Best Camera Mobile Phones Under 30000 in India

The Google Pixel 7a comes with several upgrades over its predecessor. Most of these upgrades and features make more sense thanks to the Tensor G2 SoC, which is also found in its premium flagships.

Its design, while using the same materials as before, appears a lot more premium even though quality has taken a bit of a hit. The phone also offers an IP67 rating.

The Pixel 7a gets a high refresh rate display which makes the Android 13 interface appear fluid. The phone offers the usual three years of software updates and five years of security updates, which is good to have.

Camera performance, while improved over the previous model, is also quite solid. The new chipset also brings some additional camera features like Long Exposure mode and a faster Night Sight mode. Battery life isn’t the best but you do get wireless charging.

Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G has launched in India with a relatively-expensive price tag. The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G successor finds itself in the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge price category, courtesy of the upgrades on offer.

The phone comes with a glass back and a 120Hz AMOLED display. The 6.67-inch screen is flat and has a hole-punch cutout. Its headlining feature is the 200-megapixel primary camera. The triple-camera setup also features an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera.For selfies, there is a 16-megapixel front camera.

The Note 12 Pro+ 5G runs on the Android 12-based MIUI 13, which is a bummer considering rivals are shipping with Android 13.The phone features a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 SoC. It has up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage on offer.

Another HyperCharge feature that the premium Note gets is 120W fast charging support for the 5000mAh battery.

The Pixel 7 is Google’s latest flagship Pixel has an odd name given that it’s almost on par with the more expensive Pixel 7 Pro, be it design, performance or imaging quality. The Pixel 7 has the same core specifications as the Pixel 7 Pro, which includes the new Tensor G2 processor and the same primary and selfie cameras. 

Google has gone with minor changes to the phone’s design when compared to its predecessor, but the Pixel 7 gets a slightly different matte-finished frame and camera module instead of the polished finish of the Pixel 7 Pro.

Software performance is top-notch and the same can be said about its camera performance which lacks the newer macro capability on the ultra-wide camera and the 5X telephoto zoom camera from the Pixel 7 Pro.

Battery life is quite good with the phone easily lasting a day and half with casual use which also includes some gaming and camera usage. However, wired charging speeds are relatively slow.

OnePlus hasn't gone too crazy with the design of the OnePlus 9 Pro. It uses a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display which the company claims cuts power consumption by up to 50 percent compared to the previous model. It's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, and is available in two varaints. I was happy with the accuracy of the in-display fingerprint sensor, and I also like the fact that the edges of the display are slightly less curved compared to the OnePlus 8 Pro, which helps in preventing accidental touches.

What's new is faster wireless charging. OnePlus has introduced its Warp Charge 50 wireless charger, which as the name suggests, can now wirelessly charge the 9 Pro at up to 50W. The OnePlus 9 Pro does have brand new rear sensors, which are said to be custom-developed with Sony.You can now shoot 8K 30fps stabilised videos or up to 4K 120fps. Oddly, there's no 1080p 120fps option. All these improvements make the OnePlus 9 Pro yet another solid OnePlus flagship, worthy of its Pro badge.

The most noticeable change in the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G compared to its predecessor is its design. It's also a lot lighter at 177g. The 6.4-inch AMOLED display is vibrant and has satisfying levels of brightness. It has a 120Hz peak refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus for protection. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G gets the same Exynos 2100 SoC as seen in the flagship S21 series. It also comes with Dolby Atmos, an IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, and wireless charging.

It's a no-nonsense value flagship that does everything you ask of it, and does it well. What I liked most about it was the low weight, which made it very comfortable to carry in my pocket or hand. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G supports HDR10 playback and apps such as Netflix recognise this ability too. The overall camera experience is similar to that of the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, which is to say, they are very dependable.

If you haven't already snagged the launch offer and bought the Galaxy S21 FE 5G, I'd say the Galaxy S20 FE 5G offers far better value right now. It's practically the same as the new model, so you really aren't losing out on anything. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G will make more sense once its price drops and the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is phased out of the market, but till then, I'd recommend getting the older model instead.

