BEST CAMERA MOBILE PHONES UNDER 30000 IN INDIA

The Google Pixel 3a XL is an affordable alternative to the Pixel 3 XL. It is bigger in size than a Pixel 3a and promises the same Google Pixel experience at a relatively affordable price point of Rs. 44,999.

The Pixel 3a XL sports a 6-inch OLED display with full-HD+ resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. Thankfully, it does not have a huge notch which the Pixel 3 XL was criticised for. The display has three colour profiles which help change the output of the display. It has good viewing angles and punchy contrast. The Pixel 3a XL gets stereo speakers as well but these aren't front firing like the Pixel 3 XL. The stereo speakers produce a good output but sound tinny at full volume.

Compared to the Pixel 3a, the Pixel 3a XL is bigger in size and might not be very comfortable for everyone to use. Im terms of connectivity, it has a single Nano-SIM slot but offers dual-SIM functionality via an E-SIM. You can take full advantage of the E-SIM if your carrier supports this functionality. It also gets a 3.5mm headphone jack which has been missing on Pixel devices since the Pixel 2.

Google has opted for a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 SoC which is an octa-core chip. The Pixel 3a XL comes in one variant only, offering 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage which isn't expandable. However, Google does offer unlimited photo storage at compressed resolution.

Being a Pixel smartphone, it runs stock Android Pie with some of Google's customisation on top. Pixel devices are known to get timely software and security updates. With the Pixel 3a XL Google promises 3 years of guaranteed software support. The smartphone offers a good user experience and we did not notice any lag or stutter during our usage.

The primary camera is a 12.2-megapixel Sony IMX363 sensor just like the Pixel 3. At the front, it has a single 8-megapixel selfie shooter. It gets most of the camera features of the Pixel 3 like Night Sight, Super Res Zoom and Playground. The camera performance is very good and the Pixel 3a XL manages to deliver crisp shots in most lighting conditions.

Google has equipped the Pixel 3a XL with a 3700mAh battery that helps it offer good battery life. The search giant also includes an 18W Type-C charger in the box that helps charge the Pixel 3a XL quickly. We could go on for over a day and a half once the Pixel 3a XL was fully charged.

For the launch price of Rs. 44,999 the Pixel 3a XL feels expensive for what it offers. Some of the competitors offer more powerful hardware for lower prices. But if you want the best camera performance under Rs. 50,000, the Pixel 3a XL delivers on that front.

LG isn't a big player in the smartphone market anymore but is still trying. The new LG G8s ThinQ was first unveiled at MWC 2019 but has launched in India several months later, so it now competes against several newer and more feature-rich models. The styling is dated, especially with the extra-wide notch, although that was necessary to fit in a Time-of-Flight 3D sensor and infrared dot emitter for security. Build quality is excellent though, and you get an IP68 rating plus Gorilla Glass on the front and back.

LG has overstuffed this phone with software features and customisations. Air Gestures are particularly gimmicky and we found them frustratingly difficult to use. There's a lot of bloatware and unnecessary animation that seems to bog this phone down a bit. However, performance in games and benchmarks was pretty good.

The display is impressive and we liked the stereo speakers on the LG G8s ThinQ. Battery life was just average. The three rear cameras take excellent shots, even in very low light.   

The Galaxy S10+ is Samsung’s latest flagship for 2019. It has a bright 6.4-inch AMOLED display and has a hole-punch design. While the hole-punch does sacrifice a small portion of the display, it isn't distracting. The display is crisp and gets really bright when outdoors. Samsung has picked the Exynos 9820 to power the Galaxy S10+ and has paired it with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You do have more RAM and storage options available with the top end offering 12GB RAM and 1TB of storage. Samsung ships the phone with OneUI running on top of Android 9 Pie. The software is also optimised to function with the hole-punch display and you get the option to hide the camera hole using a black bar at the top. Performance of the Galaxy S10+ is impressive and it managed to score higher than most other Android smartphones in our benchmark tests. The Galaxy S10+ gets a 4100mAh battery and is capable of delivering over a day with regular use. There are three cameras at the back of the S10+ consisting of a 12-megapixel wide angle sensor, 12-megapixel telephoto lens and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor. At the front, it has a dual camera setup consisting of a 10-megapixel selfie camera and an 8-megapixel RGB depth sensor. The S10+ clicks some very good photos in different lighting conditions and the ultra-wide angle sensor does come in handy when clicking landscape shots.

