In 2017, many new inexpensive devices with a good camera appeared on the market: among these smartphones there are both premium-segment models and very simple ones.
The latter are especially interesting: the combination of low price and excellent quality filming is a real killer feature that gives the device a huge advantage over its competitors.
Naturally, other characteristics are also important, but when it comes to camera phones, they fade into the background.
Advice: You shouldn’t focus only on sensor size and megapixels. The numbers are important, but what is more important is the actual image quality the camera produces.
You should definitely look at examples of photographs and videos, preferably taken in different conditions- at home and on the street, day and night, without flash and with it.
It’s also worth looking for reviews of phones with the same camera module that were released earlier: they will help you figure out what you can expect from this smartphone.
Moto G4 - the king is back
Motorola introduced this year the next line of its Moto G4, which have already gained fame as very good smartphones at extremely low prices. high price.
New line is true to these ideals - the manufacturer managed to keep the price of the devices at the upper limit of our price bracket.
For a G4 Plus with 32 gigabytes of memory you will have to pay an average of 19-20 thousand rubles.
In some stores, however, the price goes beyond a thousand rubles - but you can always find more cheap option.
There is also a much cheaper G4 Play in the line, but it is not suitable for our selection - its main camera is only 8 megapixels, while the G4 has 13 megapixels, and the G4 Plus has 16 megapixels.
Characteristics:
- Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
- Display: 5.5-inch diagonal, 1920 x 1080 pixels, IPS matrix, Gorilla Glass 3.
- Camera: G4 - 13 MP, G4 Plus - 16 MP, autofocus, panoramic shooting, HDR, Full HD video with a frame rate of 30 fps.
- Memory - 2 GB RAM/16-32 GB ROM in G4 and 2/16, 3/32 and 4/64 in G4 Plus.
- The processor is an eight-core Qualcomm MSM8952 Snapdragon 617. All cores are Cortex-A53, four operate at 1.5 GHz, the rest at 1.2 GHz.
- Battery: non-removable, Li-Ion, 3000 mAh.
- Availability of LTE.
- Fingerprint scanner and TurboPower fast charging in the Plus version.
Xiaomi Mi 5 is the best Xiaomi flagship
The new Mi from Xiaomi has become a qualitative step forward in the history of the development of the company's flagship devices.
A combination of amazing features modern design and very attractive price ensured the new Mi5 enormous popularity.
You can love it at least for the main camera: 16 megapixels, IMX298 sensor from Sony, sapphire crystal.
It is worth noting the diagonal of the smartphone screen: a 5.15-inch screen gives a little more space than a five-inch one, but it is still relatively comfortable to hold with one hand, which can hardly be said about 5.5” devices.
Price range for different options This device is wide - you can find Mi5 for 17 thousand rubles, and for 40.
They differ in the amount of RAM and built-in memory and the central processor.
Characteristics:
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow, MIUI 7 shell from Xiaomi.
- Display: 5.15 inches, 1920x1080 px, 428 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4.
- Main camera: 16 megapixels, f/2.0, OIS, IMX298 sensor, flash, autofocus, sapphire crystal.
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, 4 cores, 1.8 GHz/2.15 GHz.
- RAM: 3 GB 1333 MHz LPDDR4, 3/4 GB 1866 MHz LPDDR4 (depending on version).
- ROM: 32/64/128 gigabytes.
- Battery: non-removable, 3000 mAh, fast charging.
- NFC, fingerprint scanner, GLONASS and GPS, LTE, two nano-SIM slots, no memory card slot.
LeEco Le 2 is a sales record holder
About LeEco at Russian market was not very well known: their previous series of devices, Le 1, received good ratings, but the same cannot be said about distribution.
Having assessed the market, the company began active work in the CIS with new devices. advertising campaign.
Bet on low price and the good characteristics of the younger model worked, and the first batch of pre-orders of new phones at a discount was “swept off the shelves” of the online store in a matter of days.
The company boasted of 121 thousand sales in Russia in the first 24 hours.
The device has a good 16-megapixel main camera.
It is equally important that LeEco did not bypass the front camera even in the younger model - here it is 8 megapixels, which will finally allow you to take truly high-quality selfies.
The price of the device is only 15 thousand rubles.
Characteristics:
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow, proprietary EUI shell.
- Display: 5.5”, 1920 x 1080 px, IPS, In-Cell technology.
- Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0 autofocus, dual-tone flash.
- Front camera: 8 megapixels, f/2.2.
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 652, eight cores, 1.8 GHz.
- Memory (RAM/ROM): 3/32 gigabytes.
- Battery: 3000 mAh, fast charging.
- Connection of CDLA headphones (included) via USB Type-C, 3.5 mm adapter, LTE, no memory card slot, fingerprint scanner, two SIM cards.
Lenovo Vibe X3 - 21 megapixels for 21 thousand
Lenovo released the Vibe X3 smartphone in early 2016.
Initially it was positioned in a higher price category- its price at the start was in the range from 26 to 31 thousand rubles, which did not add to its popularity.
After three quarters, the price of a smartphone has dropped significantly, which is good news.
After all, for 21-22 thousand, for which you can now buy a Lenovo Vibe X3, the buyer gets a phone with excellent sound (three amplifiers, 1.5 W stereo speakers, ESS Sabre9018C2M audio processor) and a camera.
The latter takes it in numbers here: 21 megapixels in a device for $300 is a very good indicator.
Characteristics:
- Android 5.1 Lolipop, proprietary VIBE UI shell;
- Display: 5.5 inches, 1920×1080 pixels, 403 ppi, IPS, Gorilla Glass 3;
- Camera: 21 megapixels, flash, autofocus, f/2.0 aperture;
- Front camera: 5 megapixels, f/2.2;
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 MSM8992, two Cortex-A57 cores (1.8 GHz), four Cortex-A53 cores (1.44 GHz).