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 new Galaxy Note 9 has much the same hardware and cameras as the Galaxy S9 Plus. The main thing that sets the Galaxy Note 9 apart is its S Pen, which now has added Bluetooth connectivity and can be used as a single-button Bluetooth remote control. Samsung's Experience UI is highly customised but feels smooth and natural to use, with several thoughtful ways to use the S Pen. This phone is a bit too large and heavy, but it has a huge 6.4-inch screen with curved edges and a 4000mAh battery that could last you up to two days. The cameras are great, and Samsung's app gives you a lot to play with. If you want to spend this much money and can live with the bulk, the Galaxy Note 9 delivers a top-class experience.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is slightly taller and heavier than the S8+, but simply feels better built and more solid in your hand. The 6.3-inch Quad HD+ display is gorgeous and produces excellent contrast. The S-Pen now has a finer tip and is IP68 certified. You can use it to create hand-drawn GIFs, translate words, and search the web with Bixby Vision. This phone is powerful too thanks to the Exynos 9 Octa SoC and 6GB of RAM. The dual rear cameras are a first for the company and let you do things like Live Focus, which adds a pleasing bokeh effect behind your subject. The main sensor delivers excellent detail, both in daylight and at night. Battery life could have been better and we struggled to get a full day’s worth of usage out of each full charge.

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.

At a price point of Rs. 29,999, the Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G will be a step forward for users upgrading from a couple of generations older Note series models. However, buyers expecting the kind of category-defining value the series was once known for may find themselves looking more closely at its alternatives, such as the Motorola Edge 70 and Vivo V60e.

The Vivo V60e is positioned as a mid-premium handset that serves as a ‘lite’ version of the V60. It can give you multi-day use with its large battery, while the cameras can capture fantastic shots when the lighting is right. However, the experience isn’t perfect. Bloatware issues are persistent, and the screen struggles to deliver in outdoor conditions. Despite its shortcomings, the Vivo V60e is a good choice for camera enthusiasts and a strong performer.

Motorola’s Edge 60 Pro has a slim and stylish tapered design, which uses a polycarbonate frame and has top-notch IP rating for dust and water. Unlike most brands, there are several different textured finishes to choose from.

Its display has skinny bezels and offers a vibrant viewing experience but lacks HDR support in OTT apps. The top-end mid-ranger processor offers more than enough performance for daily multi-tasking, but cannot offer sustained gaming performance. The software experience is smooth, but does pack some bloatware which can be uninstalled.

Camera performance is very good for this price point. The telephoto camera offers good performance in daylight but shoots slightly softer images in low light. Selfie camera captures oversharpened images.

Battery life did not perform well in our benchmark tests, but did very well in real-world testing. Charging speeds are still relatively fast and the phone also offers fast wireless charging.

The Nothing Phone 3a Pro 5G brings a lot of improvements as compared to its predecessor. The latest smartphone from the brand offers the iconic transparent back panel with an improved Glyph interface. Moreover, the new camera module gives it a distinct look and feel. The handset comes with an IP64 rating, which makes it dust and water-resistant. 

The Realme GT 6 sports a 6.78-inch curved AMOLED display offers a resolution of 1264x2780 pixels. The triple rear camera setup includes a 50-megapixel primary camera, another 50-megapixel camera, and an 8-megapixel camera. For selfies, there’s a 32-megapixel front camera. Running on Android 14, it’s powered by a 5500mAh battery with SuperVOOC fast charging support. You can choose from 8GB, 12GB, or 16GB of RAM, along with 256GB or 512GB storage options. It runs on Realme UI 5, based on Android 14. Plus, it’s IP65-rated for dust and water protection .

Xiaomi 14 Civi is here to shake things up in the sub-Rs. 50,000 price segment. Its slim design, Leica camera prowess, solid performance credentials, and decent speakers make it a solid package worth considering in this price category. On the downside, the missing IP68 rating is a much-needed feature at this price point, and random app notifications from installed apps may sometimes bother you. Nevertheless, it's a noteworthy addition to the sub-Rs. 50,000 smartphone portfolio and is an excellent value proposition.

Motorola's Edge 50 Pro is equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor, a 50-megapixel triple rear camera setup, and a 4,500mAh battery with up to 125W fast charging support. The phone offers some world first features such as a Pantone validated display and cameras. The Edge 50 Pro has a premium design and is available in three colour options. It is offered with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. You also get an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. The phone has a 6.7-inch pOLED curved display with 1.5K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits. It has a stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support, 3 microphones, and an in-display fingerprint scanner. 

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G is a premium smartphone from the company that is focussed on offering a premium design. The phone has a slim and elegant design that uses glass and metal.

Its display gets quite bright and colours appear vibrant. It features a thin bezel all around that adds to its overall premium appeal. The phone’s display is also HDR10+ certified and it all works as expected when it comes to streaming supported content.