The Samsung Galaxy S9+ features a metal and glass design, with tapering edges on both sides. It has a 6.2-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Touch response and colours are superb and it also supports HDR. In India, the phone uses an Exynos 9810 octa-core SoC and comes with 6GB of RAM a choice of 64GB or 256GB internal storage, which is expandable. The stereo speakers delivers good sound quality and there's wireless charging here too. The main highlight is the camera, which features a variable aperture, super slow motion videos up to 960fps and AR Emojis. Camera performance is good too, especially in low light. There's also a second telephoto lens for shooting portraits and for optical zoom. The 3500mAh battery supports fast charging and should easily last an entire day on a single charge.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 features a metal and glass design, with tapering edges on both sides. It has a 5.8-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Touch response and colours are superb and it also supports HDR. In India, the phone uses an Exynos 9810 octa-core SoC and comes with 4GB of RAM a choice of 64GB or 256GB internal storage, which is expandable. The stereo speakers delivers good sound quality and there's wireless charging here too. The main highlight is the camera, which features a variable aperture, super slow motion videos up to 960fps and AR Emojis. Camera performance is good too, especially in low light. The 3000mAh battery supports fast charging and should stretch an entire day on a single charge.

The iPhone 8 Plus is a larger version of the iPhone 8, with a larger screen and battery, more RAM, and a secondary telephoto camera on the rear. It's powered by the same A11 Bionic processor as the iPhone X, which has been shown to be exceptionally powerful, especially in tests that can utilise all six cores at the same time. The display now supports True Tone which adjusts its colour temperature to match ambient lighting. You get 64GB of storage on the base variant but can choose a 256GB option which costs more. Your only choices of colours this time around are Space Grey, Silver, and Gold. The iPhone 8 models also feature new glass backs to support wireless charging, while maintaining the IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. Fast wired charging is supported but you only get a basic charger in the box. You can get through a full day of use with a little power to spare thanks to the large battery. 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the smaller of the two options launched as the company's 2017 flagship. Its main attraction is a nearly borderless screen with a taller than usual aspect ratio. In terms of industrial design, this phone is absolutely stunning, with curved glass and a futuristic look. However, the fingerprint sensor is forced into an awkward spot and grip takes some getting used to. Performance is top notch thanks to an Exynos 8895 SoC, and the cameras produce stunning stills. This is a worthy flagship phone, if you're willing to spend this much.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ appears to be nothing more than an elongated S6 Edge at first glance but dig a little deeper and you’ll find some nifty additions. The new additions include 4GB of RAM and Bluetooth 4.2 on the hardware front, for a bit more future-proofing. Samsung has also added Pro mode in the camera app which now lets you save pictures in RAW format as well as give you manual options to adjust your photo, before you take the shot. The new Live Broadcast feature also lets you livestream to your YouTube channel. The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is a well-rounded phone but Samsung is charging a premium over the S6 Edge, which makes you think twice before taking the plunge.

Huawei's latest flagship smartphone under the 'Honor' brand is the Honor 6 Plus and it boasts of dual 8-megapixel cameras on the rear. Huawei's claim that these cameras can capture pictures as good as a DSLR may not be true but it is a great shooter nonetheless. It can shoot some really great low-light shots with good amount of details. Huawei has also managed to improve upon the design of the Honor 6. The overall performance of homegrown Hisilicon Kirin 925 SoC inside the phone is also really good. If there is one thing lacking with the phone it has to be the audio performance. Also, the Honor 6 Plus could have benefited greatly if it had a lower price tag.