- Memory (RAM/ROM): 3/64 gigabytes.
- Battery: 3600 mAh.
- Two nano-SIM, NFC, LTE, support for memory cards up to 128 GB, Dolby ATMOS.
The crisis has brought the budget phone market to the top of the sales charts. A number of manufacturers, such as Lenovo, Meizu, and even Phillips, are increasingly demonstrating that they can confidently hold on to the mobile phone market even with low purchasing power of the audience.
Today, budget devices are called smartphones that are in the price group up to 10,000 rubles. But for less money you can buy a phone with a good camera, a powerful processor, and even in a metal case.
Budget smartphones, unlike flagships, cannot boast of optimal hardware. You have to save on something, but some advantages, on the contrary, are brought to the fore. In some phones better camera, others hold the charge better, while others rely on a high-quality screen matrix. We will help you decide on the necessary parameters and buy a device that will meet your needs, but at the same time, save you from having to overpay for extra functionality.
The best budget smartphones with a good camera
The quality of mobile phone photography is affected by 4 factors:
- Matrix.
- Optics.
- ISP core of the processor.
- Software algorithms for processing the finished image.
There are two types of matrices: CMOS and CCD. The first type is most common due to its low cost and good performance. Such matrices are installed in budget phones.
The quality of the matrix, in turn, is affected by 2 indicators: size (camera aperture number) and resolution. How larger size matrix, the more detailed the picture is. In flagship devices this figure is 1/2.6-1/2.3 inches. In budgetary ones, this figure should be as close as possible to the reference indicator.
Camera resolution affects the size, but not the quality, of the finished photos. Therefore, we will not consider resolution as a key indicator. In order for high-resolution images to be obtained without noise, enough light must fall on the matrix. This is physically difficult to implement on a smartphone. Therefore, 8-12 megapixels is quite enough for a good matrix.
We have selected budget phones whose cameras are not significantly different from flagship devices. And if shooting quality is a key parameter for you in budget phones, then pay attention to these phones first.
3 LG K7 X210DS
Best phone for selfies
Country: South Korea(manufactured in China)
Average price: 7,465 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.4
As a rule, budget phones rarely become the subject of IT news. But the appearance of the LG K7 did not go unnoticed by critics. This phone was immediately nicknamed the “selfie smartphone.” First of all, due to the software for the front camera. This is the first smartphone to have an analogue flash on the front panel.
Smartphone Features:
- The main camera is 8, and the front one is 5 megapixels.
- "Virtual flash" function. During a selfie, the screen temporarily turns white and the backlight turns to maximum. You can take good selfies even in complete darkness.
- Possibility of shooting with a gesture. The camera catches palm gestures and takes a photo of the user after the conditional movement. There is also a smile detection function.
- There are also many disadvantages: the processor performance in tests is almost 2 times lower than that of the Meizu M3. To ease the load on the graphics chip, the manufacturer sacrificed the display. An 854x480 screen is installed here. There are plenty of phones with HD screens available for the asking price.
2 Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A Prime 32GB
Better front camera resolution. Two flashes
Country: China
Average price: 9,900 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5
Known for functional, but very inexpensive devices, a popular company from China has created another high-quality smartphone with a fingerprint scanner, a gyroscope, a Hall sensor and a number of equally useful features. At the same time, the budget employee received the best selfie camera, which takes clear high-resolution pictures at 16 megapixels. Users note not only excellent color rendition in frontal photos, but also several best quality, than on the main camera, which, however, is among the best in the budget segment. Both cameras are equipped with powerful flashes, so the smartphone is suitable even for night shooting and a selfie at the party.
The filling is in no way inferior to the functionality and multimedia properties of Xiaomi. 3 GB RAM combined with a powerful eight-core processor ensures fast performance. 32 GB is more than enough for a sea of software. The 3080 mAh battery is designed for 240 hours of standby time.
1 Honor 6A
Manual photography settings
Country: China
Average price: 8,490 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6
The Chinese brand, which appeared just a few years ago, is rapidly developing, releasing relatively inexpensive flagship smartphones, and more recently, completely budget models. One of the best representatives of the company was Honor 6A in a stylish metal case. It differs from most economy-class phones not only in the presence of a fingerprint scanner and built-in FM radio, but also in its eight-core processor with a maximum clock frequency of up to 1500 MHz for devices under 10,000 rubles. A good battery with a capacity of 3020 mAh guarantees autonomous operation for the whole day.
The main advantage of the model is a good 13 megapixel camera with manual settings that allow it to adapt to the environment. A variety of options helps you take interesting pictures even in everyday situations. The camera is especially good outdoors or in nature. Photos are quite clear even when shooting in moderate motion.
The best budget smartphones with a good battery
The battery potential is measured by the number of milliamp-hours. Many people believe that the higher this indicator, the longer the phone will last, but this is not entirely true. A smartphone with a 5.5-inch display, a powerful processor, a complex graphical shell and a 4000 mAh battery will last less without recharging than its dual-core cousin with a 4.5-inch screen. But there are smartphones in which the indicator of autonomy is brought to the fore. In particular, Lenovo Vibe P1m is positioned as a hybrid of a phone and a PowerBank.
Among budget smartphones, there are quite a lot of models with a capacious battery, because... The increase in autonomy occurs due to an increase in battery capacity and a decrease in the operating frequency of the processor. Flagship smartphones cannot afford this, but budget phones can.