The phone runs Oppo’s ColorOS 12.1, which is based on Android 12. Everything works as expected and Oppo’s O-Haptics vibration system enhances the software experience.

Camera performance in daylight is quite good, but the same cannot be said about the ultra-wide and macro cameras. In low light, the phone captures good photos, but its performance is not consistent. Battery life is quite solid and lasts a day and half on a single charge.

The Motorola Edge 30 Pro is the first smartphone in the new Edge 30 series. It sports a massive 6.7-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. Motorola has added stereo speakers into the mix, which will improve the overall content watching experience. The Edge 30 Pro has a glass back that makes it feel premium in the hand. However, it has a plastic frame that feels odd. It weighs 196g which is definitely noticeable, and its IP52 rated body is splash resistant.

The Edge 30 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. The Edge 30 Pro packs in a 4,800mAh battery and has support for 68W fast charging. Motorola also ships a compatible charger in the box. The company has launched only one configuration of the Motorola Edge 30 Pro with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It runs Android 12 with Motorola’s custom My UX skin on top.

Motorola has gone for high-resolution camera sensors all around. This phone sports a triple camera setup at the back consisting of a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, it sports a 60-megapixel shooter on the front. 

The iQoo 9 SE has a polycarbonate back panel and mid-frame but feels and looks quite premium. There's no official IP rating, but you get two high-quality stereo speakers that sound great while streaming video and playing games.

The phone has a 6.62-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED display, which produces punchy colours and is also HDR10+ certified, which is rare in this price segment.

The software experience with Android 12 is smooth and fluid, but the phone does come with too many preinstalled third-party apps. Gaming performance with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC is top-notch, and the same applies to its 4,500mAh battery, which lasted a day and a half on a single charge in our tests.

Camera performance in daylight is impressive, but we expected better from the ultra-wide-angle camera. The iQoo 9 SE also shoots some good macros, and selfies shot in all kinds of lighting conditions came out nicely.

Design has always been a big talking point for the Reno series and it's no different with the Reno 7 Pro. The glass back of the Oppo Reno 7 Pro has a new finish. Oppo says it has used a new laser process to create hundreds of diagonal micro-etches, which are visible at certain angles. The 6.5-inch AMOLED panel means delivers very good colours and contrast. It's a full-HD+ panel with a 90Hz peak refresh rate and 180Hz peak touch sampling rate, plus Corning Gorilla 5 for scratch protection.

There's a new SoC in the Oppo Reno 7 Pro, the Dimensity 1200-Max from MediaTek. This is basically a standard Dimensity 1200 SoC with two special optimisations made for the Reno 7 Pro. You get ColorOS 12 but this is still based on Android 11, not Android 12. I ran PUBG: New State to test how this phone handles demanding multiplayer games. With all the graphical settings cranked up to the highest allowable limit, gameplay was smooth and the display response was on point.

The flat display, stereo speakers, and improved camera sensors are all welcome changes. Battery life is also solid, and it doesn't hurt to have super-fast charging. If fashionable looks and quirky camera features trump sheer performance for you, then you should be happy with the Reno 7 Pro.

The Oppo Reno 6 Pro is one of the slimmest and lightest phones in its class, and has the looks to go with that. The display is well-spec’d too. It’s a 6.5-inch full-HD+ AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ playback certification, and a 180Hz touch sampling rate. One of the biggest upgrades to the Oppo Reno 6 Pro is the new MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC. Games ran very well too. Despite the slim body, the back of the phone never got overly hot even after extended gaming sessions.

I found the battery life of the Reno 6 Pro to be pretty solid too. I was easily able to get about a day and half of use, which involved lots of video watching and checking social apps. This phone runs the company’s latest version of ColorOS 11.3, which is very similar in form and function to the version we tested on the Reno 5 Pro 5G (v11.1). The camera setup on the Oppo Reno 6 Pro is pretty much identical to that of the Reno 5 Pro, except for the new Bokeh Flare Portrait filter which is fun and works well.

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 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. 

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 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 7 Plus is the first smartphone from the company to sport an 18:9 display. It has a 6-inch IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass for protection. Powering the phone is a Snapdragon 660 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It runs on Android Oreo and is a part of the Android One program. It is a dual SIM device and has a hybrid SIM slot. Storage is expandable upto 256GB via a microSD card. The 7 Plus has a dual camera setup at the back comprising of a 12-megapixel camera and a 13-megapixel telephoto sensor. At the front, it has a 16-megapixel selfie camera and it is powered by a 3800mAh battery.

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.