Best camera phones under ₹ 10,000 in India

Redmi Note 7
₹ 9,999

The Redmi Note 7 doesn’t have the same 48MP sensor as it’s bigger brother, the Redmi Note 7 Pro but it packs its fair share in the camera department nonetheless.

The phones 12MP primary camera in the back is able to capture adequate detail and its reproduction of colors is accurate. The only issue is that when it comes to shooting against the light, the camera’s ability to handle exposure is a little lacking.

The depth sensor, despite being only 2MP, does a good job of capturing portrait shots with clear edges and the appropriate amount of blur.

In low light, the images weren’t perfect, but in comparison to its competition on the list — Redmi Note 7’s images were a little less noisy.

The front camera also works well and doesn’t over do the AI-enabled beautification effect. All in all, you get a decent set of cameras for under ₹ 10,000.

Samsung Galaxy M10
₹ 7,990

The Samsung Galaxy M10 has a few drawbacks like bad reviews of its battery life and screen brightness, but the phone’s camera is not one of them. The phone’s ultra wide angle lens a rare find in this price range and clicks pictures that are ideal for sharing on social media.

It camera’s interface has features like the beauty mode, stickers and panorama.

The Samsung Galaxy M10 also has ‘bokeh’ or portrait mode that they have called ‘live focus’.

Daylight shots come out clear and since its a budget phone, Samsung’s over saturation actually works in the phone’s favour.

It’s low-light performance is at par with the competition, which is to say that your shots will still come out grainy and the wide angle lens’ barrel effect will be defined at night.

Huawei Honor 9 Lite
₹ 7,999

A good smartphone camera is hard to come by in a budget phone, it’s even more rare to see one under ₹ 10,000 that has four cameras on board — two in front and two in the back. It’s a bit underwhelming that the secondary sensors on both cameras are only 2MP.

The rear camera’s autofocus works fast and daylight photos come out fairly well. When it comes to low light shots, the Huawei Honor 9 Lite suffers from the same symptoms are the other phones on this list where the edges start to disappear and details start to blur.

The phone’s camera app also has a neat little feature where you can enable it to take pictures automatically when it detects a smile.

The front camera, on the other hand, performs better than the competition. Well-lit shots come out natural and even low light pictures are able to capture a fair bit of detail.

Huawei Honor 9N
₹ 8,999

Huawei phones may not get the next Google update in a timely manner but the Honor 9N is still the best selfie camera phone that you can buy for under ₹ 10,000. The 16MP front facing sensor is the highest resolution available in this budget on a phone that isn’t so bad overall either.

The front camera is at par with the Honor 9N’s rear camera with color reproduction and contrast that’s accurate. But in low light conditions, both the front and rear camera, produce images that are a little noisy. Although, for lone picture, you can activate the phone’s simulated flash that uses the screen to lend a little extra light to a selfie. For images from the rear camera, however, there are limited solutions.

Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro
₹ 8,999

The Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro may not be the newest phone on the block but it remains one of the best if you’re looking for a decent camera phone under ₹ 10,000.

Daylight shots come out well using the 12MP primary camera and the 5MP depth sensor creates sharable portrait shots. It’s only in low light conditions that the camera falters and the image details come out with what is called the ‘watercolour’ effect. You could try shooting in HDR to capture a little more detail, but you’ll exceptionally steady hands for the picture to come out well.

The same issue carries forward to the front camera as well where, under well lit conditions, selfies come out nicely but the night shots lack the same consistency.