3 ZTE Blade A6 Max
The best inexpensive new product of 2018. On-The-Go technology
Country: China
Average price: 7,697 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6
A stylish budget smartphone on Android 7.1, released at the beginning of 2018, will definitely appeal to everyone who is looking for an inexpensive device with an excellent price-quality ratio and decent battery life. It is this characteristic that the ZTE brand is famous for, and the newest model continues the good tradition. A 4000 mAh battery is considered an excellent indicator for an economy class. Thanks to it, the smartphone works without recharging for about two days with an average load and up to four days with not too much load. active use. A variety of energy-saving modes will allow the Blade A6 owner to independently decide where to save energy.
Moreover, the developer equipped this smartphone with On-The-Go technology, which means the device can function as a Power Bank. It will easily fully charge another phone. You can also connect a joystick, keyboard, computer mouse and other similar gadgets to it.
Nokia 2 Dual sim
Excellent autonomy at a competitive price
Country: Finland (manufactured in China)
Average price: RUB 6,852.
Rating (2019): 4.7
The Finnish smartphone is the most inexpensive device with a truly impressive operating time without searching for a power outlet. The 4100 mAh battery leaves many much more expensive competitors behind. Despite the more than modest cost, Nokia, beloved by many, holds a full charge for two days, and sometimes a little longer.
As befits the brainchild of this famous company, the phone is reliable and has a fairly durable body made of combined materials: metal and plastic. Like most budget solutions, it is not suitable for super demanding games, but for ordinary applications and working with documents. Google's tricks will be especially useful business people. Thanks to the contrast screen with a pixel density of 294 ppi, the smartphone does not tire the eyes and is convenient for both reading and watching movies. Users often cite rich sound and Android 7.1 as advantages. The only drawback was the camera's slow focus.
1 Motorola Moto E4 Plus 16GB
Fast charging function. NFC
Country: USA (manufactured in China)
Average price: 9,990 rub.
Rating (2019): 5.0
An elegant model in a recognizable branded case is by far the leader in the category of the most autonomous smartphones. Although recently a good camera topped the list of advantages of Motorola devices, in this model the manufacturer focused specifically on a large battery. The 5000 mAh battery does not drain for a whole week. Under intense loads, the smartphone will need to be charged no more than once every three days. The fast charging function allows you to completely forget about the tedious wait for the battery to be refilled.
A significant difference between the best standalone device and its analogues was the NFC function, which is practically not found among devices costing less than 10,000 rubles. A fingerprint scanner, 16 GB of memory, 3 GB of RAM and a fast processor also speak in favor of an inexpensive device, comparable in hardware to many worthy mid-class models. The camera takes good pictures, although not the best.
The best budget smartphones: price - quality
Many inexpensive smartphones can be called “successful”. But not all of them become bestsellers. We understand that the issue of customer trust, as well as the combination of optimal device parameters, is very important when selecting a phone. Therefore, in this part of the rating, we highlighted phones that received powerful hardware in an inexpensive case, and at the same time were awarded good grades from users.
3 Samsung Galaxy J1 (2016) SM-J120F/DS
Best for compactness
Country: South Korea (produced in Vietnam)
Average price: 6,580 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5
During the general race to increase the display diagonal, Samsung made a bright and bold decision, releasing a 4.5-inch phone. Accordingly, the phone could not become a high-performance device. The main advantages of the updated Galaxy J1 are a capacious battery, a good camera and relatively light weight.
Model characteristics:
- Samsung Exynos 3475 proprietary processor with a clock frequency of 1.3 GHz.
- Supports memory cards up to 128 GB.
- 2050 mAh battery (given the small display diagonal and economical processor, you can ultimately get up to 3 days active work without recharging).
- 8 MP camera with the ability to shoot video in 1080p.
2 LG K8 K350E
The phone is suitable for those who want to use the device primarily for listening to music, chatting social networks and messengers. This is a fairly simple smartphone, it has low performance in gaming graphics, a weak processor and few RAM. But the K8 works great with two SIM cards, it has a good speaker and a good design.
Device characteristics:
- Processor MediaTek MT6735 4x1.3 GHz. 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory. The potential of a good processor is not fully realized due to the small (by 2016 standards) amount of RAM.
- IPS display without air gap with HD resolution. The manufacturer did not equip the phone with automatic brightness adjustment, so in strong lighting conditions you will have to adjust the backlight manually. Its quality can hardly be called good. It goes blind in the light, and at wide viewing angles an inversion of colors is observed.
- The new Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system is pre-installed, which is not available for most budget smartphones.
- Quite a weak 2045 mAh battery. Operating time without recharging is about a day.
1 Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X 32GB
The best combination of functionality and power. Wide choice of colors
Country: China
Average price: 9,500 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7
Experts often compare Xiaomi to flagships, and Redmi Note is truly capable of competing with many smartphones costing more than 10,000 rubles for the attention of buyers who are in love with innovation. The presence of a module for recognizing the owner by fingerprint, Bluetooth audio with an A2DP profile, which allows you to transmit stunning stereo sound to a Bluetooth headset or wireless headphones, a compass, a gyroscope and other features make a budget phone an ideal price-quality ratio.
The technical component also leaves no doubt about the success of such an acquisition. The smartphone is very productive thanks to a modern eight-core processor and a good supply of 3 GB of RAM. 32 GB of free space and support for a memory card up to 128 GB are useful for storing a large amount of data and applications. The device also received an impressive 4100 mAh battery, metal case and Full HD screen.
The best budget smartphones with a large screen (from 5.5 inches)
Every year, the size of smartphones increases. Phones with a diagonal of 5.5 inches are classified as a separate category of “phablets”. This is a middle link between a phone and a tablet. They are compact enough to be operated with one hand, but their screen diagonal is enough to watch movies or read books comfortably.
