Why the Google Pixel 6 Pro’s 4x zoom isn’t working in video (and how to use it)

Google Pixel 6 Pro and the “weird”work of its telephoto lens. However, you can enjoy what he does best whenever you want.

The Google Pixel 6 Pro has many advantages, but like many previous Pixel models, its cameras are not one of them. The camera’s three lenses take good photos and videos, but with one drawback: it seems impossible to use a 4x telephoto lens to shoot video. Fortunately, this can still be used.

Google Pixel 6 Pro and the “strange”work of its telephoto lens

The operation, as envisioned by Google with the Pixel 6 Pro, is as follows: you fire up the camera, switch to video mode, and select the 4x zoom option. But instead of switching to a telephoto lens, which would therefore use optical zoom, the 6 Pro stays with the main lens and therefore only offers digital zoom, cropping the image.

Why? This 4x telephoto lens doesn’t really bring the subject closer. All three lenses have a fixed focal length. The ultra-wide lens has a focal length of 16mm (0.7x zoom), a main lens of 24mm (1x zoom) and a telephoto lens of 102.6mm (4x zoom). Usually, when you switch from a prime to a telephoto lens, you are switching to a lens that can capture a subject from up to 4 times the distance from the main lens. When you shoot anything between those two focal lengths, or go beyond 4x, digital zoom takes over. The latter only crops the image to artificially get closer to the subject. For example, a 3.5x zoom crops the image of the main lens as there are no moving parts.

Google’s software is working to make digital zoom look better than just cropping, but logically it’s not as good as real zoom. With a telephoto lens, you will always have more detail. So it should be available when you need it, even on video.

However, you can enjoy what he does best whenever you want.

And yet, it is not! At least when unpacking. Google bypasses the telephoto lens for 4x zoom when shooting video at 1080p, which is the default resolution for the Pixel 6 Pro. However, if you switch to 4K 30fps, the telephoto lens works fine. The iPhone does it the same way: the telephoto lens only fires when iOS thinks there’s enough light to do so. However, if you’re shooting in 4K at 60fps, you’ll still use telephoto when you switch to that mode.

It’s hard to see why the two giants are doing this, but it’s frustrating. Considering the price of these smartphones, we expect to be able to use the best components whenever we want. Google doesn’t even say. Luckily, if you switch to a higher resolution for video recording, you’ll be fine.

If you need to shoot in 1080p but still want to take advantage of the telephoto lens, you’ll need a third party app. FiLMiC Pro is a good, albeit expensive, alternative that will give you more control while shooting. You can choose the right lens regardless of resolution, as well as control ISO, shutter speed, focus and other parameters. It can be quite expensive, but at least you will be able to take full advantage of the device.