The OnePlus Nord 2T 5G comes with minor upgrades over the previous model. Its design mostly remains the same as before, but has some minor changes around the back, which includes a new layout for the cameras.

Its processor has been upgraded to a Dimensity 1300 SoC, which brings some performance improvements. The display remains the same as before and offers a 90Hz refresh rate.

The phone offers OxygenOS 12.1 which is based on Android 12. It has minimal bloatware and comes with just one preinstalled third-party app. Software performance is smooth and it all feels fluid thanks to the 90Hz display.

Gaming performance is quite good as well. The phone still lacks a macro camera unlike the original Nord, but the primary camera can shoot decent close-up images. Low-light performance is quite good. Battery capacity remains the same as before, but OnePlus has amped up the charging to 80W.

The new design of the Oppo Reno 7 looks nice. The rounded frame and curved edges of the back gives the phone a sleek aesthetic. The Reno 7 also gets the same laser-etched pattern on the back like on the Reno 7 Pro, which looks good and does’t attract fingerprints. The 6.4-inch AMOLED display is similar to the one on the previous phone. It has a full-HD+ resolution, 90Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

Oppo hasn’t bothered refreshing the SoC in the Reno 7 as it’s still the MediaTek Dimensity 900, along with has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The software experience of the Oppo Reno 7 is identical to the 7 Pro. Day-to-day performance has been solid so far with the Oppo Reno 7. The SoC is plenty powerful for handling the usual productivity and social apps. The bump in battery capacity to 4,500mAh (from 4,300mAh) seems to have made a noticeable impact on battery life.

It’s a good phone overall without any glaring faults but just know that there are better feature-packed offerings available online, that offer a lot more bang for you buck.

The Samsung Galaxy A52s is a quality mid-range smartphone with a premium price tag. This makes it a hard sell, both to a premium smartphone buyer and someone who is looking for a solid mid-range smartphone.

The Galaxy A52s is positioned higher than the Galaxy A52 because it has a faster display, a new and updated processor with better overall performance, and 5G.

While its design is identical to that of the Galaxy A52, it retains the IP67 rating which appears to be the only standout feature against its competitors. The upgraded 120Hz display keeps up with the competition and offers deep blacks, while its stereo speakers deliver loud and clear sound.

Camera performance is quite good in daylight, but low-light photos and videos leave a lot to be desired. Battery life is quite good and charging speed is average, even though some competing smartphones priced much lower do better.

The OnePlus Nord 2 5G is the successor of the OnePlus Nord. It is a part of the affordable Nord series and is affordable compared to the OnePlus 9 Series. The OnePlus Nord 2 sports a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with fullHD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. The smartphone has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 at the front and the back, giving it a premium look and feel. 

OnePlus has managed to keep the weight of the smartphone down to 189g. It packs in a 4,500mAh battery and supports 65W Warp charging., the charger is bundled in the box. At the back, it has a triple camera setup, comprising of a 50-megapixel primary camera with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera and a 2-megapixel mono camera.

The Nord 2 is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1200AI processor and is available in 6GB, 8GB and 12GB RAM options. OnePlus offers 128GB and 256GB storage options but these aren't expandable further Just like other OnePlus smartphones, the Nord 2 also gets OxygenOS and it is running on top of Android 11. You also get two years of software updates and three years of security updates. The Nord 2 is a good performer and can handle heavy tasks and apps without any issues. The 4500mAh battery can go for a day and a half without any issues. Charging is super quick and the phone can get topped up from a drained state in just 32 minutes.

Camera performance of the Nord 2 is good for the price. Daylight photos are good but shots from the ultra-wide angle camera aren't great. The Nord 2 manages close-ups and portrait shots very well. Low light camera performance was also good and with Nightscape mode, the phone can click better shots in lowlight. Overall, the OnePlus Nord 2 is a good pick for someone on a budget.