3 Alcatel 3C 5026D
Largest diagonal (6 inches). Adequate price
Country: France, USA (manufactured in China)
Average price: 6,590 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5
The latest development of a popular manufacturer of inexpensive equipment became the best phablet of 2018 in the segment under 10,000 rubles. In addition to the pleasant price, Alcatel pleased connoisseurs of a large diagonal and a bright six-inch display with an aspect ratio of 18 to 9, rare for the category. Until now, such proportions were the prerogative of only flagship phablets. The elongated screen allows you to combine a huge screen with a convenient shape and dimensions that fit in the palm of your hand. Therefore, the width of this six-inch giant does not exceed 76 millimeters.
The smartphone looks impressive thanks to the unobtrusive pattern on the back of the case. At the same time, budget did not prevent him from getting even a finger scanner, which became a laconic design detail. However, there were some minor shortcomings. Not a very good camera is quite predictable for such a price. Despite the presence of two flashes, photos may appear slightly grainy in low light.
2 ASUS ZenFone Go ZB690KG
Largest screen (6.9 inches)
Country: China
Average price: 7,990 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5
Although the phone is equipped with a record-breakingly large display, its hardware is not very serious. Presenting the smartphone, ASUS positioned it as an inexpensive solution for comfortable work with social networks and multimedia. It has a simple quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor from Qualcomm, clocked at 1.2 GHz. But the choice in favor of the stable Qualcomm, instead of the powerful and cheap MediaTek, also speaks of what the company wanted to do in the first place. reliable device for comfortable work.
Phablet features:
- Adreno 302 video adapter. Allows you to run video in high resolution and simple games from PlayMarket.
- 2 cameras: 8 and 2 megapixels.
- Supplied in white and gray housing.
- ASUS ZenUI 3.0 proprietary shell.
- There are quite a lot of disadvantages: in addition to the weak filling, the phablet has a bad screen. Meizu M2 Note with a diagonal of 5.5 inches has a resolution of 1920x1080, while this phablet, with larger diagonal has a screen comparable to tablets of 2011, namely 600x1024 pixels. The picture looks grainy and not modern. In addition, there is only 1 GB of RAM on board, which has a bad effect on multitasking. And the weak battery for a device with such a large display (3480 mAh) will not allow you to enjoy social networks for a long time away from a power outlet.
1 Meizu M2 Note 16Gb
Popular model
Country: China
Average price: 9,990 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6
Externally, the phone resembles an enlarged iPhone 5C. In terms of hardware, it is significantly ahead of it. The phone has a large 5.5-inch screen with FullHD resolution and anti-glare coating. Since phablets evaluate primarily the display, the manufacturer equipped the device with a high-quality matrix from Sharp. The screen does not distort colors even when maximum angle review.
Device Features:
- High-performance 13 MP camera with F2.2 aperture, infrared filter and 5 lenses. Flash with two indicators, for cold and warm light.
- Powerful 64-bit MediaTek chip – MT6753. 8 cores at 1.5 GHz. The eight-core Mali-T720 graphics chip allows you to get the most out of your games.
- The downside is that the 3100 mAh battery is relatively weak for such a device.
The best budget smartphones with water resistance
Water resistance is an extremely rare phenomenon for devices costing no more than 10,000 rubles. Nevertheless, the resistance of a smartphone to water often literally determines its fate. Many of us have had to think more than once whether to answer a call in the rain or whether to answer mobile phone to the beach or to the pool and even to the table. After all, one careless movement and spilled tea will cause the screen to fade forever. If there are children in the family, then the device dear to the heart can even become a boat or a submarine in an instant.
All this is destructive for ordinary smartphones, but not for representatives of this category. Their housing is sealed enough so that if a small amount of water gets in, the liquid will not penetrate the contacts and important components of the device. Of course, inexpensive devices are protected only from small amounts of water, so using them for diving is not recommended. However, they are not afraid of rain or spilled drinks or even falling into a puddle.
3 Blackview BV7000 Pro
Best size of RAM and internal memory
Country: China
Average price: 10,500 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.0
The TOP of the best budget devices with moisture protection is opened by the most popular model among men, the well-known Blackview. The design can truly be called masculine and respectable, strict but elegant. This smartphone is a reasonable compromise between security and functionality, cost and capabilities.
It, like most analogues, is not recommended to be immersed in a pool. However, such trivial accidents as splashing or dropping the phone into a small amount of liquid will not be fatal. At the same time, the power of an eight-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of user-accessible space and some innovative features make Pro one of the most profitable low-cost solutions, considering its cost. The quality of the Full HD screen with a density of 441 pixels per inch is also excellent. However, according to numerous reviews, the battery life and camera of the model are quite average.
2 BQ BQ-5003L Shark Pro
Durable shockproof housing
Country: Russia (manufactured in China)
Average price: 8,490 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6
No one is safe from your smartphone slipping out of your hand, but the waterproof and shockproof Shark Pro will help you not to think about it. Designed specifically for active people who do not want to buy a new phone after every rainstorm, the device is protected from moisture and even jets of water according to the IP65 standard. It will withstand even the favorite childhood pastime - a water pistol - with honor, because it doesn’t mind a direct hit of water.
Reliable protection is successfully combined with another important property. A good 8 MP selfie camera with flash will delight those who have always dreamed of taking a selfie in the pool or even underwater. The main camera with the same resolution guarantees decent pictures even in the dark. After all, it is equipped not only with a good matrix, but also with a powerful dual flash. Also, the new smartphone of 2018 is notable for its 4G support and the sophisticated Android 7 operating system.
