I have brought you several compatible GCam Port for Nothing Phone 2a running on Android 14 OS version in my recommended downloads list. These builds of GCam for your phone has almost all the basic features working.
It comes with a dual camera setup with a primary wide camera is 50MP, and an 50MP ultrawide sensor.
Of course the stock Nothing’s default camera captures decent photos but still the GCam APK port on Nothing Phone 2a captures somewhat better photos in portrait mode, Night Sight mode etc.
In this article I will tell you how to install the correct GCam port on your Nothing Phone 2a to get the best image quality. I will also include any xml or agc config files if anything is available for the respective gcam app.
Below are the GCam download links for other Nothing phones:
– Nothing Phone 1 GCam port
– GCam port for Nothing Phone 2
Stock Nothing Camera vs GCam on Nothing Phone 2a
The default camera that comes on your Nothing Phone 2a and the Google Camera port has some significant differences! I have listed down all the similarities and/or differences between these two camera apps so that you can take a wise decision to use which camera app on what kind of lighting and scenic conditions.
Take a look at the below detailed section so that you can understand things in a better way.
What’s better on the Nothing camera App?
It is important for you to know that the default camera app that comes on your phone is equally good and provides several features that the GCam does not have.
Let’s have a look at the below features that is available on Nothing Phone (2a) Camera app:
- Allows you to capture 50MP photos on both primary and the wide angel camera.
- Supports RAW image capture just like the GCam does.
- Expert mode on the nothing camera app that provides pro manual control of ISO, Shutter speed, Leveller etc.
- Software supported Macro mode that captures 2X zoom photos.
- You can reorder the camera options to your preference.
Advantages on Google camera / GCam on Nothing Phone 2a
People know the GCam app several years from now since when it had the HDR+. And then the camera app has evolved significantly.
Below are some of the extra features that you can expect to enhance your existing camera setup on the Nothing Phone (2a):
- Night Sight mode that gets you better exposed images in low light.
- Astrophotography mode used to capture the sky and celestial bodies in the dark. Not for everyone, but worth mentioning in this features list.
- Multi-mode video stabilization
- HDR+ captures a natural looking image in a condition where you have much brighter or darker regions in the scene.
- DSLR like bokeh effect in the portrait mode.
- RAW image capture so that it can be edited in the post
Disadvantages of GCam
- Finding the right gcam port for Nothing Phone (2a) is neither a straight forward task nor easy
- Not all compatible mods available are specifically tuned for the Nothing Phone (2a). It is possible that some or other features of GCam might be working might not be working as intended.
- The stock Nothing camera apps has a pro mode, which does not exist on Google Camera mod.
- Sometimes not all cameras available to use.
- May require advanced settings to use the high resolution mode on the primary camera.
Compatibility Status of GCam port on Nothing Phone (2a)
Camera2 API was introduced in Android 5.0 to allow the GCam camera software to take full advantage of the camera hardware. After this is where you see features like Night Sight, Astrophotography, Video stabilization to name a few.
Of course Camera2 API is enabled for all phones since Android 8 and the same goes for our Nothing Phone 2a. But it is important to know what is the hardware support level enabled on the phone.
Below is a screenshot of Nothing Phone 2a Camera 2 API probe from my test for the primary wide camera:
I want you to focus on the Hardware Support Level for our phone which is LEVEL_3. Take a look at the below statement what does that mean.
LEVEL_3
: With this hardware support level, the Nothing Phone 2a GCam supports YUV reprocessing and RAW image capture, along with few additional things here and there.
You can use the below link to verify Camera2 API probe data on your Nothing phone 2a by yourself:
– Verify Camera2 API
I have tried all of the gcam ports listed here on my Nothing Phone 2a phone and based on that below are some of the working or non-working status of the same.
What’s working
- Selfie camera portrait images
- Primary camera portrait images
- Video mode
- Time lapse
What’s not working?
- Nothing reported yet
Available version of GCam Port for Nothing Phone 2a
Based on what I have tested on the phone, below are the available compatible GCam ports for Nothing Phone 2a phone.
Along with the available gcam apks, I have also marked the Latest version and RECOMMENDED next to the version number which will help you straight in choosing the correct gcam port without going through the whole list.