The Oppo Reno 6 shares a lot of features with the Pro model, such as the Bokeh Flare Portrait filter in the camera app, 65W fast charging, and a high refresh rate AMOLED display. The design gives off strong iPhone 12 vibes, but it really seems to work in its favour. The 6.42-inch AMOLED display looks very good. It has a full-HD+ resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass 5, 90Hz refresh rate, and a claimed peak brightness rating of up to 700nits.

Oppo says this is India's first phone to sport the MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC which is plenty powerful to handle daily tasks and games at the full-HD+ resolution. The 4,300mAh battery capacity might not sound too impressive, but with day-to-day usage, I was easily averaging more than a full day on single charge. The Oppo Reno 6 misses out on the rear depth camera that the Reno 6 Pro has, but apart from this, it has the same set of sensors on the front and back.

While the Reno 6 is definitely better value than the Pro model, it might be hard to justify buying it after comparing it to the OnePlus Nord 2 and the Poco F3 GT.

The Realme GT isn’t a flagship killer but it is a premium all-rounder. Priced starting from Rs 37,999, the Realme GT lacks features like an IP rating and wireless charging but still turned out to be a good all-rounder. With its top variant available only in a Racing Yellow vegan leather finish, it is aimed at the youth who want a no-frills performance-oriented smartphone. It has a Super AMOLED display with a high refresh rate that will appeal to gamers. There’s a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor and plenty of RAM, so this phone is more than capable of handling the most high-end games. The cameras also perform quite well for still photos and video recording. Battery life is good, and the 65W charger that’s included in the box charges this phone very quickly.

Just like the Vivo V20, the Vivo V20 Pro focuses on design and cameras. The patterns created on the Sunset Melody colorway when light hits the back panel look very funky. The display on the Vivo V20 Pro is once again very similar to that of the V20. It is a 6.44-inch full-HD+ AMOLED panel with Schott's Xensation Up cover glass. Colours are rich, it gets very bright, and there's HDR support too.

Videos look great on the Vivo V20 Pro thanks to the vivid AMOLED panel. HDR videos on YouTube play smoothly. The Vivo V20 Pro is a good phone for gaming since the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G can handle even demanding titles fairly well without overheating. Funtouch OS 11 on the V20 Pro is packed to the gills with shortcuts and customisation options.

The Vivo V20 Pro boasts of impressive camera specifications. For selfies, you get a 44-megapixel primary camera with a f/2.0 aperture and autofocus, and an additional ultra-wide-angle 8-megapixel camera. Compared to the OnePlus Nord, the V20 Pro offers slightly sharper selfies and more interesting shooting modes, however the Nord does have a slight edge when it comes to video performance.

If you're looking for a mid-range 5G smartphone that's not a OnePlus Nord, the V20 Pro gets our recommendation.

The Realme X3 SuperZoom features a periscope-style telephoto camera, which is the first we've seen in this price segment. The 8-megapixel telephoto camera features 5x optical zoom and a maximum of 60x hybrid zoom. Camera performance is very good during the day, but not so much at night. To help with the latter, there's Night mode, which is quite effective. The main 64-megapixel camera captures good photos in daylight, but struggles a bit in low light. The X3 SuperZoom can record video at 4K and the quality is good in the day, but could be better when shooting at night. 

The X3 SuperZoom uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ SoC, which offers plenty of processing power for apps and games. The phone also featrues a 120Hz refresh rate LCD panel, so scrolling through menus feels fluid. Battery life is also solid. The X3 SuperZoom is also very well built and looks stylish. It's mising stereo speakers but the single bottom-firing speaker gets pretty loud. The phone runs Realme UI, based on Android 10. 

Xiaomi has made a bold move by launching the Mi 10 5G in India at a starting price of Rs. 49,999. The curved glass on the front and back of this phone looks classy. This, coupled with the high-gloss finish makes it striking to look at. The Mi 10 5G has a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen and is sharp enough, but the resolution is full-HD+ (2340x1080). The display also runs at 90Hz, which is a big trend right now.