1 DOOGEE S30
Buyer's Choice Winner. Capacious battery
Country: China
Average price: 8,270 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7
The best representative of this small class, according to many users, is worthy of being considered an inexpensive but durable “Chinese” with an optimal diagonal of 5 inches. The smartphone is so well sealed that it can even withstand complete immersion in a bath for a short time. Although the device is not shock-resistant, it does not break when dropped to the floor from a height of half a meter, and does not get scratched. The beveled corners not only look stylish, but also protect the device from chips and allow you to hold it comfortably in your hand.
Also, the outstanding features of the budget phone include a battery capacity of over 5000 mAh. The autonomous device will be an excellent companion for a hiker or traveler. After all, he does not need to find a power source for up to three days. At the same time, the smartphone supports fast charging and recognizes the owner by scanning a finger. The dual camera with a resolution of 8 megapixels takes small but fairly clear photos.
Taking photographs has long been one of the main functions of a smartphone. Therefore, it is not surprising that many users, when buying a new smartphone, are looking for a model with a good camera. In particular, many are interested in a budget smartphone with a good camera, and we decided to devote this article to this problem. Unfortunately, in 2017, finding a smartphone with a good camera in a frankly budget segment is almost impossible. Therefore, for this article we have chosen a price range of 8 thousand rubles.
The Chinese company Xiaomi has long held a strong position in the budget smartphone market. It has a fairly wide range of smartphones in which everyone can find a model to suit their needs. There are also smartphones with a good camera in this line. The most budget model is Xiaomi Redmi 3.
Xiaomi Redmi 3 received a 13 megapixel camera with F/2 aperture. Some sources indicate that this camera is based on a sensor from Samsung, but there is no official information.
The technical characteristics of Xiaomi Redmi 3 are quite good for a budget smartphone in this price range. It uses a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280×720 and a pixel density of 294 ppi, an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 processor with an Adreno 405 graphics accelerator, 2 gigabytes of RAM, 16 gigabytes of internal memory with expandability, and a 4100 mAh battery.
Price at the time of writing: from 8,490 rubles.
ASUS has not yet gained much popularity in the smartphone market. However, she has interesting models, especially among budget smartphones. One such model is Zenfone 2 Laser.
This smartphone has a fairly good camera with a resolution of 13 megapixels. The main feature of this camera is laser autofocus, which is usually found only in flagship smartphones. In addition, the camera is equipped with a dual LED flash, which allows you to powerful backlight when photographing in low light conditions.
Otherwise, ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser has characteristics typical of smartphones from the mid-price range. It uses a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280×720 and a pixel density of 294 ppi, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with an Adreno 306 graphics accelerator and a clock frequency of 1.2 GHz, 2 gigabytes of RAM, and a 2400 mAh battery.
Price at the time of writing: from 10,770 rubles.
If you need a budget smartphone with a good selfie camera, then you should pay attention to another smartphone from ASUS, namely the ASUS ZenFone Selfie model. This smartphone is a little more expensive, but in addition to a good camera on the back of the device, it also has a good selfie camera.
The selfie camera resolution is as much as 13 megapixels, and its viewing angle is 140 degrees. In addition, there is also a dual flash to illuminate your selfies in low-light conditions.
Rest technical specifications The ZenFone Selfie is also slightly superior to the Zenfone 2 Laser. It uses a 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920×1080 and a pixel density of 401 ppi, an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with an Adreno 405 graphics accelerator and a clock frequency of 1.7 GHz, 2 gigabytes of RAM, 16 gigabytes of internal memory with expandability, and 3000 mAh battery.
Price at the time of writing: from 16,080 rubles.
Lenovo Vibe Shot is a relatively budget smartphone with a good camera from Lenovo. This model received a high-quality camera with a resolution of 16 megapixels, as well as a number of additional photo features. For example, the Vibe Shot camera received optical stabilization, six-component optics with improved clarity, and a triple LED flash. The maximum photo resolution produced by this camera is: 4000 x 3000 pixels in 4:3 mode and 5328 x 2997 pixels in 16:9 mode. It should also be noted that this smartphone also has a good front camera. The front camera resolution is 8 megapixels, which is quite a lot, even by 2016 standards.
The remaining technical characteristics of the Lenovo Vibe Shot are at an average level. This model received a 5-inch screen with FullHD resolution, an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with an Adreno 405 graphics accelerator, as well as as many as 3 gigabytes of RAM and a 2900 mAh battery.
Price at the time of writing: from 12,990 rubles.
Smartphones with cameras are not uncommon, but a smartphone with a good camera is exceptionally rare. The fact is that most manufacturers install the most common sensors with high resolution (measured in megapixels) and LED flashes in their phones. They, of course, allow you to get good pictures, but only during daylight hours and only under ideal conditions (lighting, immovable object, etc.). However, there are other gadgets with really good sensors, but for starters...
Which camera is considered good?
The most important thing is not to pay attention to the number of megapixels. Often manufacturers and sellers point to 12 megapixel resolution as an advantage, but in reality it has little effect (only on image size). But even a large image can be terribly low-quality. More important following parameters: stabilization system, flash, software cameras (different settings), fast automatic focusing, the ability to record video at high speed, etc. The sensor also plays a role.
10 best phones with good cameras
1st place – Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) SM-A510F (14,000 rubles)
First place - behind the phone Samsung Galaxy A5 with the most positive reviews. It uses a 13-megapixel camera with optical stabilization, autofocus and LED flash. It takes great pictures even in the dark. However, it is worth noting that color rendition is noticeably worse than in expensive flagships. It will easily satisfy 90% of the requests of ordinary users, but sophisticated users are unlikely to choose this smartphone specifically because of the camera. In the price category of 18-20 thousand rubles, the phone took 5th place - you will find it.