- GCam port 9.2 (Latest Version)
- GCam port 8.9 (Verified, Better Compatibility, My Recommendation)
- No configs needed
- GCam port 8.6 (Verified, Better Compatibility, My Recommendation)
- No configs needed
- GCam port 8.4
- GCam port 8.1
Download Nothing Phone 2a GCam port APKs?
As mentioned in the list of compatible Google Camera apks for Nothing Phone 2a, here are the direct download links for you.
If you face any problem while downloading any of the GCam port APK, please use the comment box to inform me and I will fix it as soon as possible.
File name | GCam APK |
Latest version | 9.2 |
Requirements | Android 14 and later |
Config support | No |
Last updated | 2nd May 2024 |
How to Install Google Camera on Nothing Phone 2a?
- Download any compatible GCam for Nothing Phone 2a from the download link(s).
- To install apps from a third party app other than Play Store you need to enable app install from Unknown Sources on your Android device.
- For Android 10 or later version, enable Install Unknown Apps from the app from which you are going to install the APK file.
- For example: if you have downloaded the Google Camera apk file on Google chrome or firefox browser on your phone. Or you have downloaded and copied the apk file to the file browser and you want to install it from there.
- Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Open the app (Chrome, Firefox or file manager app etc) > Install unknown apps and enable Allow from this source
- See the below screenshots that enables to install unknown apps on Pie for Chrome app (you need to enable on the app from where you want to install the apk):
- Once enabled, click on the downloaded Gcam port apk to install.
- Once you have successfully installed the GCam port on your Nothing Phone 2a, you can clear the app data before you open and enjoy the camera app.
How to enable Astro Photography mode on Nothing Phone 2a Google Camera 7.x
By default the astro photography mode is enabled on this GCam 7 for Nothing Phone 2a. In case you still want to change the setting, follow the below instructions to enable or disable the astrophotography mode.
- Go to GCam Settings
- Scroll down and go to Advanced settings
- Then scroll down almost to the end till you get Use astrophotography Mode under Night Sight settings.
How to shoot in astrophotography mode on GCam 7.0 onwards?
Once the Astrophotography mode is enabled, there are certain conditions to be met to capture photos in that mode.
Following conditions must be met to capture in Astrophotography mode (known as cuttlefish in Google Camera ports like this):
– It can be enabled on Night Sight mode (only)
– The phone must be kept static (use a tripod or keep the phone somewhere to keep it static)
– There must be low light condition
– It may take few seconds for this mode to come up when the above conditions are met
When the display shows something like “Astrophotography on” or “Phone is steady” or “Capturing cuttlefish” while capturing photo in Night Sight mode, then most likely it is shooting in astrophotography mode otherwise not.
When I kept my phone static in front of a good light source, the Astrophotography mode did not turn on no matter how longer I waited.
So, make sure it is a low light environment.
Troubleshooting GCam Issues
In case you have found any issue with the given Google Camera mod then leave a comment so that we can find out a solution for you!
You can also visit our known issues list for google camera which lists some known issues on this Gcam port, which might be helpful as well.
Conclusion
Of course GCam is good but that does not mean the Nothing’s camera is bad. GCam provides better image quality, it has several features of its own which out performs the stock camera app.
But Nothing’s stock camera also has some good features which cannot be overlooked such as the Expert features, and better hardware compatibility.
Summarizing it all, GCam will not replace the Nothing camera rather both the camera apps can be installed on the same phone and you can use each app for which it better suits to your needs.
New features and updates of the GCam APK keep coming, hence there could be many versions of the GCam ports available for your Nothing Phone (2a) as of today and in future. This page will always list all the compatible Google Camera versions for the phone.
Could you please re upload the file again … Link is dead. It says no file is found to download
Hello Siba (:
Can you please update your article? I’m wondering if there are more updated versions of GCam that outperform the v8.9. v9.4 is already out, so maybe now the v9.2 is working well on the Nothing Phone 2a? Your article is very elaborate and detailed, so I know you’re a pro.
Keep up the good work!
RndG9
Hello RndG9, Thanks for appreciating this work.
I will get the 9.4 and add it here.
As I don’t have the device, I can’t test it; but there is no harm in installing a new app and trying it out at your end.
Thanks for keeping an eye on this. You are my motivation. <3
i still cant get ultra wide on gcam. what do i do to fix it?