Xiaomi says that the Mi 10 has a P2i coating to repel water, but there isn't any IP rating. Other than this, it has almost everything you can think of, starting with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.0 storage, an in-display fingerprint sensor, Wi-Fi 6, fast wireless charging, and 5G.

It runs on MIUI 11 and Xiaomi has replaced some of its own apps like the dialler and messages with Google's apps. However, spam notifications are still an issue, although it's not as severe as its budget offerings. 

The Snapdragon 865 is a powerful chip but it also makes the phone quite hot when using the camera or even gaming. The stereo spakers sound balanced but don't get very loud. The in-display fingerprint sensor on the other hand is not very quick, and it took a good second before it recognised our finger and unlocked the phone. 

Xiaomi is making a big deal about its 108-megapixel primary camera, which performs well in daylight and at night. The other cameras are a wide-angle and macro, which work decently well in the day but aren't very good in low light. The 20-megapixel selfie camera is also decent but not great at night. 

Battery life is very good on the Mi 10 5G, as it typically lasts for an entire day. Fast charging helps and there's even reverse wireless charging. 

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite features a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED+ panel, with a full-HD+ resolution and supoorts HDR10+ colour profile. Colours and punchy and brightness level is good. The back of the phone has a polycarbonate layer which resembles glass. Button placement feels ergonomic, and on the left, we have a hybrid dual-SIM tray that can either take two Nano-SIM cards or a single SIM and a microSD card.

The Gaalxy S10 Lite is powered by a Snapdragon 855 SoC, which is last year's flagship chip. Performance is very good and the phone doesn't get overly hot when gaming. It features One UI 2.0, which is based on Android 10, however it lacks the India-specific features which we saw in the Galaxy A51. 

The phone has a 4,500mAh battery capacity, which offers enough power to get you through an entire day on one charge. The bundled charger supports 25W fast charging. 

In the back, the main 48-megapixel camera captures good stills, thanks to OIS for better stabilisation. The wide-angle camera also does a good job under good light. The 5-megapixel macro camera also captures very good extreme close-ups. 4K video recording is supported but only up to 30fps. Low light image quality is very good too. 

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite is an affordable version of the Galaxy Note 10 series. While it is more affordable, it still houses the S-Pen stylus that is bundled with the Galaxy Note series. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite sports a big 6.7-inch display and has an in-display fingerprint scanner. Samsung has packed in a big 4,500mAh battery which makes it a little heavy at 199g.

Powering the Galaxy Note 10 Lite is the Exynos 9810 SoC which is the same chip powering the Galaxy S9 phone. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite is available in two variants and 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage and 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite runs One UI 2.0 running on top of Android 10.

The Galaxy Note 10 Lite delivered god performance and it was quite efficient as the battery could last over a day easily. The stylus is also very useful to jot down notes on the device. It has a triple camera setup at the back and does a good job in different lighting conditions. Video recording is good during the day but needs some improvements for low light.

The Vivo V17 Pro is a unique offering, with two pop-up selfie cameras and four more at the back. It's well built and looks premium, despite the all-polycarbonate build. It's a little chunky and heavy but still quite manageable. The 6.44-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display is bright, has good colour saturation and viewing angles. There's also Corning Gorilla Glass 6 for protection. 

The in-display fingerprint sensor works well but face unlock is only used as a last resort and can't be used as the primary method for unlocking the phone. The phone has two SIM card slots but nothing for a microSD card. You also get a 'smart key' button which can be customised to perform different functions. 

The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC and comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The SoC is a little weak for the price but is fairly capable of handling apps and games. Keep in mind that it does make the phone quite hot with prolonged camera use or gaming. 

