Not all of the Pro Res Zoom results are terrible. This image was taken at 52.7x zoom.
Photo: Abby Ferguson
When Google announced the Google Pixel 10 series last month, it highlighted the 'Pro Res Zoom' feature. While the capabilities it offers certainly sound nice on paper, and Google has shown a few impressive results, we had to put it to the test to see what it's actually capable of.
What is Pro Res Zoom?
Traditionally, phones have used a process of cropping and enlarging an image when the user chooses to zoom in past its maximum optical setting. However, digital zoom typically results in images that are very low quality, with little in the way of detail. That's especially the case when trying to photograph something far away, as the more you crop in (and the less of the sensor you use), the worse the quality gets.
Google's latest Pro Res Zoom tool also uses cropping and enlarging, but combines it with generative AI; the first use of the tech in the company's camera app. Google says Pro Res Zoom will retain detail by generating information to fill in the gaps.
The standard Pixel 10 offers Pro Res Zoom up to 20x, while the 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL allow up to 100x. On the two Pro models, Pro Res Zoom doesn't kick in until 30x. Anything below that uses the more traditional method of digital zoom, while anything above 30x gets the AI treatment.
Real-world Pro Res Zoom tests
We've all seen botched AI image generation plenty at this point. So when Google said that the Pixel 10 models would be using generative AI for the Pro Res Zoom feature and that it enabled 100x zoom, I was a bit reluctant. I've spent some time testing the feature, and it can be a bit of a mixed bag.
When you take a photography using Pro Res Zoom, Google gives you the unprocessed file along with the AI processed image. You will see both versions in the examples below, illustrating what changes the AI is making.
This image was taken with 32x zoom, so the bird wasn't terribly far from me. On the left is the unprocessed image, and on the right is the Pro Res Zoom processed image.
Photo: Abby Ferguson
I tried out Pro Res Zoom on quite a few birds, as that seems like a natural use case for the feature. It handled things okay at the lower zoom levels, such as in the example above. Details remained fairly natural-looking, and it indeed appeared to be higher quality than the version that wasn't processed with AI. However, as I zoomed in more, things started to fall apart.
The original, unprocessed image, 100x zoom.
The first attempt at Pro Res Zoom at 100x.
The second attempt at Pro Res Zoom at 100x.
You can see the bird in question as a tiny white spec in this image taken with the main camera.
In the examples above, I zoomed in to 100X. As you can see, the results leave quite a bit to be desired. The top right image is the result of my struggling to hold the phone steady while zoomed in so far, which could be the reason for the intense ghosting and three legs. The bottom left image was a second attempt at holding still, and it at least turned out better, though detail is still lacking on the bird's body.
At times, I found that Pro Res Zoom resulted in some classic generative AI results, including misshapen animals or missing parts. For example, in the duck photo below, the duck now has feathers on its beak. Pro Res Zoom handled the rest of the image fairly well, but struggled with that area.
The unprocessed image on the left, and Pro Res Zoom image on the right.
Photo: Abby Ferguson
When Google presented Pro Res Zoom it clarified that it is meant for landscapes and landmarks. However, Google said that special tuning is applied when people are in the frame to prevent odd images. Naturally, I tried it on a person at 100x to see what would happen, and at least the result was rather entertaining.
The unprocessed image on the left, and Pro Res Zoom processed image on the right.
Photo: Abby Ferguson
Accurately creating text in images has historically been a difficult task for generative AI, so I set out to take some images of signs during my testing as well. On text that was relatively readable when zoomed in without processing, Pro Res Zoom did a decent job of keeping things that way. However, if the text was challenging to read beforehand, the AI processing didn't improve things at all.
The unprocessed image on the left, and Pro Res Zoom processed image on the right.
Photo: Abby Ferguson
Final thoughts
When an image is created with Pro Res Zoom, the Content Credentials will specify that AI tools were used.
Overall, the lower the level of zoom, the better the Pro Res Zoom results. That's not surprising, given that the same is true of basic digital zoom; the greater the crop, the less actual image data there is to work with. But regardless of quality, there are some additional factors to consider here. First, it's challenging to take a photo when zoomed to 20x, and remarkably difficult at 100x. Framing a shot successfully at such magnification is no easy task, and likely isn't practical for most situations.
Perhaps more importantly, in many of the images above, it's very clear that generative AI was used. Google added Content Credentials to the Pixel 10 phones, so images processed with Pro Res Zoom are tagged as using AI tools, but it still feels like less of a photograph and more of a graphic because of just how much of the detail in the image is generated, rather than captured. Of course, everyone will have their own thoughts on that front, but it is worth considering.