Be that as it may, this particular smartphone has collected the largest number of positive reviews, it has an excellent price and a good camera. That's why he comes first.
Other characteristics:
This is a beautiful, functional and reliable device that can easily be mistaken for a flagship phone. True, there are also disadvantages: a fragile display (if it falls, it can easily break), bad headphones included, not a TOP processor, but it also provides high performance. There are also complaints about the stiffness of the fingerprint scanner.
Video review:
2nd place – Samsung Galaxy S7 (20,000 rubles)
Some stores have promotions and discounts, and it is rare to find this model for 25,000 rubles. Most often, the current price is 20,000 thousand rubles.
This flagship is known to everyone. There is a cool rear sensor with Dual pixel technology, which was previously only available in professional DSLRs. The manufacturer claims that this technology will allow you to focus on objects faster and better (detect their contours). As a result, the photo is more contrasty and clear. In addition, there is optical stabilization, LED flash, and the resolution is 12 megapixels. The rear camera is simple - with a resolution of 5 megapixels.
Parameters:
Announced at the beginning of 2016, the device managed to collect a lot of positive reviews. Of course: this is a reliable and high-quality device, which is a pleasure to use. It doesn’t lag (with such and such “hardware”), it works quickly, and holds a charge for a long time.
As for the disadvantages, first of all it is the high price. If you break it, you will have to pay a lot of money to replace the same screen. There is also a bunch of pre-installed “slag” that is not needed at all, but at the same time consumes resources. Some users highlight the weak battery, but with normal use it lasts until the evening.
Considering the price and some shortcomings, we put this gadget in 2nd place in the ranking. He certainly deserves it.
Video review:
Offers:
3rd place – Xiaomi Mi5 (17 thousand rubles)
The Pro model has slightly better parameters. And yes, the phone is sold in a wide price range - it can be found for 16,000 rubles. So look for where it’s cheaper and you’ll find it.
First of all, we are interested in the sensor. Its resolution is 13 megapixels, there is optical stabilization, flash, autofocus, but the main thing is that it has a Sony sensor. The result: a very good camera that can take decent pictures even in limited lighting.
Other parameters of the model are also impressive:
Good hardware excellent optimization and performance, convenience and good MIUI firmware. We’ve already talked about the camera, but it’s worth saying a few more words about what users think about it: it takes bright and juicy pictures, quickly and automatically (without manual settings). Of course there is manual settings and space for creativity.
Disadvantages: the phone is slippery, and if you suddenly take it out of your pocket, there is a risk of dropping it. It is advisable to use a bumper. The phone is also powerful and gets very hot under heavy loads. The firmware... although it has advantages, it is still non-standard and some users have a hard time, but these are minor things.
Video review:
4th place – OnePlus3 (27-30 thousand)
Relatively expensive, but cool device with positive reviews And good characteristics. The camera here has optical stabilization, a resolution of 16 megapixels and an LED flash.
Of course, this model cannot be called a flagship. The camera here, although inferior to the flagship models, is certainly hot on their heels. If you give a rating, then on a 10-point scale it gets a solid eight. The device takes good pictures at night, but it’s impossible to say “good”. However, there is no obvious disadvantage in this, because... Most shoot during the day, in normal lighting. And during the day there are no complaints: excellent color rendition, excellent detail. And yes, it uses a sensor Sony IMX 298.
You can also note the fact that there is a protruding camera eye, so chips and scratches are inevitable. Even in the case, manufacturers make a protruding part.
Specifications:
Hardware based on a powerful processor and 6 GB of RAM is the first advantage of the smartphone. There is also good Gorilla Glass 4 coverage, good battery life (the smartphone works all day without recharging) and clean software without unnecessary pre-installed programs. So we can recommend this device. It's really good and has a great camera.
Video review:
5th place – Apple iPhone 7 (47-60 thousand rubles)
Depending on the amount of memory “on board”, the price of a flagship can vary from 47 to 60 thousand rubles. The camera here is great, but the model gets 5th place primarily because of the reviews - there are fewer positive reviews about it than about the previous models in the rating.
So... the iPhone 7 uses a 12-megapixel sensor with optical stabilization and a 6-lens system. To improve images, a special photo processor is used that pre-analyzes and processes the images. The iPhone 7 model has one rear camera, while the Apple iPhone 7 Plus has two, working together. The quality of the pictures is really good. There is an opinion of experts that among the existing flagships, the Apple iPhone 7 has the best camera. It’s not for nothing that a huge amount of effort and money has been invested into it. Color rendition, contrast, detail - all this is at its best. Good hardware allows you to take pictures very quickly.
Other characteristics:
The assembly, the quality of the materials used, the pleasant heaviness of the smartphone are obvious advantages. It also holds a charge for a long time, despite the low battery capacity. But, of course, modern smartphones need more powerful batteries. Also from the experience of users: compared to the iPhone 6 model, there is no tangible breakthrough in performance and technology, and the model itself is more hyped - there is more noise than real changes.
Video review:
6-10 places
We will write down the remaining models, which are allocated 6-10 places, in the table.
High-quality budget mobile phones are already a rarity. But we went further and selected among them the best in terms of photo and video quality. And nothing exotic - this time we will talk about the coolest camera phones among the models that are sold on every corner.
Why “pop” and not “rarities”?
Budget smartphones with really cool cameras, like any other “scarce” product, are not sold in every cell store. And, what is much more important, smartphones with a cool camera are not born, but become...
The fact is that the best of best models in this discipline, these are almost always “farewell” lots of mobile phones, which used to cost 20-25 thousand, but then went out of fashion and became cheaper so that sellers finally unloaded warehouses and “closed their reporting.” Such sales with super discounts begin even when there are few cool camera phones left, so the generosity of federal merchants does not last long.
