choice was Pixel Experience. As soon as I was done with installing it I opened up the camera that comes with the ROM. It was a Pixel 3 Google Camera Mod. And to be honest, it was very slow, it took a second to capture the picture and then you have to wait for the hdr+ to be processed. Which isn't very appealing. So, I went through all the settings and tried to figure out all the options.
My suggested settings for your GCam 6.x is:
1. Make the input model Nexus 6p (It gives sharper images)
2. You can try 2017 Zsl Hdr+ or 2017 Zsl Hw Hdr+ or 2018 Zsl Hdr+ and choose what you like. Mine is 2018 Zsl Hdr+
3. Enable G.PHOTOS
4. Save to /DCIM/Camera
5. Disable Pixel 3 AWB in HDR+ Enhanced
6. Enable Green tint fixer.
(1 to 6 are in BSG MOD Settings inside settings)
7. Turn on HDR+ control in advanced settings
8. Turn on store videos effectively
And that's pretty much it.
The photos looked great. The portrait feature works flawlessly. The night sight feature takes some time but it's worth it(you need a steady hand for this one). The shutter lag was less and bearable. The processing still took time but I got used to it. BUT, it had issues... It had a really horrible magenta tint in low light photos without night sight. Picures took a lot of time. And sometimes they wouldn't show up in the photos app. It was all very annoying.
So, I surfed and found another mod. This one was a pixel 2 mod. So, I assumed it would be less resource hungry and I was kinda right. The shutter lag was slower but the hdr+ processing before you could actually see the picture was still there. And this too had a less horrible magenta tint in low light. And so my hunt for the perfect Gcam mod continued and I am still not satisfied. The claims made by other blogs and websites do not match with my results.
Overall, till now I have tested 6 Google Camera Mods for Moto G5 Plus and all of them had issues.
First being, the auto focus. Their autofocus is a hit or miss. Sometimes even the tap-to-focus won't work right sometimes. Most of them have a lot of noise. I have done side by side comparison of them all and the best 2 are by Fu24(One is green on and other is the yellow one). So, if you want a google camera go for the ones made by this man.
Now for the answer of the question- Is it really worth it? Yes and no.
I took my Google Camera Moto G5 Plus with a custom ROM and compared it's pictures with a unmodded Moto G5 Plus Stock camera and in most of the pictures, stock camera looked more pleasing to the eyes. It had better dynamic range at times and took sharper images with more details. There's a more of software sharpening but to be honest you cannot tell the difference until you really zoom into the details, which I think no common user would do and it doesn't even matter in my opinion. The autofocus and tap-to-focus is much better on the stock phone with the stock camera. This didn't make sense to me either but it is true. The processing tests your patience and the sudden and temporary disappearance of your just clicked pictures is a huge annoyance (it happens rarely, though).
On the other side, the hdr+ and hdr+enhanced on GCam do wonders to the pictures. They have a lot better lighting, better looking colours and overall a better appeal, if they get the sharpness right. The night sight is amazing! Yes you need steady hands but it all is justified with the incredible results. The portrait is flawless and is better than most portrait pictures you can get on other similar range devices. The blur is subtle yet, highlights the subject perfectly. The UI is easy and user-friendly too.
In the end you have to decide if it's worth the risk of voiding your warranty and
When I bought the new Moto G5 Plus I was hyped about it's camera. It had a camera sensor which is also shared by GOOGLE PIXEL 2 AND 2XL!!! It had an even bigger aperture of f/1.7. I was super excited to test it!
So, after getting my new device I clicked a few pictures and tested out it's camera and it was great. The low light performance was better than the newer phones my friends had. I was and still am very satisfied with it's performance. But then I learned about Camera2API and what it does to your camera and I was again very excited.So, just for enabling Camera2API and installing Google Camera Mod I unlocked my bootloader and voided my warranty and installed a Custom Rom and my choice was Pixel Experience. As soon as I was done with installing it I opened up the camera that comes with the ROM. It was a Pixel 3 Google Camera Mod. And to be honest, it was very slow, it took a second to capture the picture and then you have to wait for the hdr+ to be processed. Which isn't very appealing. So, I went through all the settings and tried to figure out all the options.
My suggested settings for your GCam 6.x is:
1. Make the input model Nexus 6p (It gives sharper images)
2. You can try 2017 Zsl Hdr+ or 2017 Zsl Hw Hdr+ or 2018 Zsl Hdr+ and choose what you like. Mine is 2018 Zsl Hdr+
3. Enable G.PHOTOS
4. Save to /DCIM/Camera
5. Disable Pixel 3 AWB in HDR+ Enhanced
6. Enable Green tint fixer.
(1 to 6 are in BSG MOD Settings inside settings)
7. Turn on HDR+ control in advanced settings
8. Turn on store videos effectively
And that's pretty much it.
The photos looked great. The portrait feature works flawlessly. The night sight feature takes some time but it's worth it(you need a steady hand for this one). The shutter lag was less and bearable. The processing still took time but I got used to it. BUT, it had issues... It had a really horrible magenta tint in low light photos without night sight. Picures took a lot of time. And sometimes they wouldn't show up in the photos app. It was all very annoying.
So, I surfed and found another mod. This one was a pixel 2 mod. So, I assumed it would be less resource hungry and I was kinda right. The shutter lag was slower but the hdr+ processing before you could actually see the picture was still there. And this too had a less horrible magenta tint in low light. And so my hunt for the perfect Gcam mod continued and I am still not satisfied. The claims made by other blogs and websites do not match with my results.
Overall, till now I have tested 6 Google Camera Mods for Moto G5 Plus and all of them had issues.
First being, the auto focus. Their autofocus is a hit or miss. Sometimes even the tap-to-focus won't work right sometimes. Most of them have a lot of noise. I have done side by side comparison of them all and the best 2 are by Fu24(One is green on and other is the yellow one). So, if you want a google camera go for the ones made by this man.
Now for the answer of the question- Is it really worth it? Yes and no.
I took my Google Camera Moto G5 Plus with a custom ROM and compared it's pictures with a unmodded Moto G5 Plus Stock camera and in most of the pictures, stock camera looked more pleasing to the eyes. It had better dynamic range at times and took sharper images with more details. There's a more of software sharpening but to be honest you cannot tell the difference until you really zoom into the details, which I think no common user would do and it doesn't even matter in my opinion. The autofocus and tap-to-focus is much better on the stock phone with the stock camera. This didn't make sense to me either but it is true. The processing tests your patience and the sudden and temporary disappearance of your just clicked pictures is a huge annoyance (it happens rarely, though).
On the other side, the hdr+ and hdr+enhanced on GCam do wonders to the pictures. They have a lot better lighting, better looking colours and overall a better appeal, if they get the sharpness right. The night sight is amazing! Yes you need steady hands but it all is justified with the incredible results. The portrait is flawless and is better than most portrait pictures you can get on other similar range devices. The blur is subtle yet, highlights the subject perfectly. The UI is easy and user-friendly too.
In the end you have to decide if it's worth the risk of voiding your warranty and
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