The astrophotography mode of the Google Camera app on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G no longer works with the ultra-wide angle lens on those phones. Google has determined in a recent update that only the main camera sensor will work here.
Anyone who now points their camera at the stars and zooms out to 0.6x will receive the message that you have to zoom in to 1x to use the astrophotography mode. According to research from The Verge, this change must have come into effect sometime between November 1 and 7, with version 8.1 of the Camera app, but without announcement from Google’s side. There was also no response to a request for comment from The Verge.
Android Police already noted in its review of the Pixel 4a 5G that the astrophotography mode in combination with the ultra-wide-angle lens did not take as good photos as the standard camera. The result has a green tint over it, something that users also complained about more often, according to The Verge. Due to the lack of communication from Google, it is not clear whether the possibility will return with fixes in the future.
Astrophotography mode works in the dark after the user stabilizes the phone. After that much slower shutter speeds are possible.