And sometimes it happens that a smartphone manufacturer, which previously produced an inexpensive, high-quality model, became insolent and got greedy and decided to present customers with a premium user experience. Released a next-generation smartphone with almost the same characteristics, but at a higher price. As soon as buyers realize that they are being led by the nose, they do not run to the line for a new smartphone, but quickly discard the old model, because it becomes obvious to everyone that it will only get worse and more expensive. The history of smartphone manufacturing knows many such examples.
In both cases, buying a rare super-successful smartphone is luck, and not “got up, went to the next store, bought it.” And the higher the number of cell stores in the city, the higher your luck. But in this way, our article will turn into a guide only for residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the realities of cellular stores in the regions are different. And their smartphones are different. Therefore, first of all, we will tell you about the best camera phones among the popular models that are still being sold and will be sold throughout the country.
and Redmi Note 5A - a good camera with little cost
What's good about cameras:
- excellent clarity and color rendition during the day;
- quickly takes and saves pictures;
- The pictures are either good or average quality. No “how lucky”, as in other smartphones cheaper than 10 thousand rubles.
How good are smartphones in general:
- the processor is not very fast, but it is enough for correspondence, “some” videos and the Internet;
- average brightness, but high-quality screen;
- excellent autonomy.
The cheapest Xiaomi smartphones began to be sold in Russia only in 2017, but Redmi 4A/5A (the same smartphone with minor differences) have already become our “protection and support” when we have to choose from mobile phones up to 10 thousand rubles in large stores . Because the out-of-the-way more sophisticated Meizu M5s and powerful LeEco Le2 come and go, “garbage” like the Samsung J1/J2, the unmemorable Fly or the ancient LGs change generations, and the dull at first glance plastic Xiaomis remain. And they don’t just remain, but remain the best mobile phones in terms of the combination of camera quality, operating speed and autonomy.
Photos on Xiaomi Redmi 5A/Redmi Note 5A cameras:
Honor 9 Lite and Huawei P Smart - “normal” photos at a “normal” price
What's good about cameras:
- good quality of shooting during daylight hours;
- artistic blur (bokeh) in the rear cameras, and in the Honor 9 Lite - in the selfie cameras too.
How good are smartphones in general?
- elongated “as if frameless” very clear 18:9 display in the style of flagship smartphones;
- beautiful cases - Honor 9 Lite has glass, P Smart has metal (though with plastic inserts);
- fast processor for applications, but “tolerable” for games;
- autonomy for a day, more often - less.
The most difficult thing is to choose a good and popular (today and tomorrow) camera phone, oddly enough, in the most popular range - from 10 to 15 thousand rubles. Everywhere you look, there’s a catch - the Samsung Galaxy J3 2017, which is good in terms of shooting quality, is terrible in terms of speed and screen quality, last year’s Nokia 6 has already been removed from the assembly line (and it wasn’t such a cool camera phone), and the new one is prohibitively expensive.
Xiaomi Mi A1 is good, but half of the official sellers cost it 18 thousand (inadequately expensive), and those who sell the same model for 13-15 thousand are getting rid of leftovers and are not going to sell the smartphone for many months later. Xiaomi Redmi 5/Redmi 5 Plus offer a camera that is so helpless for taking pictures in the evening that I wouldn’t seriously want to call them camera phones. ZTE and ASUS in a budget of “up to 15 thousand rubles” also do not know how to take high-quality photographs.
Therefore, a long search leads us to the Chinese “clone factory named after Huawei” and the Honor 9 Lite/Huawei P Smart, identical in appearance/in filling.
For the second year in a row, Huawei has been churning out almost identical smartphones costing from 13 to 18 thousand rubles in huge quantities. If Huawei were a bartender, he would imitate a wide range, and he would pour the same wine into different bottles and attach different labels to them Huawei P10 Lite/Huawei P8 2017/Honor 8 Lite/Honor 9 Lite/Huawei P Smart/Huawei P20 Lite/Honor 7X/Huawei Nova 2i/Huawei Y9 2018. Even the lyrics of Stas Mikhailov’s songs are more different than these smartphones!
Another thing is that the Huawei bartender's wine is not bad - you get a nimble (albeit power-hungry) processor, a fashionable elongated screen, and beautiful metal/glass cases to choose from. And good cameras, for which we have gathered here today.
Honor 9 Lite/Huawei P Smart produce beautiful, clear photos during the day, but at night they periodically “give slack” and do not completely spoil the photo, but they strive to artificially brighten it and thus “drop” the quality of the photo. If you remember to reduce the brightness (exposure) before taking a photo at night and hold the smartphone firmly in your hands (the camera becomes a little “dull” at night), you will get good photos on the streets at night.
Enthusiasts are already clicking their tongues and lamenting “couldn’t it have been possible to find something less banal and boring instead of these Huaweis?”, but I have already said many times that the “boredom” that budget smartphone clones of Huawei and Honor emit is also good quality and predictability . And she, and the principle of “a little bit of everything” is much more important than a smartphone with a cool processor/bad camera or vice versa.
Photos on Honor 9 Lite/Huawei P Smart cameras:
- the ideal budget purebred smartphone
What's good about cameras:
- excellent quality of images during the day;
- good selfie camera with flash;
- bright and clear static photos at night.
- clear, bright, high-quality Full HD AMOLED display;
- separate slots for memory card and two SIM;
- high-quality sound in headphones;
- NFC (Google Pay, payment from a smartphone instead of a bank card);
- the processor pulls its load slowly, but at least it doesn’t “hang” Android;
- A little expensive, because “but I’m Samsung.”