The rear 48-megapixel camera shoots good quality oversampled shots in both daytime and in low light. The ultra wide-angle camera captures more in the frame and is also used for shooting super macros. There's a telephoto camera too which offers 2x optical zoom. The V17 Pro also has a depth camera, which helps when shooting bokeh portraits. The 32-megapixel selfie camera captures pleasing selfies and also supports Night mode. The secondary 8-megapixel wide-angle camera lets you get a lot more people in one frame. 

Battery life is very good. The 4100mAh battery easily lasts for a day and half. There's fast charging too, which charges the battery fully in about two hours. 

The Vivo Nex is a smartphone from the future which is gorgeous, immensely powerful, and loaded with impressive technologies like the pop up camera. However, the software has niggles, the in-display fingerprint scanner is unreliable, and many flagship features such as waterproofing and wireless charging are conspicuous by their absence. As of now, the Vivo Nex is best looked upon as a technology showcase, rather than owned as a daily driver.

The OnePlus 6 brings a new glass back with your choice of three different finishes, the Snapdragon 845 processor, and a bigger screen with a notch. It takes on today's biggest flagships, some of which cost over twice as much. Performance is great, and the display will keep most people happy. The phone looks and feels good too, and you can definitely show it off. The cameras are slightly underwhelming, and some people will miss the creative options that other manufacturers offer. Battery life was good enough to get us through a full day with some power left over. You don't get all the bells and whistles of a top-end phone, but the OnePlus 6 has more than enough to keep most people happy.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco features a 5.5-inch Quad HD pOLED display with Gorilla Glass 5. Colours are vibrant but they can look a little too exaggerated at times. The body is made from stainless steel and the thanks to the glass back, there's support for Qi wireless charging. The phone uses a Snapdragon 835 SoC, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Software is up to date too, as you get Android 8.1 Oreo and the most recent security patch. The main 12-megapixel sensor captures good details and the second telephoto lens lets you get closer to the scene. Battery life is also good and there's fast charging too.

After concentrating only on the high end for a year, Google has decided to launch a new mid-range Nexus phone which will appeal to those looking to upgrade from a Nexus 4 or Nexus 5. The new Nexus 5X, made by LG, brings pure Android 6.0 and the native Nexus Imprint fingerprint sensor. It also has a really good camera, a fast six-core processor, and reasonably good battery life. Long-time Nexus fans will have to do without wireless charging though. Despite a few quirks, the Nexus 5X is a solid phone with a lot of appeal.

The HTC Desire 820s doesn't differ much from the Desire 820, except for the new Mediatek MT6752 SoC under the hood. This makes a massive difference in performance, with the Desire 820s offering excellent performance. It retains the things we loved about the Desire 820, including the decent camera set, the great looks and the dual front-facing speakers. The Desire 820s is HTC's answer to all of the invite-only and flash-sale smartphones that populate the mid-range. It's a smartphone that's easy to buy, easy to like and satisfying to use.

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro is a phablet with a huge 6-inch screen with QHD resolution and quite possibly one with the most compact form-factor. Also, Lenovo doesn't make any compromises with its innards since this is the company’s flagship device at the moment. The phablet is running the latest software with Vibe UI 2.0 skin on top of it and it has a nice trick up its sleeve in the form of allowing users to switch to stock Android if they prefer it.Though we like the device overall, Lenovo could have taken care o the heating issues we faced during testing.

The LG G7+ ThinQ is the company's flagship offering for 2018. It features a 6.1-inch, QHD+ display with excellent brightness and colour saturation. It even supports HDR 10 standard. It's IP68 certified for dust and water resistance and is shockproof thanks to the MIL-STD 810G specification. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. App and game performance is very good but the entire back of the phone gets very warm when stressed. The primary 16-megapixel camera doesn't capture the sharpest stills but its f/1.6 aperture helps it in low-light. The secondary 16-megapixel wide-angle sensor is great for landscape shots and has very good stabilisation for video. The 3000mAh battery offers decent battery life but it's tough to get an entire day's worth of usage on a single charge.