Recent changes to Chrome browser motivated me switch to Firefox, but that wasn't the only recent Google decision that irked me. Google also decided to be a lot less generous with Google Drive. Google Pixel camera images received unlimited Google Drive backup storage, but that perk ended with the Pixel 5. Images from Pixel phones newer than Pixel 5 count against Drive limit just like any other data. I guess Google is no longer funding the Drive division for supporting Google hardware adoption.

It was very convenient to document my projects with my phone camera as it is usually nearby. But being generous with the shutter also meant I was quickly filling up my Google Drive quota. With the flood of nag mail demanding I pay money to increase my quota, I was motivated to migrate from cloud-based storage back to local storage on my TrueNAS array. And if I'm doing that anyway, I might as well dust off my Canon EOS M100 camera. Shown here with a lens for up-close photography and a wrist strap (*) far less bulky than the standard neck strap.

Convenience of cloud backup was a major reason why my M100 had been gathering dust. Now that Google has made it less enticing, I'm returning to the superior photography capability I've already paid for. The M200 is the current successor but I don't feel a need to upgrade yet. Even this older M100 has sensor and lenses that easily outperform a phone camera, even more so when dealing with projects like my Sonicare HX6530 circuit board.

Credit to the Pixel 7 camera design team, it performs well with subjects at normal ranges. But I would not call my usage pattern normal, and I've highlighted problems before.

Above is a serviceable picture taken by the Pixel 7, below is from the M100.

When scaled to blog post size, they're pretty close. But when I want to crop, the M100 sensor delivers more pixels to work with. Here are 1:1 pixel crops from original resolution of above images:

The M100 gives me more pixels to crop closer to the subject. The Pixel 7 is quite competitive here looking at the center of the image, but it falls behind when we start looking towards the edge:

Both lenses degraded as we move away from the center, but the EF-M Macro lens does a better job. And while the phone camera couldn't focus much closer than these pictures here, the Canon lens can focus far closer. So close, in fact, that the lens itself casts a shadow blocking surrounding light. Which is why it has a built-in ring light to handle those cases.

So a dedicated camera has a better sensor. In front of that better sensor is a better lens, which can be swapped out for different lenses optimized for specific scenarios. And in front of that lens is a finely threaded mount for lens filters, which adds even more capability. For my electronics project photography, adding a polarized filter is a magical transformation.

(*) Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.