Mentioning budget Samsungs in a conversation with a smartphone lover is a provocation almost as strong as the phrase “the country is heading to God knows where” in a conversation with a taxi driver. Your interlocutor will get excited and start wailing, telling a bunch of stories and generally reacting violently for a very long time.
Because no cheap smartphone provokes as much hatred among enthusiasts as Samsung does. If cheap “ruins” like Fly, Alcatel and Philips are treated with understanding, because “there’s nothing to be done, the guys just don’t grow their hands from there,” then Samsung is engaged in targeted sabotage of its own smartphones so that the buyer suffers, overcomes, and then I didn’t care about everything and went to get a loan for a Galaxy S9.
For this reason, Samsung is ready to install an eight-core processor in a smartphone, and then disable four cores so that you don’t accidentally buy a good cheap Galaxy, sell smartphones abroad cheaper and make sure that they do not work with Russian SIM cards, have their own factories for the production of processors and screens, but installing J1, J2 and J3 is such a rotten filling that you won’t see even from small-scale “Chinese” (and they buy processors and cameras on the side) in cheaper smartphones.
And Samsung would have fun this way for an infinite amount of time, but Chinese manufacturers are gradually starting to “take away bread” from budget Galaxy, so Samsung left the cheapest smartphones useless (too little profit from them to seriously “fight” with competitors), but the older ones “ state employees" brought it to mind. And the first such “state employee” is the Galaxy J7 2017.
You can find fault with any other budget Samsung, but this one doesn’t really work out. Expensive? So, it's Samsung! Is your processor slow? But for everyday use it is enough, for game lovers - straight along the corridor, and then right and follow until the “Xiaomi Mi5s Plus” sign.
The screen in the J7 is excellent, the Android is beautiful and very close in design to the flagship, the body is high quality, the sound is good, the battery life is great. And the camera, although it has a cheap sensor (it’s better to find an HDR mode to improve color rendition where in a quick “auto” shot the pictures will come out pale), has unprecedentedly good optics for a budget smartphone.
And due to this, the Galaxy J7 2017 is the best budget smartphone for tourists in official retail. You're walking around the city at night, you see a beautiful building - you take out your smartphone and take a beautiful (not like Xiaomi, Sony or ASUS for the same money) photo. Not to mention the fact that for haters of Chinese brands from budget smartphones, for which there is no shame, there are no alternatives to the J7 2017 and are not yet in sight.
Photos on Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 cameras:
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 - good camera, powerful processor, big battery
What's good about cameras:
- dual rear camera with good sensors;
- good photo quality dark time days (effective noise reduction in HHT mode);
- good selfie camera;
- 1080p video recording with software stabilization.
How good is the smartphone overall:
- powerful processor for any task;
large battery (4000 mAh);
“frameless” clear display 18:9;
the body is made of cheap (in comparison with the same J7 2017) materials with plastic inserts.
*whispers* I didn’t tell you this, that Redmi Note 5 Pro, which Bolshevik enthusiasts have been talking about for so long on forums, will still begin to be sold in Russia. And so that the selection of the best camera phones does not become outdated without this model in the coming months, and you are mentally prepared for the start of sales, take this information into account now.
I wouldn’t want to act as a “Xiaomi lawyer” or preach in an article, they say, “Redmi Note 5 will tear everyone apart in terms of shooting quality!” It won’t tear, but in the domestic lack of good budget smartphones available in wide official retail stores, it will be one of the best both in terms of shooting quality and overall characteristics.
Photos on Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 cameras:
- the best compact smartphone in the world and one of the best inexpensive camera phones
What's good about cameras:
- excellent rear camera;
- perfect color rendition of pictures;
- fast focusing;
- good stabilization of video recordings (video does not “jump” when shooting on the go).
How good is the smartphone overall:
- not super-fast, but normal iPhone speed;
- the highest quality of the compact, the most compact of the high-quality smartphones;
- autonomy lasts for a day, sometimes less;
- the front camera is terrible, difficult to describe in words without swearing;
- expensive, but at least here it’s “exclusive” (the best compact mobile phone).
There are old smartphones, and there are classic ones. iPhone SE is a living classic, a monument to the smartphone industry of those times when mobile phones were more often used to photograph landscapes than their own faces, when HTC was a cool manufacturer, and Nokia had not yet “changed hands” and shocked the world with cool camera phones on Symbian. Much water has passed under the bridge since then, and the prototype of the current compact, the iPhone 5, has long left the production line, and the iPhone SE, its grandson, is the most alive!
Of course - at a price of up to 20 thousand rubles with iPhone 6s filling, even today you can remain a good “state employee”. If you still can’t understand “what’s wrong with the camera?”, I’ll explain in more detail: the iPhone SE often takes photos with better quality than the new Samsung Galaxy A8 2018 (30 thousand rubles) or Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact (40 thousand rubles), no matter how strange it may sound.
But every coin has a flip side - in 2018 we are expecting the second generation iPhone SE, and very soon the baby iPhone will turn into a pumpkin, an outdated model, because the classic with a bulky non-frameless body, a slow processor by modern standards (especially in comparison with the “Chinese” higher on the list), a poor selfie camera, without 3D Touch and with a scanner in the key will plunge even the most devoted fans into despondency as soon as they see the new generation of compact iPhone.
However, all this does not make the iPhone SE a bad smartphone here and now, and in terms of the sophistication of the camera, it will give a head start to almost all competitors in official retail. If you like smartphones with a small screen and a good camera, buy it and don’t even think about it - it won’t be this cheap and high quality again. Never.
Photos on Apple iPhone SE cameras:
